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Immigrant Experiences true tales & illuminating novels
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Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Separated by differing ambitions after falling in love in occupied Nigeria, beautiful Ifemelu experiences triumph and defeat in America, while Obinze endures an undocumented status in London until the pair is reunited in their homeland fifteen years later.
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Before we visit the goddess
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Three generations of Indian mothers and daughters discover their greatest source of strength in one another—from a baker's daughter who dreams of an impossible education, to the daughter who confronts her culture and independence in America, to the granddaughter who learns indelible lessons about freedom and heartbreak.
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Behold the dreamers
by Imbolo Mbue
In 2007, Manhattan-based Cameroonian immigrant Jende Jonga gets a job chauffeuring for Lehman Brothers executive Clark Edwards, easing the financial strain on his family. At first, all goes well, but problems in the Edwards' marriage lead to problems for the Jongas, and when Lehman falls, both families are caught up in the terrible aftermath. The Jongas -- at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, fearing deportation -- have much more to lose than the wealthy Edwards family, but together provide a perspective on the accessibility (or lack thereof) of the American Dream, as well as a poignant look at globalization and immigrant life.
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The boat rocker
by Ha Jin
Chinese expatriate Feng Danlin, a fiercely principled reporter whose explosive exposés read by Chinese all over the world have made him legendary among readers--and feared by Communist officials investigates his ex-wife, an unscrupulous novelist who has become a pawn of the Chinese government in order to realize her dreams of literary stardom.
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The book of unknown Americans
by Cristina Henríquez
Moving from Mexico to the United States when their daughter suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras confront cultural barriers, their daughter's difficult recovery, and her developing relationship with a Panamanian boy.
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The Boston girl
by Anita Diamant
Recounting the story of her life to her granddaughter, octogenarian Addie describes how she was raised in early-twentieth-century America by Jewish immigrant parents in a teeming multicultural neighborhood.
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The boy who escaped paradise
by Chæong-myæong Yi
Arrested after a body is found beside mathematical symbols written in blood, Gilmo, a North Korean national, is assigned to CIA operative Angela, who learns of his past in Pyongyang, where he was imprisoned for his father's religious beliefs before using his math genius to escape and navigate the criminal underworld.
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Brooklyn
by Colm Tóibín
Leaving her home in post-World War II Ireland to work as a bookkeeper in Brooklyn, Eilis Lacey reluctantly parts with her sister and fragile mother and discovers a new romance in America with a charming blond Italian man before devastating news threatens her happiness.
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The Buddha in the attic
by Julie Otsuka
The stories of six Japanese mail-order brides whose new lives in early 20th century San Francisco are marked by backbreaking migrant work, cultural struggles, children who reject their heritage and the prospect of wartime internment.
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Country of red azaleas
by Domnica Radulescu
Closer than sisters, Marija, a Serbian, and Lara, a Bosnian, are separated for the first time after Lara leaves for America with her new husband, but when communication with Marija ceases, Lara travels through war-torn Serbia and Bosnia to find her friend—and the truth about her own identity.
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Every day is for the thief
by Teju Cole
Returning to Lagos after several years in New York City, a young Nigerian writer rediscovers his hometown as both a foreigner and a local while reconnecting with old friends, comparing Lagos to the home of his memory and realizing how he himself has changed.
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The expatriates
by Janice Y. K Lee
A traumatized college graduate, a lonely housewife and a burned-out mother of three endure the challenges of their respective demons and families in the face of unexpected consequences within their American expat community in Hong Kong.
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Family life
by Akhil Sharma
Finally joining their father in America, Ajay and Birju enjoy their new, extraordinary life until tragedy strikes, leaving one brother incapacitated and the other practically orphaned in this strange land.
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Foreign soil and other stories
by Maxine Beneba Clarke
A prize-winning collection of stories set around the world includes the tales of a desperate man seeking asylum in Australia, a Sudanese boy who finds happiness in a bicycle and a Mississippi housewife who sacrifices everything for her son.
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Girl in translation
by Jean Kwok
Emigrating with her mother from Hong Kong to Brooklyn, Kimberly Chang begins a secret double life as an exceptional schoolgirl during the day and sweatshop worker at night, an existence also marked by a first crush and the pressure to save her family from poverty.
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Homegoing
by Yaa Gyasi
This book looks at one family from North Africa that is split in two by the slave trade. We get to meet each generation in successive chapters and each chapter jumps from North Africa to America. The end result is an engaging, riveting look at our shared histories and the trials of one extended family. -Mark
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Honolulu
by Alan Brennert
Journeying to 1914 Hawaii as a mail-order "picture bride," Korean-born Jin finds her hopes for education and a better life devastated by the realities of a rushed marriage to an embittered laborer, a situation throughout which she works to overcome limited opportunities and prejudice in order to improve circumstances for her fellow brides.
