Publisher Description
Offering a nuanced and transformative take on immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage, The Newcomers follows and reflects on the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the course of their 2015-2016 school year at Denver's South High School. Unfamiliar with American culture or the English language, the students range from the age of fourteen to nineteen and come from nations struggling with drought, famine, or war. Many come directly from refugee camps, and some arrive alone, having left or lost every other member of their family. Their stories are poignant and remarkable, and at the center of their combined story is Mr. Williams: the dedicated and endlessly resourceful teacher of their English Language Acquisition class-a class which was created specifically for them and which will provide them with the foundation they need to face the enormous challenges of adapting to life in America.
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About Helen Thorpe
Helen Thorpe has written magazine stories for the New York Times, the New Yorker, Texas Monthly, Westword, and 5280. She lives
in Denver, Colorado. Her first book, Just Like Us, was published by
Scribner in 2009. It was named one of the best books of the year by the
Washington Post and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts adapted
the book for the stage in 2013.