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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Come On In: 15 Stories about Immigration and Finding Home by Adi Alsaid
4 reviews
tahsintries's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Racism, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Racism, and Pregnancy
kayladaila's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Come On In is an anthology featuring a very diverse range of authors and stories. Immigration is a heavy subject, so this was not easy to read quickly, and many stories left me feeling irate about the unjust system that allowed for these situations. I could see myself teaching a bunch of these stories. Not all of them were amazing, but all presented a unique viewpoint.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, and Islamophobia
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and War
jenlouise's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
4.75/5 A powerful and beautiful collection of young adult short stories.
Not every story in here is worth this rating but the ones that are so, so good, I just had to round it up. Even the ones that fell short for me still held powerful messages within them and it felt wrong to give such an important book anything less.
In summary, this is an anthology of stories written about immigration from young characters’ perspective. It discusses the experiences of people moving countries, how their family’s immigration has altered their current life and how it affects people when governments decide to turn against them.
<b> all the colours of goodbye by nafiza azad </b> ★★★★★
The writing in this story was just simply *chef’s kiss*. It’s the story of a teenager saying goodbye to where he grew up, probably for good and leaving part of his family behind. It’s beautiful and mournful and one of my favourites.
<b> the wedding by sara farizan </b> ★★★★★
First thing to note about <i> The Wedding </i> is the main character is bisexual! Anyway, this was such an insightful piece done in such a lighthearted manner. The plot is formed simply by a family wedding and the typical interactions that weddings feature but unfortunately, this wedding had to happen in Canada so all the family could attend. There’s discussions about racial profiling and gender expectations and it’s funny and honest.
<b> where i'm from by misa sugiura </b> ★★★★★
<i> Where I’m From </i> is a collection of moments across a character’s life regarding her experiences with culture and racism as an asian-american. Each one is so carefully crafted in their meaning and it was great in its education and insights.
<b> salvation and the sea by lilliam rivera </b> ★★★☆☆
Unfortunately, this story did not work for me as well as the others. The characters felt vague and the plot of visiting ‘Salvation Mountain’ felt just as loose and empty. The story didn’t feel real and I think that took away a lot of its power. However, there were moments and phrases that made my heart sink and for those, I will remain with my 3 star rating.
<b> volviéndome by alaya dawn johnson </b> ★★★★☆
I believe this story is autobiographical? Or at the very least inspired by the author’s own life. It’s more of a life in snapshots than a story within itself but it discusses the experience of returning to where you were born when you have found your home somewhere else. And what it felt like moving to that place originally. It’s really beautiful in its discussions and stories, I just feel that it could’ve done with a little more focus.
<b> the trip by sona charaipotra </b> ★★★★★
<i> The Trip </i> fully and unequivocally broke my heart. It’s about a 16 year old going on a trip with her school when she’s pulled aside by aeroplane security because of where she was born, a place she left when was 2 years old. She begins the story thinking of her crush but by the end of it she only cares about being able to hear her mum’s voice again. It was heartbreaking in its simplicity and just truly exposed how brutally horrible racial profiling is.
<b> the curandera and the alchemist by maria e. andreu </b> ★★★★☆
This one was the first to make me cry. It's about a girl who joins an English tutoring group where they pair adults and students. This is where she meets Florencio, a man considered to be an illegal immigrant. Their friendship is really beautiful while the story also discusses the discriminatory treatment of anyone who doesn’t speak English fluently.
<b> a bigger tent by maurene goo </b> ★★★☆☆
<i> A Bigger Tent’s</i> focuses is family. The main character returns from a summer spent in London to her large, often suffocating family. We follow her as she is forced to partake in a big family camping trip and comes to remember how important they are to her. For me personally, I couldn’t always sympathise with the main character which made it a little hard to love this story as much as the others.
<b> first words by varsha bajaj </b> ★★★★☆ (4.5)
Priya and her family move to America for the sake of her little brother Rishi who was born with a hearing impairment. Her mother worries and worries about how her little boy is doing in school but it turns out that Priya is the one struggling to interact with this new environment. Something about Priya’s experience really spoke to me in this story and her feelings stuck with me in a powerful way.
