*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Rating: 5 out of 5

We Are Here to Stay tells the story of young, undocumented people in America, and it is both heartwrenching and uplifiting. These young people have such bright dreams and are working so hard to achieve success in their lives; I am inspired by them and am so glad to have been able to read their stories.

I love that this collection includes people from all kinds of different situations. We hear about the Mexican immigrants, which is the prevailing stereotype of what an undocumented person's experience is, but we also hear about someone who was tricked into coming here for human trafficking, and someone from Korea whose parent abandoned them after their visa expired. From this collection, you get a comprehensive picture of the sorts of varying situations undocumented people are in, and it is eye-opening.

This collection was at once sad and incredibly inspiring. I am in awe of these young people and also am grateful to know that there are other Americans who are trying to help these people and make sure they achieve success in their lives, but it is horrifying that they have to go through so much devastation and hardship.

I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the topic of immigration and for those who want to know from firsthand sources what it means to be an undocumented person in America. It's hard for me to say that I "enjoyed" this book because so much of this was heartbreaking, but I think it's an important collection about a topic that everyone in American should know more about.

<i>We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults</i> by Susa Kuklin is heartbreaking. But it is also filled with so much hope. Detailing the accounts of several young immigrants’ lives, <i>We Are Here to Stay</i> is a collection of written experiences that does an amazing job of building a great deal of empathy with its readers. The experiences described are raw and painful, but they are also deeply inspiring. Each person has persevered through a great deal in a world that has set up numerous obstacles for them from the very start.

It truly tears me apart to know how immigrants have been treated by so many in the United States and more than once I found myself feeling horrible at all the things these young adults have been forced to deal with as a result. They are people, too. People with dreams and hopes. People who genuinely care about the world around them and the others in it. Knowing that many in this country work constantly to make the lives of these wonderful people more difficult kills me.

There is no question in my mind that this book is one that needs to be read, especially in the present circumstances. The administration currently in power is inhumane and despicable, so frankly the rest of the world really needs to develop some empathy. I think this book is a brilliant way to foster that empathy. <i>We Are Here to Stay</i> does so much in showing who immigrants truly are and how much they have been through, how hard they have to work to be accepted.

It shouldn’t be like that. They shouldn’t have been forced to deal with the horrors that they have. I hope that changes one day. For now, understand that these stories are important and no one should be treated the way this country continuously treats them. We can do better. We should do better.

This book is so hard to review. I was totally gripped by the stories of the young people in the book, and I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone. There are just no words to describe how important this book is.

how do you rate this book? how do you rate someones personal, vulnerable story? This was important. That's all I have to say.

I don't know what the answer is to... well, everything related to immigration but I know that the system in place is broken. The lengths and dangers that people from other nations have to go through to be able to come into this country is a good example of that broken system. 

In an effort not to become overly politically charged while reviewing a book, I will say this, I appreciate the voice to the Dreamers and other undocumented people this title provides. Someone once told me that You cannot hate someone once you've heard their story and gotten to know them. They are just people. 

These people, the ones this book expresses, are just people like you and me. I appreciate the re-humanization that this title brings. Though it is sad that is something that needs to happen at all.

Kuklin’s book brings readers first hand accounts of young immigrants - many of which were/are undocumented - and their various reasons for coming to the United States. By allowing these individuals to tell their stories in their own voice, the stories they tell are much more personal, much more heartbreaking and imbued with a sense of urgency - especially given current rhetoric and debate regarding immigration. 

Each of these stories features young children who choose to leave behind their homes in favor of securing a better future for themselves, one in which they are safe and are granted the same opportunities those of us born in the U.S. are. There is nothing malicious about their intent, and yet we as a nation do not possess enough empathy to make their transition and the granting of these opportunities easier for them, something I hope that the publication and reading of this book and future stories such as this can help to change. At the end of the day we are all human beings, and nothing as arbitrary as geographic location should hinder any group of people’s ability to pursue and build a life in which they are free to be happy and un-oppressed.

We are here to Stay, by Susan Kuklin is a great compilation of true stories of immigrants that came to the U. S. as children.   In this wonderful book you get to read the first hand accounts of why children make the dangerous journey to the United States.  Due to the negative, racially charge rhetoric of the U. S. President many people think that being illegal in this country is the same as being a rapist, gang member, or drug trafficking criminal..  In reality many illegal immigrants came to this country with the hopes of being able to have a better education, like in the case of P.  Or because they are trying to scape violence like the case of Y.   Thanks to the DACA program many teenagers are now getting the opportunity of continuing their education.  This book clears many misconceptions not only about kids reasons about emigrating to the United States, but it also help explained the role of DACA in this kids lives.