Fiction About Immigration

All titles are available in the Lower School Reading Room

Alvarez, Julia. Before We Were Free

In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.

Auch, Mary Jane. Ashes of Roses

Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose Nolan, newly arrived from Ireland, finds work at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the 1911 fire in which 146 employees died.

Avi. The Escape from Home

Driven from their impoverished Irish village, fifteen-year-old Maura and her younger brother meet their landlord's runaway son in Liverpool while all three wait for a ship to America

Avi. Lord Kirkle’s Money

Continues the adventures of fifteen-year-old Maura, her younger brother Patrick, a young stowaway, and some unusual characters as they sail from England to the New World in 1851.

Branson, Karen. Streets of Gold

Fourteen-year-old Maureen and her family, refugees from the Irish potato famine of the 1840's, arrive in New York and struggle to make a place for themselves in an environment more hostile than they had imagined.

Coombs, Karen M. Sarah on Her Own

Surviving a tortuous sea journey to the New World, fourteen-year-old Sarah finds herself orphaned and facing marriage or servitude if she is to survive, and she vows to save enough money to return to England.

Crew, Linda. Children of the River

Having fled Cambodia four years earlier to escape the Khmer Rouge army, seventeen-year-old Sundara is torn between remaining faithful to her own people and enjoying life in her Oregon high school as a "regular" American.

Cummings, Betty Sue. Now, Ameriky

A young Irish woman, whose family is driven from their land during the potato famine in the 1840's, is sent to America to earn enough money to enable the rest of her family to join her.

Danticat, Edwidge. Behind the Mountains

Writing in the notebook which her teacher gave her, thirteen-year-old Celiane describes life with her mother and brother in Haiti as well as her experiences in Brooklyn after the family finally immigrates there to be reunited with her father.

Deitz, Pegi. Tangled Threads: a Hmong Girl’s Study

After ten years in a refugee camp in Thailand, thirteen-year-old Mai Yang travels to Providence, Rhode Island, where her Americanized cousins introduce her to pizza, shopping, and beer, while her grandmother and new friends keep her connected to her Hmong heritage.

Desai Hidier, Tanuja. Born Confused

Seventeen-year-old Dimple, whose family is from India, discovers that she is not Indian enough for the Indians and not American enough for the Americans, as she sees her hypnotically beautiful, manipulative best friend taking possession of both her heritage and the boy she likes.

Garland, Sherry. Shadow of the Dragon

High school sophomore Danny Vo tries to resolve the conflict between the values of his Vietnamese refugee family and his new American way of life.

Geundisch, Karin. How I became an American

In 1902, ten-year-old Johann and his family, Germans who had been living in Austria-Hungary, board a ship to immigrate to Youngstown, Ohio, where they make a new life as Americans.

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Maggie’s Door

In the mid-1800s, Nory and her neighbor and friend, Sean, set out separately on a dangerous journey from famine-plagued Ireland, hoping to reach a better life in America.

Harris, Carol Flynn. A place for Joey

Although Joey's Italian immigrant family dreams of buying a farm and moving to the country, Joey tries to find a job so he can stay in Boston's North End, and instead discovers a new dream and a new life.

Jimenez, Francisco. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

A collection of autobiographical stories about the author's childhood and his experiences as a migrant laborer.

Levitin, Sonia. Journey to America

A Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938 endures innumerable separations before they are once again united.

Levitin, Sonia. Silver Days

In this sequel to Journey to America, the reunited Platt family works hard at settling in to America, but the spectre of the war in Europe continues to affect their lives.

Lord, Bette Bao. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn where she becomes Americanized at school, in her apartment building, and by her love for baseball.

Lovelace, Maude Hart. Betsy and Tacy go over the Big Hill

In turn-of-the-century Minnesota, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib become friends with a Syrian immigrant to their small town.

Mazer, Norma Fox. Good night, Maman

Based on the true history of the only group of refugees brought to this country by the U.S. government during World War II.

Mikaelsen, Ben. Red Midnight

After soldiers kill his family, twelve-year-old Santiago and his four-year-old sister flee Guatemala in a kayak and try to reach the United States.

Moskin, Marietta. Waiting for Mama

A Russian immigrant family living in New York in the early 1900's prepares for the long-awaited arrival of their mother and baby sister.

Na, An. A Step from Heaven

A young Korean girl and her family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Land of Promise

In 1902 fifteen-year-old Rose travels from Ireland to join family members in Chicago, where she must use all her resources to deal with her father's drinking and her brothers' dangerous involvement in politics.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Playing for Keeps

On a Caribbean cruise, sixteen-year-old Rosie meets a teenage Cuban baseball player seeking political asylum in the United States, and tries to help him escape a murder charge.

Osa, Nancy. Cuba 15

Violet Paz, a Chicago high school student, reluctantly prepares for her upcoming "quince," a Spanish nickname for the celebration of an Hispanic girl's fifteenth birthday.

Rose, Anne. Refugee

Traces a twelve-year-old Jewish girl's flight from Belgium prior to Hitler's invasion and her life in New York until the age of eighteen when the war ends.

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising

"Based on the experiences of [the author's] grandmother, whose privileged life in Mexico was altered dramatically when she immigrated to the United States and went to work in a company-owned farm labor camp"--Jacket.

Temple, Frances. Grab Hands and Run

“Felipe’s father, Jacinto, has disappeared. In El Salvador, when people disappear, they do not return. His father once said “If they come for me, you and the children grab hands and run. Go north, all the way to Canada.” Now Felipe, his sister and his mother are running. “ - Jacket

Uchida, Yoshiko. Jar of Dreams

A young girl grows up in a closely-knit Japanese American family in California during the 1930's, a time of great prejudice.

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Best Bad Thing

At first dismayed at having to spend the last month of her summer vacation helping out in the household of recently widowed Mrs. Hata, Rinko discovers there are pleasant surprises for her, but then bad things start to happen. Sequel to: A jar of dreams.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey Home

After their release from an American concentration camp, a Japanese-American girl and her family try to reconstruct their lives amidst strong anti-Japanese feelings which breed fear, distrust, and violence.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey to Topaz

After the Pearl Harbor attack an eleven-year-old Japanese-American girl and her family are forced to go to an aliens camp in Utah.

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Invisible Thread

Children's author, Yoshiko Uchida, describes growing up in Berkeley, California, as a Nisei, second generation Japanese American, and her family's internment in a Nevada concentration camp during World War II.