<b> family/everything by yamile saied méndez ★★★★☆ </b>
<i> Family / Everything </i> is about our main character (Ayelén)’s experience of leaving her home country of Argentina to study in America. We follow her through her last day with her family, dealing with her relatives’ varying opinions on her choice to go as well as her own feelings about having to leave the family and culture that she feels at home in behind. It was a really beautiful story and it truly encaptured the importance of family the most from this collection.
when i was white by justine larbalestier ★★★★☆ (3.5)
<i> When I Was White </i> is the only historical piece in this book and it was definitely an interesting read. We follow an australian girl called Dulcie as she joins Joshua P. Desmond Irving the Third who takes her back to New York with him. The story only really picked up for me towards the second half of this story where we meet the rest of Joshua’s family and learn about the black culture of 1930s New York. The first half felt vague and confusing and I felt that damaged the story as a whole.
<b> from golden state by isabel quintero ★☆☆☆☆ </b>
I feel so terrible rating anything this low but I’m sorry I found nothing I liked about this piece. It felt more like a character description and backstory than a plot as a whole, jumping to the different places in the timeline with no warning and no clear need. This absolutely could’ve worked if I gained any attachment to the characters but unfortunately, I didn’t, they remained very one dimensional to me.
<b> hard to say by sharon morse ★★★★★ </b>
God, I adored this story. Val has lived in America nearly all her life, having only a few hazy memories of her birthplace Venezuela. She’s all but forgotten her first language, Spanish, something that becomes an all more vital loss when her Ito and Ita move in with her and family.. Her Ita and Ito barely speak English and suddenly the house is filled with Spanish as the rest of Val’s family interact. The story follows Val as she begins to feel isolated by the sudden language barrier in her home and as her family begin to realise what’s wrong and reach out to connect with her. It’s so, so beautiful and I beg you to read it.
<b> confessions of an ecuadorkian by zoraida córdova ★★★☆☆ </b>
<i> Confessions of an Ecuadorkian </i> reminded me a lot of my experiences in school, following Paola as she finds her little band of misfits at school and deals with the discrimination that they face from others together. It was heartwarming and I loved all the characters but I do feel there was a lot packed in such a small amount of words and I feel it would’ve suited a novel format better (a novel I would absolutely love to read).
<b> feeling, leaving, moving by adi alsaid </b> ★★★★☆
This final story was a great ending note for the collection, following Shmuli as he travels back to the U.S. from Argentina. He reflects back on his family’s experiences travelling across borders, right back to his grandmother fleeting Syria. It got a little confusing flicking between the timelines of history but overall, it was a beautiful piece, emotional and inspiring.
<b> Representation </b>
As you can probably guess this book has amazing representation, it covers so many different ethnic minorities in its characters and authors. Also, there's a couple of pieces with LGBTQ+ representation that made me so happy. As well as representation of someone with a hearing impairment.
Not every story in here is worth this rating but the ones that are so, so good, I just had to round it up. Even the ones that fell short for me still held powerful messages within them and it felt wrong to give such an important book anything less.
In summary, this is an anthology of stories written about immigration from young characters’ perspective. It discusses the experiences of people moving countries, how their family’s immigration has altered their current life and how it affects people when governments decide to turn against them.
<b> all the colours of goodbye by nafiza azad </b> ★★★★★
The writing in this story was just simply *chef’s kiss*. It’s the story of a teenager saying goodbye to where he grew up, probably for good and leaving part of his family behind. It’s beautiful and mournful and one of my favourites.
<b> the wedding by sara farizan </b> ★★★★★
First thing to note about <i> The Wedding </i> is the main character is bisexual! Anyway, this was such an insightful piece done in such a lighthearted manner. The plot is formed simply by a family wedding and the typical interactions that weddings feature but unfortunately, this wedding had to happen in Canada so all the family could attend. There’s discussions about racial profiling and gender expectations and it’s funny and honest.
<b> where i'm from by misa sugiura </b> ★★★★★
<i> Where I’m From </i> is a collection of moments across a character’s life regarding her experiences with culture and racism as an asian-american. Each one is so carefully crafted in their meaning and it was great in its education and insights.
<b> salvation and the sea by lilliam rivera </b> ★★★☆☆
Unfortunately, this story did not work for me as well as the others. The characters felt vague and the plot of visiting ‘Salvation Mountain’ felt just as loose and empty. The story didn’t feel real and I think that took away a lot of its power. However, there were moments and phrases that made my heart sink and for those, I will remain with my 3 star rating.
<b> volviéndome by alaya dawn johnson </b> ★★★★☆
I believe this story is autobiographical? Or at the very least inspired by the author’s own life. It’s more of a life in snapshots than a story within itself but it discusses the experience of returning to where you were born when you have found your home somewhere else. And what it felt like moving to that place originally. It’s really beautiful in its discussions and stories, I just feel that it could’ve done with a little more focus.
