SJPL Picks: Immigrant StoriesLike this list

50 items

• Silence of the Choir

  Sarr, Mohamed Mbougar, 1990-

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  Seventy-two men arrive in the middle of the Sicilian countryside. They are “immigrants,” “refugees” or “migrants.” But in Altino, they’re called the ragazzi, the “guys” that the Santa Marta Association have taken responsibility for. In…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• My Side of the River

  a Memoir

  Gutierrez, Elizabeth Camarillo,

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  Exploring separation, generational trauma and the toll of the American dream, the author recounts what happened when, at age 15, her parents were forced back to Mexico, leaving her and her brother to fend for themselves as underage victims…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Behind You Is the Sea

  a Novel

  Darraj, Susan Muaddi,

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  Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families—the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars—Palestinian immigrants who’ve all found a different welcome in America. Their various fates and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Straw Dogs of the Universe

  a Novel

  Ye, Chun,

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  After her village is devastated by famine, 10-year-old Sixiang is sold to a human trafficker for a bag of rice and six silver coins. Her mother is reluctant to let her go, but the promise of a better life for her beloved daughter…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Refugee Ocean

  a Novel

  Toutonghi, Pauls,

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  Born in Beirut in 1922, Marguerite Toutoungi lives a life of loss and sacrifice. She dreams of traveling to Europe and studying music at the Conservatoire de Paris but her family—and her society—hold her back. When she meets the son of a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Worlds I See

  Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI

  Li, Fei Fei, 1976-

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  Wired called Dr. Fei-Fei Li “one of a tiny group of scientists—a group perhaps small enough to fit around a kitchen table—who are responsible for AI’s recent remarkable advances.” Known to the world as the creator of ImageNet, a key…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• They Called Us Exceptional

  and Other Lies That Raised Us

  Gupta, Prachi (Journalist),

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  An Indian American daughter reveals how the dangerous model minority myth fractured her family in this searing, brave memoir. How do we understand ourselves when the story about who we are supposed to be is stronger than our sense of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Leftover Woman

  a Novel

  Kwok, Jean,

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  Arriving in New York City from her rural Chinese village without money or family support, Jasmine Young, on the run from her abusive husband, desperately searches for the daughter taken away from her at birth, which forces her to make…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Everything Is Not Enough

  a Novel

  Akinmade-Akerström, Lola,

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  Navigating the social, financial, and legal intricacies of living as immigrants in Sweden proves to be challenging to three Black women in a multitude of ways. Somalian immigrant Yasmiin's marriage is marred by the secrets of her past,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Multo

  [a Thriller]

  Fazzi, Cindy,

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  His latest job is to catch the one that got away…three times. Filipino-American bounty hunter Domingo has made a career of catching criminal undocumented immigrants. He’s the best in the business—and it isn’t lost on him that he’s so good…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sunshine Nails

  a Novel

  Nguyen, Mai, 1988-

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  Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked. Complicating matters…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sorrows of Others

  Zhang, Ada,

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  Set in China and America, in the generations after the Cultural Revolution, The Sorrows of Others is a dazzling collection about people confronted with being outsiders—as immigrants, as revolutionaries, and even, often, within their own…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Skin and Its Girl

  a Novel

  Cypher, Sarah,

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  In a Pacific Northwest hospital far from the Rummani family’s ancestral home in Palestine, the heart of a stillborn baby begins to beat and her skin turns a vibrant, permanent cobalt blue. On the same day, the Rummanis’ centuries-old soap…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Brightest Star

  a Novel

  Tsukiyama, Gail,

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  Arriving in Hollywood to become an actress, Anna May Wong discovers her beauty and talent aren't enough to overcome the racism that relegates her to supporting roles and, over the years, fights to win lead roles, accept risqu ̌parts and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Banyan Moon

  a Novel

  Thai, Thao,

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  Follows three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family's inherited burdens, buried secrets and unlikely love stories.

• Wandering Souls

  a Novel

  Pin, Cecile,

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  Seeking refuge in the UK after the last American troops leave Vietnam, Anh and her younger brothers, in a London plagued by social inequality and raging anti-immigrant sentiment, find their paths diverging as time passes, wondering if love…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Our Best Intentions

  a Novel

  Jain, Vibhuti,

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  Babur “Bobby” Singh, single parent and owner of fledging Uber business “Move with Bobby,” remains ever hopeful about ascending the ladder of American success. He lives in an affluent suburb of New York with his daughter Angie, an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• If I Survive You

  Escoffery, Jonathan,

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  Fleeing to Miami after political violence consumes their native Kingston, a younger son of a Jamaican family, Trelawny, struggles to carve out a place for himself amid financial disaster, racism and flat-out bad luck, clawing himself out…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• My Boy Will Die of Sorrow

  a Memoir of Immigration From the Front Lines

  Olivares, Efrén C.,

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  Sharing gripping family separation stories alongside his own, a human rights lawyer gives voice to immigrants who have been punished and silenced for seeking safety and opportunity, discussing what nationhood means in America and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• No Land to Light on

  a Novel

  Zgheib, Yara,

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  A young Syrian couple awaiting the birth of their son, Hadi and Sama dream of their life together until Hadi’s father dies suddenly in Jordan, and Hadi, after attending the funeral, is detained for questioning and becomes trapped in a…Read moreRead more of this annotation