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Refugee High

Coming of Age in America
4.18 goodreads logo

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( 627 ratings, 121 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Refugee High follows a year at Chicago's Roger C. Sullivan High School, one of the nation's schools with the highest proportions of refugee students. During the 2017-18 school year, nearly half the student body were immigrants from over thirty-five countries, many newly arrived refugees facing the challenges of adapting to American life. Author Elly Fishman presents a powerful and moving nonfiction narrative set against a backdrop of rising anti-immigrant rhetoric, spotlighting the struggles and resilience of students and educators navigating a complex public education system.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This compelling work is ideal for readers interested in contemporary immigration issues, education, and social justice, as well as those drawn to real-life stories that illuminate the human impact of political and cultural shifts in the United States.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A year in the life of a Chicago high school with one of the nation's highest proportions of refugees, told with "strong novel-like pacing" (Milwaukee Magazine)

"A stunning and heart-wrenching work of nonfiction." -Chicago Reader

Winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize
Finalist, Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award

For a century, Chicago's Roger C. Sullivan High School has been a home to immigrant and refugee students. In 2017, during the worst global refugee crisis in history, its immigrant population numbered close to three hundredβ€”nearly half the schoolβ€”and many were refugees new to the country. These young people came from thirty-five different countries, speaking more than thirty-eight different languages.

In Refugee High, award-winning author Elly Fishman offers a riveting chronicle of the 2017-18 school year at Sullivan High, a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric was at its height in the White House. Even as we follow teachers and administrators grappling with the everyday challenges facing many urban schools, we witness the complicated circumstances and unique needs of refugee and immigrant children. Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure, Refugee High raises vital questions about the priorities and values of a public school and offers an eye-opening and captivating window into the present-day American immigration and education systems.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Martha Anne Toll in The Washington Post praises the book as a vital message against xenophobia, portraying refugee students as creative and resilient, and lauding public education's role as both a refuge and launching pad. The National Book Review calls it "a feat of immersive reporting," while Milwaukee Magazine highlights Fishman's "strong novel-like pacing" and thought-provoking narrative that lingers after reading.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781620978320

Publisher: The New Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 16 November 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: The New Press

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 139.0mm

Height: 215.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Elly Fishman'swork as a journalist and author chronicles stories of struggle and resilience inside American cities. Her reporting has earned her numerous awards, including several Peter Lisagor awards, city and regional magazine association awards, and the Pattis Family Foundation award. Her first book,Refugee High: Coming of Age in America(The New Press), follows the students and faculty at Chicago's Roger C. Sullivan High School. The book won the prestigious Studs and Ida Terkel Prize for a first book in the public interest. Fishman lives in Milwaukee with her husband and their daughter. She is a Chicago native and graduate of the University of Chicago.

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