Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth

by Santiago Casares (Contributor)

During a time of heated immigration debate and unrest, this book is an opportunity to hear directly from youth who are often in the headlines but whose stories don't get told in full. Sixteen young people from the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) in Washington, D.C. came together to tell their own stories of immigration and transformation in comics form. The result is this side-by-side bilingual collection of graphic memoirs that not only builds connections across language, but also breaks down barriers and expands hope.

The authors of this collection are members of the Latino Youth Leadership Council of the Latin American Youth Center in Washington, DC. This group of teen immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean are dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and social justice in their community. The book was produced through a collaboration with Shout Mouse Press, a nonprofit writing program and publishing house for unheard voices. Learn more at shoutmousepress.org

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En tiempos de inquietud y acalorados debates sobre la inmigraci�n, este libro representa una oportunidad para escuchar directamente a los j�venes quienes suelen ocupar los titulares en la prensa, pero cuyas historias no se alcanzan a narrar por completo. Diecis�is j�venes del Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) en Washington, D.C. se unieron para contar sus propias historias de inmigraci�n y de transformaci�n en formato de c�mic. El resultado es esta colecci�n de memorias gr�ficas biling�e, que no s�lo construye conexiones entre los idiomas, sino que tambi�n elimina barreras y abre un espacio a la esperanza.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Latinx, Memoir, Cultural, Family, School

316 pages, ebook

First published May 10, 2018

Reviews

[Cilicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a lot being said about immigrant children. This book actually lets the children speak for themselves. An important read.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book which touched me deeply. I hope this book is available in classrooms everywhere. The young authors tell important stories of courage and resilience.

[Kate Mester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important collection of graphics and personal essays written by 16 Latinx immigrant teens now living in DC. Appreciated their hopefulness and vulnerability in writing and sharing their stories. Ordered a small set of these and can't wait to share them with ELA classes and see student responses!

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda gets caught between being a comic and a narrative with illustrations, but the stories included here are well worth reading. I'm glad to see more works like this existing in the world.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

‪“Hearing them share their suffering and their dreams and their willingness to endure whatever it takes in order to survive, challenges my own privilege, and even encourages me to struggle through my own hardships.” -Juan Pacheco‬

[Kimberly Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections from Latin American youth who have immigrated to the US. Their simple stories in graphic format are touching and reveal the truth behind the immigration rhetoric. Sad but hopeful.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this collection of stories from the LAYC. Thank you to the incredible students that shared their stories. You are an inspiration to so many!

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good book because it talks about the journeys young people make from all over Latin America to make it to the USA

[Mary Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving collection of stories written by youth. I would add this to all middle & high school classrooms and libraries. What a great mentor text for memoir.

[Zhelana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a Spanish and English collection of 16 comics and essays written by Latino teenagers who have moved to the US without documentation. It was very interesting to read about their lives and what they want from their lives. A lot of them talk about their parents going to the US without them and growing up with a grandparent until the grandparent dies and the parents have to bring them to the US. All of them have a little blurb after their story where they say "This person is in the xxth grade and wants to go to university and study yy" And like, I don't think any of that can happen for them. Can you go to a university without a visa? Can you get a green card if you go to university? It's a little depressing that all of these kids have so much hope for their future and it's all about to be dashed to little bits. But to go much further into this thought would be to start a political shouting match on my facebook page, and I don't want to do that. So basically, I liked most of these stories, even though they were in comic form which I'm usually not such a fan of. And I hope these kids get to make something of their lives other than just writing a book when they are teens.

[South Brunswick High School Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sixteen members of the Latin American Youth Center’s Latino Youth Leadership Council in Washington, D.C. created autobiographical comics to share their immigration stories. Each narrative shows the complexity of immigrant experience. The stories depict family separation, difficult choices and living conditions, travel and border crossings, along with the challenges and depression that some teens face once in America. This book offers a great introduction for teachers looking to do a similar prompt to use with their own students. Each comic is followed by an explanation from the teen artist that provides additional context.

[Sarah Esh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest and powerful in the simple expressions of truth and experience, Voces Sin Fronteras is a vital read in this time where lies and misconceptions of immigrants spread unchallenged.

This was a summer reading book for students and the book that I am teaching now. Each story is unique, but all the authors share the same hope: to graduate and establish careers in America, to help others who have gone through the same experiences. These are exactly the people America needs as a part of its citizenry, and these stories are what we need to question the single story that is repeated by so many in power.

Run and read this book, and share with others!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this while on a delegation to Nicaragua to see agroecology in practice in the countryside and take a look at state-provided health services as supplemented by a mobile clinic run by campesina women. Notably, there are no Nicaraguan immigrants included in this book, maybe because they are few or none.
I like the side-by-side English Spanish presentation and the graphic novel format combined with immigration narratives by each of the young contributors (from El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras).

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the concept, but did not connect with the comics. I wish the art felt more alive, fresh, and expressive. I am surprised how much this matters. The stories, of course feel very important. I love that each person found a focus. And I am struck with how reuniting with parents is such a constant. I am grateful to this book for its honesty about this and so much more. I want to keep hearing such stories, and keep being aware of the diversity of experience of migrating.

[Tonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of short stories told by students who have immigrated in a comic format by the students. Each story is followed by a note from the author/artist. While this is suitable for middle school and high school students - it should be noted that there are a few mentions or inferences to suicide, pills, cutting. This should be read by all in educational realms. Might be a great resource to pull some of the stories as needed.

Book is provided as a bilingual text.

[Gabbie Brandt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more. The concept is great and the stories had the potential to be compelling, but each was too short to really get me to connect. And the comics were a little all over the place so I had trouble connecting to them as well.

[Rebecca Plaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of narratives that are presented in comics followed by an explanation from the storytellers as to why they chose that aspect of their life to tell/illustrate. A unique book. I'm glad it was put out there for readers

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as an option for my multilingual learners to use as a source for our American Dream unit. The stories are quick and relatable. This will be a good stepping stone towards other graphic novels and memoirs.

[Carmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh at best. A collection of HS students using comics to express themselves. A fantastic idea, but the execution is suboptimal.

Would be a good mentor book for a class on graphic books.

[Eric Carzon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great job by Latin American Youth Center teen writers in Washington, DC. They tell their stories succinctly and with passion.

[Y.Poston]

a good compilation of real
stories that are happening
right now!

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would be a great text to teach with in a bilingual/dual language setting! Even for ESOL!

[Miroku Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for teachers in many ways, but partially because the examples are models students can use for constructing their own narratives.

[R C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Powerful concept and a valuable read; however, quality and appeal ended being pretty low for me. I'd recommend reading it, but know it's essentially amateur illustrations and student essays.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dual language book I bought for my students. I read it in Spanish and was reminded how much I like dual language for language learning.

[Hernan Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a prettily good book.Its about people from the different country of south america,central america and mexico immigrating to USA.Sharing their stories.

[Reba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an important book for so many reasons. I didn’t always love the comics, but I struggle with graphic novel formats, and the stories and narratives are so powerful.

[Julie Mariage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful way to learn about the real stories behind the stereotypes and judgment people often jump to. Very moving.

[Treyton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many similar stories from each of the students, which made for an exhausting read by about halfway through. I appreciate the project though.

[Stiven Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was good