by Holly Johnson, The University of Cincinnati
My new home is in a new country.
I know very little of the language and culture.
Memories of my old country will be in my heart forever
The love of my old country will always remain.
I leave for a better life and new opportunities
Hoping to make a bright future for me and my family.
–Arty Rico Jones
Moving from one country to another, and knowing it will become “home” can evoke any number of emotions. This week, I present narratives about young people who have immigrated either legally or, in some cases, illegally and must now keep that status secret. Other narratives are historic in nature, while some are current day. Any and all would make wonderful independent reading, or pieces of a text set on any number of topics, including the obvious theme of immigration.
The books, Ask Me No Questions (Budhos, 2007) and The Secret Side of Empty (Andreu, 2014) address the question of illegal status in families that have been successful in the United States. What happens when the family secret is out? How do young people negotiate the duality of being from one place, but home is where they reside illegally now? 
What psychological damage is done when those around them think they do not belong anymore because of their documentation? Who, if anyone, is to blame in such situations and how do those who “legally” reside in a place decide what plan of action to take? Both of these books will have readers thinking about borders, belonging, and breaking the law.
Another set of books that had me thinking was the Rachel Trilogy (Sanders), which consist of Rachel’s Secret (2012), Rachel’s Promise (2014) and Rachel’s Hope (2014). An historical series about a young woman who leaves the Russia after her father is killed in the pogroms, these books take readers from Russia to Shanghai to California as Rachel and her siblings strive to find freedom in the United States. The connection to Shanghai was new to me, and I really enjoyed the thoughtful way Sanders (the author) presented both Rachel’s and her boyfriend’s paths to freedom and justice. Rachel immigrates to the USA while Sergie attempts to remain in Russia and make change.
The Turtle of Oman (Nye, 2014) is a wonderful story about young Aref, who is moving to Michigan with his parents who are pursuing graduate degrees. Filled with the sentiments often felt by young people as they leave one home for another—even for a short while—this narrative gives readers a sense of how much those who immigrate to another country still love their homeland. 
Another wonderful book that readers would enjoy is West of the Moon (Preus, 2014) a 19th century immigration story interwoven with a traditional Scandinavian folktale. Young Astri and her sister Greta are orphaned and then sent away from their aunt’s house in Norway. Astri is sent to the home of a cruel goatherd, but escapes to find her sister so they can immigrate to America together.
A new book addressing immigration is Little Bastards in Springtime (Rudolph, 2015). Rudolph’s first book is a stark look at Jevrem, who immigrates to Canada with some of his family members after his older brother and father join the war in Sarajevo. The novel is a bleak look Jevrem’s journey from alienation as a young child to incarceration as a 
teen to escape in order to start a new life away from the negativity that placed him in the reform facility. This text would be interesting to juxtapose against Home of the Brave (Applegate, 2008) and Shooting Kabul (Senzai, 2010), two other narratives about boys leaving dire circumstances in their homelands to find new ways to live in North America.
The Good Braider (Farish, 2012) gives readers a story out of the Sudan that broadens many of the stories about the Lost Boys. Viola must get used to a place that allows girls to wear short skirts, date boys, and eventually question her traditional values. An award-winning story, this narrative would be a nice companion to 
The Braid (Frost, 2006), a piece of historical fiction about the Highland Clearances and a family immigrating to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Additionally, there are some great novels about crossing the southern borders of the United States. La Linéa (Jaramillo, 2008),
Crossing the Wire (Hobbs, 2007), and the older book Grab Hands and Run (Temple, 1995) give readers food for thought about the political dialogue addressing the US-Mexico border.
There are so many wonderful books about immigration that cross geographical, political, and historical 
borders! Some have been around for years, while others have been published just this year. Immigration is a topic with which readers from across the world continue to wrestle as nations attempt to address both the human and political impact immigration has on many nations. 
Books such as Temple’s (1997) Tonight, by Sea, A Step from Heaven (Na, 2003), Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You (Jansen, 2002), and A Faraway Island (Thor, 2011) all have valuable lessons for readers who want to understand the process of leaving one home to establish a new one.
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