<b> the trip by sona charaipotra </b> ★★★★★
<i> The Trip </i> fully and unequivocally broke my heart. It’s about a 16 year old going on a trip with her school when she’s pulled aside by aeroplane security because of where she was born, a place she left when was 2 years old. She begins the story thinking of her crush but by the end of it she only cares about being able to hear her mum’s voice again. It was heartbreaking in its simplicity and just truly exposed how brutally horrible racial profiling is.
<b> the curandera and the alchemist by maria e. andreu </b> ★★★★☆
This one was the first to make me cry. It's about a girl who joins an English tutoring group where they pair adults and students. This is where she meets Florencio, a man considered to be an illegal immigrant. Their friendship is really beautiful while the story also discusses the discriminatory treatment of anyone who doesn’t speak English fluently.
<b> a bigger tent by maurene goo </b> ★★★☆☆
<i> A Bigger Tent’s</i> focuses is family. The main character returns from a summer spent in London to her large, often suffocating family. We follow her as she is forced to partake in a big family camping trip and comes to remember how important they are to her. For me personally, I couldn’t always sympathise with the main character which made it a little hard to love this story as much as the others.
<b> first words by varsha bajaj </b> ★★★★☆ (4.5)
Priya and her family move to America for the sake of her little brother Rishi who was born with a hearing impairment. Her mother worries and worries about how her little boy is doing in school but it turns out that Priya is the one struggling to interact with this new environment. Something about Priya’s experience really spoke to me in this story and her feelings stuck with me in a powerful way.
<b> family/everything by yamile saied méndez ★★★★☆ </b>
<i> Family / Everything </i> is about our main character (Ayelén)’s experience of leaving her home country of Argentina to study in America. We follow her through her last day with her family, dealing with her relatives’ varying opinions on her choice to go as well as her own feelings about having to leave the family and culture that she feels at home in behind. It was a really beautiful story and it truly encaptured the importance of family the most from this collection.
when i was white by justine larbalestier ★★★★☆ (3.5)
<i> When I Was White </i> is the only historical piece in this book and it was definitely an interesting read. We follow an australian girl called Dulcie as she joins Joshua P. Desmond Irving the Third who takes her back to New York with him. The story only really picked up for me towards the second half of this story where we meet the rest of Joshua’s family and learn about the black culture of 1930s New York. The first half felt vague and confusing and I felt that damaged the story as a whole.
<b> from golden state by isabel quintero ★☆☆☆☆ </b>
I feel so terrible rating anything this low but I’m sorry I found nothing I liked about this piece. It felt more like a character description and backstory than a plot as a whole, jumping to the different places in the timeline with no warning and no clear need. This absolutely could’ve worked if I gained any attachment to the characters but unfortunately, I didn’t, they remained very one dimensional to me.
<b> hard to say by sharon morse ★★★★★ </b>
God, I adored this story. Val has lived in America nearly all her life, having only a few hazy memories of her birthplace Venezuela. She’s all but forgotten her first language, Spanish, something that becomes an all more vital loss when her Ito and Ita move in with her and family.. Her Ita and Ito barely speak English and suddenly the house is filled with Spanish as the rest of Val’s family interact. The story follows Val as she begins to feel isolated by the sudden language barrier in her home and as her family begin to realise what’s wrong and reach out to connect with her. It’s so, so beautiful and I beg you to read it.
<b> confessions of an ecuadorkian by zoraida córdova ★★★☆☆ </b>
<i> Confessions of an Ecuadorkian </i> reminded me a lot of my experiences in school, following Paola as she finds her little band of misfits at school and deals with the discrimination that they face from others together. It was heartwarming and I loved all the characters but I do feel there was a lot packed in such a small amount of words and I feel it would’ve suited a novel format better (a novel I would absolutely love to read).
<b> feeling, leaving, moving by adi alsaid </b> ★★★★☆
This final story was a great ending note for the collection, following Shmuli as he travels back to the U.S. from Argentina. He reflects back on his family’s experiences travelling across borders, right back to his grandmother fleeting Syria. It got a little confusing flicking between the timelines of history but overall, it was a beautiful piece, emotional and inspiring.
<b> Representation </b>
As you can probably guess this book has amazing representation, it covers so many different ethnic minorities in its characters and authors. Also, there's a couple of pieces with LGBTQ+ representation that made me so happy. As well as representation of someone with a hearing impairment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Bullying
More...