From School Library Journal
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Gr 8 Up-Editors Vecchione and Raymond have
produced a sobering and impressive reflection of the trials and
tribulations experienced by first- and second- generation
immigrants and refugees. Common themes include isolation,
language difficulties, arduous journeys, and familial
connections. Standout selections include "My Grandmother Washes
Her Feet in the Bathroom at Sears," in which the poet's
grandmother ritually washes her feet in preparation for prayer,
as other shoppers look askance, and "Portrait of Isako in
Wartime," which evokes the Japanese American internment camps.
Young adult readers will likely recognize several contributors,
including Elizabeth Acevedo, Samira Ahmed, and Gary Soto.
Contributors represent a range of ethnicities and cultures,
including Somali, Chamoru (Guam), Irish, Mexican, and Vietnamese,
as well as LGBTQIA+ experiences. Some selections include images
of violence and swearing. VERDICT Although it might require some
effort to get this collection in the hands of young readers, this
would be a worthwhile addition to a high school English class or
library.-Jennifer Schultz Angoli, Fauquier County Public Library,
Warrenton, VA
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Review
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"Though ed at teens, this vivid, vital
collection ... should find a ready audience with adults as
well.... With bravura and hard-won in, these poems explore
identity, survival and home from first- and second-generation
perspectives, offering a multiplicity of impressions and
memories." —Mary Quattlebaum, Washington Post
"I was moved again and again by the poems in this brave,
beautiful and necessary collection. I found echoes of myself in
many of the pieces, and I know so many young immigrants and
Americans will find themselves, too. But it goes beyond that. I
wish this book would be taught in genous communities, too, so
readers with little understanding of immigration will have the
chance to see its humanity. This is the most important book we
will read this year." —Matt de la Peña, NY Times bestselling and
Newbery Award winning author
*"Poems as piercing and reflective as the shards of a shattered
mirror offer stunning glimpses into the lives and experiences of
immigrants and refugees. Sixty-four pieces (many previously
published) in a variety of forms capture an outcry of voices
mourning loss, celebrating survival, breaking and remaking self
and home." —The Horn Book, starred review
"This symphony of poetry is a necessary series of s and
balms that will comfort those who have endured, uplift those who
continue to struggle, and educate others." —Kirkus Reviews,
starred review
"An urgent and timely new poetry collection." —Nina McLaughlin,
Boston Globe
"Vecchione and Raymond have gathered 64 poets from all over the
world, their poetic voices as diverse as their experiences. Yet,
they hold one element in common: a belief in dignity as an
essential human right. ... these stories should resonate with
youth who feel life deeply." —Booklist
"This piercing poetry collection's sixty-four pieces (many
previously published) in a variety of forms mourn loss, celebrate
survival, and explore breaking and remaking self and home. The
poets—immigrants and refugees themselves, or from immigrant
households—tackle topics including racism, displacement,
assimilation, and resilience. The contributors all offer timely,
culturally specific frames for the universal struggle of growing
into oneself. Appended with brief poet biographies." —The Horn
Book, recommended titles for 2019
"An intricate, hard-won tapestry of poetic experience, with
density best suited to thoughtful browsing or
individual readalouds rather than reading straight through but
with many resonant poems that will strike a chord either of
re or realization with young readers." —Bulletin of the
Center for Children's Books
“We are a nation of immigrants, but as we grow further away from
our roots we tend to forget. These poems help us to reconnect to
both negative states (poverty, separation-anxiety, fear of the
unknown etc.) and new rtunities and challenges.” —Wicked
Local
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About the Author
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Poet, nonfiction writer and teacher
Patrice Vecchione has edited several highly accled anthologies
for young adults including (from Henry Holt) Truth & Lies, which
was named one of the best children's books by School Library
Journal, Revenge & Forgiveness, and Faith & Doubt, named a best
book of the year for young adults by the American Library
Association. She's the author of Writing and the Spiritual Life
(McGraw-Hill) and Step into Nature: Nurturing Imagination and
Spirit in Everyday Life (Beyond Words/Atria), as well as two
collections of poetry. For many years, Patrice has taught poetry
and creative writing to young people (often working with migrant
children) through her program, "The Heart of the Word: Poetry and
the Imagination." She is also a columnist for her local daily
paper, The Monterey Herald, and has published essays on children
and poetry for several outlets including the California Library
Association Journal. patricevecchione.com.
Alyssa Raymond is a freelance editor of adult and YA fiction and
nonfiction. She hails from Massachusetts and Colorado, where she
taught writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado at
Boulder and was a veteran bookseller at her favorite independent
bookstore, the Boulder Book Store.
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