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It occurs to me that I am America : new stories and art
by Jonathan Santlofer
Published to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Trump inauguration and the Women's March, a provocative anthology of original short stories by 30 best-selling and award-winning writers, including Alice Walker, Alice Hoffman and Lee Child, considers the fundamental ideals of a free, just and compassionate democracy as expressed through fiction and graphic artwork.
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The jaguar's children
by John Vaillant
Héctor is trapped. The water truck, sealed to hide its human cargo, has broken down. The coyotes have taken all the passengers money for a mechanic and have not returned. Those left behind have no choice but to wait. Héctor finds a name in his friend Césars phone. AnniMac. A name with an American number. He must reach her, both for rescue and to pass along the message César has come so far to deliver. But are his messages going through? Over four days, as water and food run low, Héctor tells how he came to this desperate place. His story takes us from Oaxaca's rich culture and rapid change, to the dangers of the border.
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Lucky boy
by Shanthi Sekaran
A wrenching emotional battle ensues between an undocumented Mexican single mother and an Indian-American chef who cannot have children when the latter is placed in the care of the former's son during an immigration detention.
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The mortifications
by Derek Palacio
Conflicting political ideals, culture clashes, spiritual crises and divided passions challenge a Cuban-American family over multiple generations at the turn of the 21st century.
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No other world
by Rahul Mehta
A 1980s Indian-American immigrant family struggles with cultural differences, past secrets, arranged marriage and a gay son's coming-of-age in a homophobic community.
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Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee
In early 1900s Korea, prized daughter Sunja finds herself pregnant and alone, bringing shame on her family until a young tubercular minister offers to marry her and bring her to Japan, in the saga of one family bound together as their faith and identity are called into question.
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Pioneer girl
by Bich Minh Nguyen
Discovering a family heirloom that her mother may have received from Laura Ingalls Wilder, PhD graduate Lee Lien explores the tenuous connection between her ancestors and the famous pioneer author only to discover a trail of clues that lead to fateful encounters.
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Panic in a suitcase
by Yelena Akhtiorskaya
Follows a family of Russian immigrants who move to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and discover that the lines between the old world and the new are very blurred and the things they thought they had left behind are readily available in America.
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Re Jane
by Patricia Park
Jane Re, a half-Korean, half-American orphan, escapes to Seoul where she reconnects with her family while struggling to learn the ways of modern-day Korea, and wonders if the man she loves is really the man for her as she tries to find balance between two cultures and accept who she really is.
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This house is mine
by Dörte Hansen
Vera is surprised when her niece shows up at her East Prussia farmhouse with her young son after fleeing a bad relationship in Hamburg and the pair find they have more in common than they ever thought possible.
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Together tea
by Marjan Kamali
Constantly at odds, 25-year-old Mina and her mother Darya, to work things out, travel to Iran where they, back in the familiarity of their hometown, begin to understand each other and come to terms with the choices they have made until two men cause them to question their beliefs and traditions.
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What is the what
by Dave Eggers
This biographical novel traces the story of Valentino Achak Deng, who as a boy was separated from his family when his village in southern Sudan was attacked, and became one of the estimated 17,000 "lost boys of Sudan" before relocating from a Kenyan refugee camp to Atlanta in 2001.
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White teeth
by Zadie Smith
Set in post-war London, this novel of the racial, political, and social upheaval of the last half-century follows two families--the Joneses and the Iqbals, both outsiders from within the former British empire--as they make their way in modern England.
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Brotherhood : dharma, destiny, and the American dream
by Deepak Chopra
Deepak and Sanjiv Chopra came to America for postgraduate medical studies. Their life in India was a privileged one, with their father one of the first western-trained cardiologists in India. Once in America, however, despite racial barriers and cultural conflicts, they chose to stay. This dual memoir describes how they embraced their new world and came to prominence in their fields: spiritual healing and teaching as a gastroenterologist at Harvard.
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The cooked seed : a memoir
by Anchee Min
Anchee Min's first memoir, Red Azalea, told the story of her life as a member of the Little Red Guard in Mao's China. Here, she describes life in the US as one of millions of immigrants trying to adjust, assimilate, and enjoy her new opportunities and freedoms. In China, Min had felt she could only be "a cooked seed," with no chance to grow or fulfill her dreams. But in America, holding down as many as five jobs at a time, she pursues her dreams of art and writing, resulting in the rich and fulfilled life she lives today.
