I think that the book Spare Parts was an excellent book for the NIACC Composition 1 common read. Living in northern Iowa, we are very closed off to the rest of the world and what others might be facing. The immigration problem doesn’t phase us because we don’t hear of it that often in Iowa, so it was interesting to learn about it through a book. Teens my age don’t usually read books besides the popular fiction genre so it was insightful to see problems that other people are facing. Spare parts has an interesting plot, a unique theme, and a wide range of vocabulary which are all reasons why this book is a good choice for the common read. When I think of illegal immigrants, I think of middle-aged people crossing over a big fence to enter the drug cartel in the United States. This picture is wrong. When thinking of this, I am picturing one person with one story, when really there are hundreds of thousands of different stories. Like the boys in the book, there are tons of kids who cross over with their parents and they don’t even remember the event when they get older. Similar to Lorenzo, Oscar, Luis, and Christian, many children have been in America for as long as they can remember and it is home to them. I’ve learned from this book that most of the illegal immigrants don’t …show more content…
Friendship and overcoming obstacles are two that stood out to me, but I think the most important theme is that illegal immigrants are people too. Several times in the book, Joshua Davis talked about people downgrading the four boys and their families Americans treating them harshly. I think the book was trying to show us that there are more stories of illegal immigrants and that they are people too. I recommend the books: The Language of Flowers, The Glass Castle, and All the Light We Cannot See. All of these books are different from those that most teens read, and they all have great storylines and plots that young readers can take away
Since the late 1800s and, especially since the US signed the NAFTA and GATT, whose purpose is to reduce trade tariffs and therefore simplify the trade between U.S. and other countries, the contracted migration from Mexico to the US increased and converted slowly into undocumented migration born from necessity. Concluding, the topic of undocumented migration to the US splits the opinions and concerns large numbers of authors. Reyna Grande and Luis Alberto Urrea, both authors with a migrant background, discuss the subject of unauthorized immigration in their works. Grande 's Across a Hundred Mountains tells the stories of Juana Garcia, a twelve-year-old girl, who is searching for her father and Adelina Vasquez, a young prostitute, who returns to her family after running away with a man. Juana and her family lose her younger sister and daughter due to a terrible accident, therefore Juana 's father Miguel finds himself forced to borrow money from the richest man in the village.
The novel begins when forty orphans are put on an orphan train and sent to Clifton-Morenci, two mining towns on the United States’ side of the Arizonan-Mexican border. The children had adoptive
While reading the second part of New Kids Yasmeen and Mohamod stories really resonated with me both for similar reasons. Yasmeen came to American with a complete family, her parents and siblings. Through the course of just one year her entire world has flipped upside-down. She lost both parents at different time and had to take on the role as caretaker for her younger siblings. She did this while also having to attend school.
Both Enrique's Journey and Of Mice and Men build their stories around the common theme of the difficulties of migrants away from home. In Enrique's Journey, Sonia Nazario follows the journey of a young boy named Enrique as he attempts to reunite with his mother. Through Enrique's journey, Nazario portrays the harsh realities and dangers that migrants face, including human trafficking, gangs, and corrupt officials. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck tells the story of two migrant workers, Lennie and George, as they travel from place to place seeking work during the Great Depression. The novel also depicts the harsh conditions and struggles that migrants faced during this time, including poverty, discrimination, and loneliness.
“There is strength in numbers” said by Mark Shields, an American politician, is one of my favorite quotes of all time and has a strong connection to the novel. We see many different connections and how important they are in very difficult circumstances. Infinite Country by Patricia Engel goes over different points of view of a family trying to reunite after being separated by immigration from Colombia to the United States after 14 years. Talia is one of the main characters as we see her travel all through Colombia to reach the airport in Bogotá and fly over to the United States to be with her mother and other siblings. We also see Elena and Mauro, Talia’s parents, similarly have to survive in the United States undocumented.
