Big Books of 2026

Listopia > Refugee Book Lists

The Joy Luck Club by Amy TanInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriUnaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa LahiriThe Namesake by Jhumpa LahiriCutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Immigrant Voices (fiction)
371 books — 242 voters
The Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy LefteriI Am Malala by Malala YousafzaiPachinko by Min Jin Lee
52 Book Club 2023: #41 A Character Who Is A Refugee
229 books — 101 voters

The Nameless Dead by Leta SerafimThe Damned Balkans by John FarebrotherThe Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine WamariyaTell Me How It Ends by Valeria LuiselliThe Far Away Brothers by Lauren Markham
Refugee/Immigrant/Asylee Non Fiction
152 books — 78 voters
The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. MilneSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls WilderThe Cider House Rules by John IrvingBleak House by Charles Dickens
Our house in the middle of our street
344 books — 58 voters

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn WilliamsInside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà LạiMy Name Is Sangoel by Karen Lynn WilliamsHow I Learned Geography by Uri ShulevitzStepping Stones / حَصى الطُرُقات by Margriet Ruurs
Children's Books About Refugees
226 books — 52 voters
The Daughter of Kurdland by Widad AkreyiCity of Thorns by Ben RawlenceThe Damned Balkans by John FarebrotherTell It to the World by Eliott BeharThe Story Keeper by Fred Feldman
Refugee Reading
63 books — 46 voters

The Nameless Dead by Leta Serafim30 Years Behind Bars by Karen GedneyThe Damned Balkans by John FarebrotherLuck Follows the Brave by Aida ŠibićAmericanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Inspirational Stories of Refugees & Outsiders
41 books — 45 voters
Persepolis by Marjane SatrapiPink and Say by Patricia PolaccoThe Librarian of Basra by Jeanette WinterHow I Learned Geography by Uri ShulevitzThe Yellow Star by Carmen Agra Deedy
Picture Books About Times of War
225 books — 44 voters

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà LạiTangled Threads by Pegi Deitz SheaMist Bound by Daryl KhoListen, Slowly by Thanhhà LạiThe Stone Goddess by Minfong Ho
Southeast Asians in YA & Middle Grade Fiction
91 books — 32 voters
Heat of Paris by Peter BreyerThe Persians by Sanam MahloudjiWhat Lies Between Us by Nayomi MunaweeraLost My Mind Here Someplace by Arune SavageA Step from Heaven by An Na
Immigrants, Refugees, Asylees and Other Displacement
120 books — 32 voters

The Syrian Virgin by Zack LoveAnissa's Redemption by Zack LoveTrade Me by Courtney MilanThe Damned Balkans by John FarebrotherMetropolis by Elizabeth Gaffney
Romance Novels Capturing the Immigrant Experince
59 books — 21 voters
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourtThis Childhood of Mine by Laura Meer BarkleyThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsLuck Follows the Brave by Aida ŠibićGrowing Up Poor by Anna Davin
Poverty - Non-Fiction
198 books — 21 voters

Sophie’s Choice by William StyronThe Last Secret of The Soul by Stephen P. SmithMy Bridges of Hope by Livia Bitton-JacksonThe Aftermath by Rhidian BrookThe Story Keeper by Fred Feldman
Post-Holocaust
34 books — 19 voters
The Arrival by Shaun TanMartyr! by Kaveh AkbarExit West by Mohsin HamidMiddlesex by Jeffrey EugenidesAmericanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Book Riot 2025 #5 - Immigration / Refugees
38 books — 17 voters

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp SendkerAlexander's Infinity by Lidija StankovikjThe Piano Tuner by Daniel MasonSaving Fish from Drowning by Amy TanThe Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover
Fictitious Burma
32 books — 16 voters
Curious George by H.A. ReyA Long Way Gone by Ishmael BeahLolita by Vladimir NabokovThe Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah ArendtIn the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
Books by Refugees in America
48 books — 15 voters

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick NessAll the Bright Places by Jennifer NivenAs Beautiful as It Seems by Diana HawkThirteen Reasons Why by Jay AsherThe Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
RRRR - Respectful Relationships Lit
71 books — 12 voters
Delly Duck by Holly MarlowThe Scar by Charlotte MoundlicA Terrible Thing Happened by Margaret M. HolmesPearl's Marigolds For Grandpa by Jane Breskin ZalbenThe Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Bibliotherapy for Child Trauma
170 books — 12 voters

Luck Follows the Brave by Aida ŠibićBreaking Free by Abby SherNo Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz BoochaniThe Happiest Refugee by Anh DoGirl Underground by Morris Gleitzman
Refugee Week
70 books — 11 voters
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueRabbit-Proof Fence by Doris PilkingtonValentine Joe by Rebecca StevensSalt to the Sea by Ruta SepetysBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
All wired up
33 books — 8 voters

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue ParkHome of the Brave by Katherine ApplegateWar Child by Emmanuel JalLost Boy, Lost Girl by John Bul DauLost Boy No More by Abraham Nhial
PATHS Sudan
20 books — 6 voters
Spy... for Nobody! by Basel Saneebجاسوس من أجل لا أحد by Basel SaneebSpy... for Nobody! Sixteen Years in the Syrian Intelligence by Basel Saneebجاسوس من أجل لا أحد by Basel SaneebSpy for nobody by Basel Saneeb
Voices of Syrian Refugees
11 books — 6 voters

Being Authentic by Morhaf Al AchkarThose We Throw Away Are Diamonds by Mondiant DogonThe Carousel Carver by Perdita BuchanOpen Turns by Hendrika de VriesGreat Joys, Great Sorrows by Michael Meguid
Best Immigrant Books and Memoirs
21 books — 6 voters
Children of the River by Linda CrewHomesick by Jean FritzListening for Lions by Gloria WhelanRed Sand Blue Sky by Cathy ApplegateIn the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Third Culture Kids and Multicultural Families (MG and YA appropriate)
86 books — 2 voters

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà LạiGive Me Shelter by Tony BradmanLast Airlift by Marsha Forchuk SkrypuchVietnamese Americans by John F. GrabowskiSophomore Undercover by Ben Esch
PATHS Vietnam
6 books — 1 voter

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