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Title details for The Newcomers by Helen Thorpe - Available

The Newcomers

Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom

by Helen Thorpe
Kate Handford
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Offering a nuanced and transformative take on immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage, The Newcomers follows and reflects on the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the course of their 2015-2016 school year at Denver's South High School. Unfamiliar with American culture or the English language, the students range from the age of fourteen to nineteen and come from nations struggling with drought, famine, or war. Many come directly from refugee camps, and some arrive alone, having left or lost every other member of their family. Their stories are poignant and remarkable, and at the center of their combined story is Mr. Williams: the dedicated and endlessly resourceful teacher of their English Language Acquisition class-a class which was created specifically for them and which will provide them with the foundation they need to face the enormous challenges of adapting to life in America.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 14, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666598544
      • File size: 436739 KB
      • Duration: 15:09:52

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Kate Handford's even pacing and conversational tone guide listeners through this audiobook. Journalist Helen Thorpe reports on the multilingual teens who comprise the entry-level class in a Denver high school's English language department. In addition to recounting her observations and interviews with students from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa--among other homelands--this work includes discussions with parents and extended family members, the classroom teacher, and other school personnel. Appropriately, Handford avoids re-creating the many accents of those involved. Instead she subtly alters her pitch when quoting different girls and boys. Together, Thorpe and Handford make the thoughts, feelings, past and present experiences, frustrations, and energy of these young people readily accessible to listeners. F.M.R.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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