The book, The Book of Isaias: A Child of Hispanic Immigrants Seeks His Own America, by Daniel Connolly, tells a powerful story about Isaias Ramos, who is the son of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Daniel Connolly spent five years reporting and writing about Isaias Ramos and his friends. Isaias is a bright 18-year-old high school senior who enjoys playing in a punk rock group called Los Psychosis and dreams of attending college and majoring in audio recording. He struggles with the decision to apply to Ivy leagues or work with his parents as a painter. His counselor recognizes his potential to go to postsecondary school, as he is ranked sixth in his class and scored a 29 on the ACT.
The Washington Times’ praised the book a lot. Claire Hopley is the reviewer and she applauses the book for being realistic. She says that “At the end of ‘The book of Unknown Americans’ this issue is unresolved….She is at her strongest in this depiction of the quotidian… Through this impinges on the suspension of disbelief, the interest and appeal of the novel.”
During 1942-1964 many Mexican immigrants were “given” the “opportunity” to enter the United States in order to labor and help the United States economic industry. For many immigrants the bordering country was seen as an exceptional place that offered great opportunities but at the same time many family difficulties. The Bracero Program during the 20th century for many Mexicans was seen as an exceptional deal that offered immigrants and infinite amount of opportunities to succeed; however, in Ejemplar y sin igual we realize that the Bracero Program in reality was not the “exceptional program” everyone thought. In Ejemplar y sin igual, Elizabeth Rosas mentions that “an entire generation of children experienced uniquely difficult childhoods because
In the beginning of the book, it’s about the government debate whether is a proper idea to keep the illegal immigrant since they are using the welfare from US government. After the debate, illegal immigrants was prohibited in US and they cannot receive any welfare due to their identity. To continued, Oscar and Cristian are looking to attend to university or college after they graduated from high school, but they cannot afford for the tuition since is too expensive. Luis decided to work, so he has two jobs which are filing paper at a Social Security office and work as a chef in restaurant. In April 2005, Joshua Davis writes an article about Fredi’s team in Wired that inspired a lot of people to donate money for these four teenagers to continue
One of the most ironic quotes of the book is when Delaney states, “I have a handful of raisins and a blanket: what more could I want? All the world knows I am content.” Illegal immigrants, America and Candido, are living day by day with a blanket
For example in “Barrio Boy” he was determined to become an American citizen and and in Apollo 13 three astronauts were determined to survive. “Barrio Boy” by Ernesto Galarza is about a young boy who immigrated from Mexico to America. The boy must face challenges to fit in and become an American citizen. Knowing not even the english language, Ernesto
The settings of a family which has a negative effect on family and boys. Mainly what the characters are inclined to do against each other, the dysfunctional family life and the one parent family. The story has increased my knowledge about gangs and the impact on boys, that positivity of one person is better than the adversity of a gang. The author Scott Monk message to boys is being in a gang, especially a criminal gang is a futile, it is informative in regards that boys can do positive things in their life, that the need to turn their back on gangs and violence.
Over the summer I read about a person who was a really good track star and served in World War II. Written by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken is a non-fiction World War II story about a young man named Louis Zamperini. The story takes place in the pacific islands and Japan during World War II Louis grew up as a restless and naughty boy, but then became a good and famous track star before getting drafted into the second world war. Louis faces the challenge of surviving on his own and enduring cruelty against Japanese leaders as a prisoner of war. One day in 1943, an Army Air Force Bomber crashes into the Pacific Ocean, leaving Louis and some of his crew trapped in the Pacific.
Have you ever wondered what all immigrants have in common? In the Bean Trees by Barbra Kingsolver it tells about some immigrants from Guatemala. The immigrant experience is classified by not giving up, escaping a past worse life, and making sacrifices. In the bean trees it follows Esparanza, and Estevan two immigrants from Guatemala.
It is based on a true story, and it gives the readers a clear idea of what life was like for indigeneous Australians, in the time of the stolen generation. It also gives kids an appreciation for their own family and freedom. I strongly recommend this book for teachers to share with their students as it is educational, moving, and heart warming, and hopefully this will encourage the next generation to treat people equaly no matter where they are from or what they look