"My hometown
remote but alive
here on my tongue"
- "Adrift," Alice Tao
June is Immigrant Heritage Month—a time to celebrate the cultures from around the world that make up our country. The immigrant experience is of course a mixed bag, often including deportation, discrimination, and struggles to fulfill hopes and dreams, to fit in without assimilating mindlessly. While it's important for all of us, no matter where we come from, to listen to and read these kinds of accounts, it's also important to celebrate the unique joys of culture and family that come with everyone's heritage. Explore the reading list below, which includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and books for both children and young adults, that explore the immigrant experience.
You can also read President Biden's "Proclamation on Immigrant Heritage Month" here. As he says, "The United States is a Nation of immigrants — shaped by the courageous people from around the world who leave their homes, lives, and loved ones to seek refuge and opportunity on our shores. Their sacrifices and entrepreneurial spirit have contributed to the rich tapestry that has defined the character of our country for generations."
Click the links below to request books from our catalog.
Fiction
Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Afterlife, Julia Alvarez
Homeland Elegies, Akhtar Ayad
We Need New Names, NoViolet Bulawayo
America Is Not the Heart, Elaine Castillo
Of Women and Salt, Gabriela Garcia
The Book of Unknown Americans, Cristina Henríquez
The Stationery Shop, Marjan Kamali
Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok
Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok
The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
Native Speaker, Chang-rae Lee
Lost Children Archive, Valeria Luiselli
Behold the Dreamers, Imbolo Mbue
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengestu
A Place For Us, Fatima Farheen Mirza
Refuge, Dina Nayeri
The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen
A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum
Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
White Ivy, Susie Yang
Sour Heart: Stories, Jenny Zhang
Nonfiction
The Promised Land, Mary Antin
Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants, George W. Bush
Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief, Victoria Chang
The Undocumented Americans, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Brother, I'm Dying, Edwidge Danticat
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, Firoozeh Dumas
Refugee High: Coming of Age in America, Elly Fishman
Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories From the Tables of Immigrant Women, Anna Francese Gass
The Distance Between Us: A Memoir, Reyna Grande
In the Country We Love: My Family Divided, Diane Guerrero
Children of the Land, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
Call Me American: A Memoir, Abdi Nor Iftin
The Immigrant Cookbook: Recipes That Make America Great, Leyla Moushabeck
The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America, ed. Nikesh Shukla & Chimena Suleyman
The Body Papers: A Memoir, Grace Talusan
New Mainers: Portraits of Our Immigrant Neighbors, Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest
Beautiful Country: A Memoir, Qian Julie Wang
Poetry
Curb, Divya Victor
Unaccompanied, Javier Zamora
Children's and Young Adult
The Magical Imperfect, Chris Baron
Isla to Island, Alexis Castellanos
Efrén Divided, Ernesto Cisneros
The Only Road, Alexandra Diaz
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel, Firoozeh Dumas
We Belong, Cookie Hiponia Everman
Each of Us a Universe, Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo & Ndengo Gladys Mwilelo
One Good Thing About America, Ruth Freeman
Living With Viola, Rosena Fung
Almost American Girl, Robin Ha
When Stars Are Scattered, Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
Beast Rider, Tony Johnston
The Land of Forgotten Girls, Erin Entrada Kelly
The Legend of Auntie Po, Shing Yin Khor
Pie in the Sky, Remy Lai
Inside Out & Back Again, Thanhha Lai
Everything Sad is Untrue: (a true story), David Nayeri
Finding Junie Kim, Ellen Oh
Silver Meadows Summer, Emma Otheguy
A Different Pond, Bao Phi and Thi Bui
The Boy at the Back of the Class, Onjali Q. Raúf
Carry On: Poetry by Young Immigrants, illus. Rogé, trans. Susan Ouriou
Kiki and Jacques, Susan Ross
Esperanza Rising, Pam Muñoz Ryan
Land of the Cranes, Aida Salazar
Shooting Kabul, N.H. Senzai
Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience, ed. Patrice Vecchione & Alyssa Raymond
Other Words for Home, Jasmine Warga
Facing Fear: An Immigration Story, Karen Lynn Williams, illus. Sara Palacios
Front Desk, Kelly Yang
New From Here, Kelly Yang
Maizy Chen's Last Chance, Lisa Yee
The Sun Is Also a Star, Nicola Yoon
American Street, Ibi Aanu Zoboi