Every now and then I enjoy reading non-fiction, particularlt as it pertains to education (secondary or tertiary). Refugee High gives an interesting insight in the lives of a number of students and employees of Google Translate High School in Chicago. Of course, all students are struggling with their own issues (coming of age remains tough), but we also see an added layer of anxiety in trying to build a better life in a new place (which arguably isn't always better than the old one). Anxiety, fear, past trauma and loss are very much at the forefront.

While the topics in this book are very difficult indeed, I enjoyed reading it as it felt more like a collection of short stories than a non-fiction book presenting research. At the same time, the research and the background information and grounding is definitely there.

"Home was a notion scattered over time, and a place long faded."

Refugee High is a somewhat non-fiction story set in an actual high school in Chicago which has a high proportion of immigrants and refugee students. The book highlights 4 of those students and a couple of the teachers and shapes itself around their stories, their backgrounds, and their struggles within this whole system. It's a well-written account of this interesting setting and all these different characters and, for the most part, it's nice to read. It's easy, it's very detailed in a journalistic manner, and it feels real. It also highlights an important topic and gives voice to a type of refugee that I've not really come across much in this type of fiction or non-fiction.

I do feel like there are faaaar too many characters and side-characters and not enough actual focus within the story though. I found myself often confused about who the POV character was, especially since the writer would often flip to side-characters within a main character's POV chapter and I felt like that really blurred the lines and also made it a bit difficult to fully relate and understand any of the characters as, as soon as you began to connect, the story would shift and focus on someone else within their narrative. Since the book also lacks a proper plot structure, it's a bit difficult to keep up with everything as there would be way too long between POV chapters and certain issues that were brought up in one chapter (things you wanted to see resolved) would then be completely forgotten when the book moved forward a month and chose to focus on someone else. All of these kind of made me unable to fully immerse myself in the story and to feel the satisfaction of a plot being resolved as ... everything was kind of left in the air. I understand that this is kind of non-fiction of course but, even in non-fiction, there needs to be a resolution to some major topics (how does one character's court hearing go, for example?)

I also have one kind of bizarre issue with the book and I'll try and see if I can explain it properly but ... basically, I felt like it was too "in the moment", it felt too much like a news report exactly explaining what is happening with its main value being in that it captures the time in which it is happening. Otherwise, the amount of pop culture references and talk of Snapchat and other very much time-specific types of media and lifestyle (books/artists that are famous now), often took me out of the story and, instead of giving it more depth and realism, made me aware of just how dated it's going to be in a couple of years. I'm not sure this counts as valid criticism though because maybe the point of the story was to document life in 2017-2018 but, I don't know, I just felt it was a bit too much at times.

I'm having a bit of trouble deciding how to rate this book because, in my eyes, it's not yet a 4 star book but I also feel 3 stars is doing it a disservice (here's where half-stars come in @goodreads!). It's certainly well-written, well-researched, and it's focused on an important and fascinating topic, I'm just not sure it's utilized the best means of getting its point across. Let's stick with a 4 and say it's a 3.5 rounded up.

Author Elly Fishman spent years a Sullivan High School in Chicago shadowing a select group of students and their families as they adjusted to life in America. All of the young men and women featured were recently moved to American as refugees from war torn countries, some I even had to google, and have come to American with hopes for better lives. What they find isn’t always better or easier and the clash of their cultural values and American values often causes problems in their home lives. Through it all the educators and administrators at their high school they to provide them with what they will need to succeed. There are many successes, but also some heartbreaking loses which I know as a teacher can weight you down and make you feel hopeless. The writing in this book was excellent but it is the young people, whose resilience and hope is undeniable, that are the real stars.

The premise seems exotic: an inner-city high school with a high refugee population; an English as a Learned Language (ELL) program that goes beyond verb tenses and America-focused projects to home visits and a deep devotion to the kids it serves.