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The Displaced : Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Published in support of the International Rescue Committee and edited by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer, a collection searing personal essays by prominent international refugees shares candid reflections on the Trump administration's 2017 executive order to limit or ban Muslim refugees from America.
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The distance between us : a memoir
by Reyna Grande
The American Book Award-winning author of Across a Hundred Mountains traces her experiences as an illegal child immigrant, describing how her parents' dreams of better opportunities for their family were marked by her father's violent alcoholism, her efforts to obtain a higher education and the inspiration of Latina authors.
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Fresh off the boat : a memoir
by Eddie Huang
A Taiwanese-American rebel restaurateur chronicles his rise to success from his difficult childhood in the American South to his decision to embrace all he had learned about food in his father's restaurants and his mother's kitchen to create his own culinary identity. Adapted into an acclaimed TV show.
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Funny in Farsi : a memoir of growing up Iranian in America
by Firoozeh Dumas
An affectionate autobiography of growing up as an Iranian-American describes the author's family's 1971 move from Iran to Southern California, the engaging members of her diverse family, and their struggle with culture shock, including the mysteries of American English and American traditions.
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In other words
by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Unaccustomed Earth" traces her enduring love affair with the Italian language that prompted her family's move to Rome, where her efforts to master the language as a writer shaped her feelings of belonging and exile.
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In the country we love : my family divided
by Diane Guerrero
The star of Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin presents her personal story of the real plight of undocumented immigrants in this country, specifically the day when she was fourteen years old and her parents were detained and deported while she was at school.
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The lightless sky : a twelve-year-old refugee's harrowing escape from Afghanistan and his extraordinary journey across half the world
by Gulwali Passarlay
In 2006, after his father was killed, Gulwali Passarlay was caught between the Taliban who wanted to recruit him and the Americans who wanted to use him. To protect her son, Gulwali's mother sent him away. The search for safety would lead the twelve-year-old across eight countries, from the mountains of eastern Afghanistan through Iran and Europe to Britain. Over the course of twelve harrowing months, Gulwali endured imprisonment, hunger, cruelty, brutality, loneliness, and terror--and nearly drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea, before he was eventually granted asylum in England.
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A long way home
by Saroo Brierley
An account of the author's 25-year separation from his family after he was lost on a train at the age of five. Unable to recall his address or last name, he endured years on the streets of Calcutta before being adopted by an Australian family and eventually finding his way back home through a headline-making Google Earth search. Made into the movie Lion.
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Love, loss, and what we ate
by Padma Lakshmi
The host of the Emmy Award-winning Top Chef presents a memoir about her immigrant childhood and complicated life in front of the camera, tracing her formative experiences in her grandmother's South India kitchen and her relationships with people who influenced her culinary skills and career.
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Muslim girl : a coming of age
by Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
Describes the author's adolescence as a Muslim girl in post-9/11 America, including how she dealt with Islamophobia, how she created a website that became a cultural phenomenon, and how she feels about America's political climate.
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Russian tattoo : a memoir
by Elena Gorokhova
Relates the author's difficult adjustment to life in the United States after leaving Cold War-era Russia, the birth of her daughter and arrival of her Soviet mother, and how three generations of women with different cultural values found balance and understanding together.
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Strength in what remains
by Tracy Kidder
The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains presents the story of Burundi civil war survivor Deo, who endures homelessness before pursuing an education at Columbia and eventually returning to his native land to help people in both countries.
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Threading my prayer rug : one woman's journey from Pakistani Muslim to American Muslim
by Sabeeha Rehman
A richly textured reflection on what it is to be a Muslim in America today. Beginning with a sweetly funny, moving account of her arranged marriage, the author undercuts stereotypes and offers the refreshing view of an American life through Muslim eyes. In chapters leavened with humor, hope, and insight, she recounts an immigrant's daily struggles balancing assimilation with preserving heritage, overcoming religious barriers from within and distortions of Islam from without, and confronting issues of raising her children as Muslims--while they lobby for a Christmas tree!
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The weight of shadows : a memoir of immigration and displacement
by Jose Orduna
In July of 2011 José Orduña was naturalized as an American citizen, a decision made, he admits, in bad faith and purely out of self-interest. Though grateful to his parents for their many sacrifices, which resulted in his citizenship, he feels anger and resentment towards a punitive and racist government. With a searingly original voice, Orduña reflects on the complicated and contradictory experience of morphing into a “legal” young, brown immigrant. He describes the absurd feeling of being given a piece of paper—his naturalization certificate—handed to him by a robed judge to certify something he has always known: he has a right to be here and is, at least in theory, equal under the law.
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Cedar Mill Community Libraries 12505 NW Cornell Road Suite 13 Portland, Oregon 97229 503-644-0043library.cedarmill.org/
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