Some walked across deserts and mountains to get here. Others flew in on planes. One arrived after escaping in a suitcase. And some won't say how th...
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reviews
Feb 09, 2012
Jenny
rated it: 
Very readable and appealing. It gives a some insight into the lives of immigrant teens in New York. It is written in a style so much like a novel that at times I had to wonder to what extent the author had nudged her story to fit a narrative form, and in the act of doing that, perhaps wandered a bit from the real truth.
It was like reading a story by Tracy Kidder as Told to Maeve Binchy. It had that kind of sunny "everything will turn out all right in the end for everyone" More...
It was like reading a story by Tracy Kidder as Told to Maeve Binchy. It had that kind of sunny "everything will turn out all right in the end for everyone" More...
Oct 29, 2011
Terry
rated it: 
Absolutely a fantastic non-fiction book. I rarely read non-fiction but
Brooke Hauser writes a non-fiction book that brought tears to my eyes
and pride for a profession that is so often belittled and certainly
one that is underpaid. The teachers in this book are caring people who
do everything in their power to help their students succeed. Although
I have never met these teachers personally, I have met many teachers just like
them throughout my 34 year teaching care More...
Brooke Hauser writes a non-fiction book that brought tears to my eyes
and pride for a profession that is so often belittled and certainly
one that is underpaid. The teachers in this book are caring people who
do everything in their power to help their students succeed. Although
I have never met these teachers personally, I have met many teachers just like
them throughout my 34 year teaching care More...
Nov 06, 2011
Erica
rated it: 
I'm about halfway through the book right now and I find myself torn - I love the concept and the student stories are incredible. However, the writing does not display the students or the school in the most compelling fashion. It's as if the book is written somewhere between journalism (not surprising considering the author's background) and fiction and it fails to engage me. I find the author to be too biased and she takes too many liberties with her subjects; how can she know what they were thi
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Oct 05, 2011
Pam
rated it:
The book New Kids provides the reader with a look at the struggles recent high school age immigrants face growing up in America. The book centers around a public high school in Brooklyn for immigrant teens. It is a story about poor to middle class teens who often lack necessary parental support and guidance. Brooke Hauser, the author, focuses on the high school providing glimpses of the teachers and students. The reader is left with wanting more, more about both the teachers and what struggl
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Nov 07, 2011
Alicia
rated it:
Just a few pages into this book, I was completely hooked. The stories are fascinating and prove once again, à la Anne Fadiman or Tracy Kidder, that nonfiction can be just as riveting as fiction. The reader is constantly going back and forth between reliving moments of his/her own high school experiences -- flirting, trying desperately to fit in, walking through noisy hallways and using bathrooms covered in graffiti -- and being amazed at what these kids have lived through. Hauser doesn't just sc
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Jan 07, 2012
Karen
rated it:
As a high school ESL teacher, none of the information in Hauser's book was new. That being said, I identified with so many of the stories and felt the author did a great job of really fleshing out what high school is like for so many students. The teachers have great passion but get frustrated, worry about the future, and sometimes don't always get it right - a realistic description that I appreciated. The students themselves are multifaceted characters, having been through struggles yet also ob
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Oct 03, 2011
Danielle
rated it:
The author of this book followed a number of students and teachers through a year at International High School in Brooklyn. International is a unique school in that all the students enrolled there are recent emigrants with limited to no English language skills. I went into it expecting to read something slightly different. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the cover on it being used to promote purchase of the book indicated that it was along the same lines as the book "There
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Nov 02, 2011
Charlotte
rated it:
This book follows the progress and shares the histiories of immigrant students at the International High School at Prospect Heights in Brooklyn in a highly readable book. I could only admire these teens, new to the USA and to the English language, and their dedicated teachers and school administrators. While their stories are often difficult, the author finds the humor in the struggles and posturing that is common to teens while sharing the challenges and hardships that they face. Overall, a
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Oct 08, 2011
Danie
rated it:
Approp for YA and adults alike. Follows five kids through a year at the International High School in Brooklyn. These children's stories are amazing. They have already lived whole lives as farmers, street sellers in Tibet, Mexico, Sierra Leone, and China before they came to the US. Some came smuggled in suitcases, some walked across deserts and all have an engaging story to tell.
Excellent book discussion choice.
Excellent book discussion choice.
Jan 09, 2012
teragram
rated it:
It did not take me long to finish this book. Hauser draws you in by letting you get to know each character, as she surely got to know them when she spent time in this New York school. I felt reminded of both the history and future of our country, as Hauser illumninated both the melting pot where we live, and the challenges, gifts and triumphs of those who travel from afar to be here. Anyone who appreciates history, biography, or a great story would enjoy this book.
Oct 24, 2011
Thorn
rated it:
Counting this for the Adoption Reading Challenge because there's a subplot about whether a teacher will file for custody of one of her students, who has living family in another poor country but is alone in the US. The section on how he got to the US and how to apply The Prodigal Son story to manipulative teenagers in some contexts was very moving to me.
Jan 19, 2012
Michelle
rated it:
I really liked this one. There IS some language in it, from the kids. But this well-done nonfiction tracking several immigrant teens in a school in New York City is marvelously engaging, and heartbreaking. I cried like a baby at the graduation scene. These were some amazing kids, and some pretty terrific teachers.
Oct 31, 2011
I was really interested in reading this book to see how children who move to America from other countries view their current lives. However, this book is from the viewpoint of an outside observer describing some of the people and things that happen throughout the day. I was kind of sad to find that out because I think no matter how much you can observe someone you can't really know their viewpoints and whether they think you are helping them unless you ask.
Sep 14, 2011
Scott
rated it:
I haven't read this yet, but I'm a huge fan of Hauser's work. This is gong to be an important work for anyone who wants to understand how the ideal of being a nation of immigrants first gets tested in American education system.
Jan 17, 2012
Mirele
rated it:
Fascinating journalistic style book about the International High School in Brooklyn and the students who attend it. Grades 11 and up, guys and girls.
Nov 12, 2011
Jen
rated it:
This book was amazing and I am always inspired by hearing the stories of students who want nothing more than to learn, who overcome such hardships to graduate. There was a lot in this book that made me tear up. Sometimes as a teacher it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, this book definitely brought it back for me.
Feb 19, 2012
Heather
rated it:
The best part about this book is that the focus is really on the kids and their incredible stories of how they arrived in America and how they are balancing school, work, family in a totally foreign culture. One of the stories, about a boy from Sierra Leone, really captured my attention and made me think about what people will do just for the chance to stay in America. The book doesn't sugarcoat things and the stories don't all end well but some do and there's a hopeful tone to it. As an ESL tea
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Jan 08, 2012
Karen
rated it:
A must-read for teachers, librarians, or other people who work with immigrant youth.
Dec 19, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
one of the best books i've read in a long time. a great chronicle of the modern day NYC teenage immigrant experience
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