The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom
Written by Helen Thorpe
Published by Scribner Book Company
The Newcomers follows the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the course of the 2015-2016 school year as they land at South High School in Denver, Colorado. These newcomers, from fourteen to nineteen years old, come from nations convulsed by drought or famine or war. Many come directly from refugee camps, after experiencing dire forms of cataclysm. Some arrive alone, having left or lost every other member of their original family. At the center of their story is Mr. Williams, their dedicated and endlessly resourceful teacher of English Language Acquisition. If Mr. Williams does his job right, the newcomers will leave his class at the end of the school year with basic English skills and new confidence, their foundation for becoming Americans and finding a place in their new home.
Primary ISBN: 9781501159091
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
Educators, Age 15 or older
Community Represented: Various
Themes: Education & Literacy, Family Relationship: Parents, Family Separation: Living with Other Family or Friends, Family Separation: On Journey, Multilingual Character, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Refugee Camp, Refugee: Environmental Crisis, Refugee: War/Conflict, Trauma & Healing: Death of Family or Friend
Setting: United States (Denver CO)
Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Refugee, Immigrant
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