YA list: Children of Immigrants

A friend of mine recently asked me to recommend books about immigrants or children of immigrants. I scoured my goodreads shelf (my memory betrays me and I rely on the internet) for a while before I came up with a few of my favorites, so I thought I’d share the fruits of my labor here as well:

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Fresh Off the Boat by Melissa de la Cruz

Dear Peaches,
America is PERFECT! I love it here. I wish you could come visit — we could go shopping on Market Street and you could meet all my new friends. . . .

Okay, so Vicenza isn’t being totally honest with Peaches, her best friend back in Manila. But what fun is it being the new girl at snooty Grosvernor High? Or rooting through the Salvation Army for unholey cashmere sweaters? Or having culture-shocked, embarrassingly clueless parents? Maybe being Claude Caligari’s ignored geometry partner is sort of fun, but Vicenza would rather be his girlfriend . . . or at least his date to the annual fancy-schmancy Soiree d’Hiver. But Vicenza won’t be friendless, fashionless, or “fresh off the boat” for long — it’s only a matter of time before she sees what’s right before her eyes and her luck begins to change. [Image and summary via Goodreads]

332807Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen

Getting her fortune told by a Taiwanese ‘belly-button grandmother’ (who feels up her navel) instead of attending the spring dance is just one of the joys of being Patty Ho, a covertly snarky ‘hapa’ (half Asian, half white) struggling with her dual heritage. Patty’s domineering mother is determined to make her a good Taiwanese girl. Gangly Patty, no ‘China doll,’ longs to be white like her long-gone father…readers will find a compelling narrative, and a spunky, sympathetic heroine. [Image and summary via Goodreads]

 

 

1032210Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

Dimple doesn’t know what to think. Her parents are from India, and she’s spent years rebelling against their customs. Now everything from India is suddenly hip — even her best friend Gwyn has a bindi dot as an accesory. To make matters worse, Dimple’s parents are trying to set her up with a “suitable boy.” Their first meeting is a disaster — the boy is way too soft-spoken.. But then she bumps into the boy again at a club — where he’s the DJ. Suddenly the suitable boy is actually suitable — because of his sheer unsuitability. [Image and summary via Goodreads]

 

One Reply to “YA list: Children of Immigrants”

  1. This one is older, but still good: The Romantic Obsessions & Romantic Humiliations of Annie Sehlmeier by Louise Plummer

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