The Newcomers

June 1, 2017

Thorpe, whose Soldier Girls was named the top nonfiction book of 2014 by Time, chronicles the experiences of 22 immigrant teenagers at Denver's South High School during 2015-16. Having fled war and famine, often arriving straight from refugee camps and sometimes without family, they entered an English Language Acquisition class created specifically for them.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017
Personal stories of child refugees as they integrate into American society.Focusing on one classroom in South High School in Denver, Colorado, Thorpe (Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War, 2014, etc.) dives deep into the lives of 22 students, all refugees, who were just some of the many who enrolled in South High School's newcomer class, a basic English acquisition class taught by kindhearted Eddie Williams. The students came from the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, running from civil war, extreme persecution, drought, famine, and a variety of other atrocities. As in her previous books, Thorpe writes with great compassion, and she demonstrates a profound understanding of how difficult it must have been for these children to leave everything they'd ever known and move to a foreign country where the language, customs, and culture were so vastly different. She shares Williams' methodology, which allows these boys and girls to cast aside their fears and bond with one another and their teacher, all while gaining a basic understanding of the English language. Thorpe also includes information on the general refugee situation in the U.S., discussing the various needs that must be provided for these newcomers and their families, including adequate clothing, housing, and money for apartment rentals, as well as job training and integration into the work force. She is candid about the occasional difficulties using an interpreter to learn each student's personal story and how some children refused to discuss aspects of their long journeys to the U.S., a decision she respected despite her innate curiosity. Interviewing these young adults enhanced Thorpe's understanding of the world, and reading her story will entertain and enlighten readers, creating a wider, more sympathetic view of the world and its inhabitants--certainly something we need right now. Humane and informative stories about refugees and their plights in America.

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Starred review from October 2, 2017
The latest work of narrative nonfiction from Thorpe (Soldier Girls) brings readers face to face with the global refugee crisis through the story of a Denver English-acquisition class composed of teenage refugees from all over the world. Set against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the book follows the 21 students over the course of the school year—for many, their first months in America—as they adapt to their new lives and grow comfortable in the classroom. Their heartening stories of learning English are interspersed with comical mistranslations of American customs (the concept of a haunted house fails to track with some students who can’t get past why anyone would want to make his or her house look terrifying) as well as the harsh reality of what it means to be a migrant and the difficulties of acquiring a language. Thorpe provides a layered portrait of the students and explains the daunting refugee crisis in America and elsewhere. Many of the students have harrowing stories, such those of Jakleen and Mariam, two Iraqi sisters who moved to Syria after their father disappeared, only to be forced to relocate again to Turkey and then the United States. In their new lives, the sisters form friendships with other students across language barriers, date other students, play soccer matches, and act in a play about Cesar Chavez. Along the way, Thorpe tackles the systemic issues resettlement programs face, as well as the Western world’s role in creating the crisis. Thorpe puts an agonizingly human face on a vast global problem.

January 1, 2018

Thorpe (Soldier Girls) spent a year observing high school students in an English-language acquisition class at South High School in Denver. Profiled students are primarily refugees from Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Asia, and have experienced traumatic events on their journey to Colorado. The first portion of the book chronicles the challenges that the students experience as they learn a new, difficult language. As the year goes on, Thorpe gains the trust of several students and regularly visits two families from Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After becoming close to the students' families, Thorpe begins to understand their personal lives, including struggles to find a job and acclimate to life in the United States. The 2016 presidential election and the country's increasing hostility toward refugees hovers in the background; Thorpe reflects on how the experience has personally affected her, ending with a heartbreaking description of how Trump's policies have impacted her subjects. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers hoping to learn more about the refugee experience in the United States. A heartfelt examination of student and family life that speaks to the human experience.--Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.