But while the idea of a school where 38 languages are spoken, and where students step out of the countries found in last year's magazine headlines (Syria, Burma, Congo, and Guatemala, to name a few) may sound exotic, what Elly Fishman reveals is an all-too-real portrait of America. In many ways, the students and families of <i>Refugee High</i> have traded the war zones and racial acrimony of their origin countries for a place in the United States where safety and comfort are not guaranteed.

Fishman organizes <i>Refugee High</i> around the course of a school year, beginning in September and climaxing with graduation in June. Interspersed among events of the school year--traditions like Thanksgiving, school concerts, graduation--are profiles of several refugee students which look back on the conflicts that expelled them from their countries and brought them to the United States, as well as close looks at Sarah, the ELL program leader, and Chad, the principal of Sullivan High.

The challenges the refugees face are all too American. Gun violence strikes close to one boy, and sends families in his community scrambling (once again) for a safer place to live. A Guatemalan boy balances homework and test dates with court dates to pursue his case for asylum. School officials face the loss of funding and faculty after years of building a program to integrate refugees, when the federal government cuts off the flow of refugees into the country.

There are no LGBT students profiled in the book, but sexual identity is also a theme, as a couple of girls wrestle to free themselves from the constraints of conservative, Muslim cultures and (in one case) flee from an arranged marriage. Teenagers are teenagers. No matter where they come from, they will seek independent identities and wrestle with social expectations (from family as well as friends).

<i>Refugee High</i> is a valuable insight into 21st-century America and American education. It is a portrait of both "the wretched refuse of [the world's conflict-ridden,] teeming shores...the homeless, tempest-tossed" and those teachers struggling against their own government to wrest open "the golden door" to them.

Special thanks to New Press for providing me with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a fair reading and review.

At equal turns a heartbreaking, hopeful, and all around important book. The stories of Sullivan High’s immigrant ELL students, their teachers, families, and communities shine a spotlight on and give a human face to the immigrants many Americans have been brainwashed into hating and being convinced of stealing from them.

This book shows that nothing could be further from the truth.

The sacrifices that were made first just to arrive in the US but then live, assimilating as best as possible day in and day out all while being teenagers? Again, a human face, heart, soul, hopes, and dreams are what should be looked at; not at their paperwork (or lack thereof).

The teachers and administrators also show true heroism day in and day out but refusing to give up on their students.

I was thankful for the epilogue, especially considering what a cluster the past 2 school years have been given the pandemic. Knowing that these students wouldn’t have their school based community and support system was particularly difficult.

Alejandro’s story impacted me the most. I find myself wondering if his court date has been pushed back again, how many times, and when it is now.

Recommended.

I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the students of this high school. I would think that any teacher who works with refugees would benefit from reading it be it from recognition of issues and characters or to learn something new about how to work with these students. I couldn't help thinking that the book would make a marvelous movie, but then I'd return to the realization that these are real people with real lives... and how are we going to help them? Kudos to the teachers in this book. I felt that they went far beyond the call of duty and their passion for the work is inspirational. The book itself is easy to read and shed a lot of light on this generation of students. In that respect, it's a good read for any parent and would be fun to read in a parent/teen book club as well.

2.5 stars

This review is based on an ARC of Refugee High: Coming of Age in America which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (The New Press).


As a homeschooled, Midwestern white girl I found this narrative quite fascinating. Refugee High tracks four refugee students at Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan high school over one school year, detailing the hardships they struggle with not only at school but in their personal lives as well. Sad, yet hopeful, Elly Fishman opens readers' eyes to a hardly-mentioned (but very prevalent) American high school experience.

I liked the blend of voices from both staff and students at the school—this really aided in widening the perspective. I would have liked it if the switching of POV occurred more regularly or consistently. Sometimes I felt that I’d already forgotten one student’s backstory by the time we got back around to him or her. Otherwise, the timeline is very well executed.

Refugee High is an inspiring and heartwarming book about the perseverance of young, uncertain refugees, and those who strive to welcome newcomers to The Great Melting Pot.