Adoption and Fostering

Molly Ayer, a foster child, has to do fifty-plus hours of community service to stay out of juvenile detention. She reluctantly agrees to help an elderly widow, Vivian Daly, clean out her attic. Vivian really doesn’t want to get rid of anything and she spends time with Molly reminiscing over old items in her trunks. It turns out that Vivian, an Irish immigrant, was orphaned in New York in the 1920’s and sent by train to the Midwest to be adopted. Molly finds out that she and Vivian have quite a bit in common, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. This story is based on the orphan trains that ran west from New York between 1854 and 1929. Orphan Train: a novel  by Christina Baker Kline  provides an thoughtful look at immigration and adoption in the recent past. DB  

The Million Dollar Prize

When your mother, the most remarkable female mathematician in history, dies your world becomes skewed in more ways than one. Alexander Karnokovitch wants to put his mother to rest privately, but it is not to be.  Many colleagues from around the world intend to come and pay their last respects to the remarkable Rachela, and they will not be swayed. Of course it is rumored that she has solved a famous mathematical problem and that solution may be hidden in her home. As the math crowd descends on Madison, Wisconsin—Alexander (Sasha) has to deal with their demanding personalities in addition to his grief. The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer is a funny, introspective, and enlightening novel about academia and family life. DB

Jhumpa Lahiri

The next title on my "to-read" list is Jhumpa Lahiri's latest book, The Lowland, because she never fails to disappoint -- I honestly believe that if she wrote a technical manual on lawnmowers it would still be poetic.  I first read her debut collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies when I was in college, and it's a book that's stuck with me over the years.  Her description and use of language draws the reader in, and it's impossible not to become fascinated with and even care deeply for the characters she introduces you to.  Interpreter of Maladies won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000, and consists of nine short stories exploring issues of identity, love, and humanity -- all the good stuff.  Also be sure to check out her other titles, The Namesake and Unaccustomed Earth.  HM

Culture, Food, and Identity

Part coming-of-age story, part food memoir, Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang details the blogger and chef's childhood as the son of Chinese immigrants living in Orlando during the 1990s.  Huang learns form an early age (and from his ex-gangster dad) not to take insults from anybody, a lesson that gets him into trouble time and time again.  Fleshed out with references to hip hop, basketball, food, and '90s pop culture, Fresh Off the Boat explores issues of race, identity, and what it means to be American.  HM

Fairytales & Family Secrets

If you're a parent or a teacher, the name "Jane Yolen" probably brings to mind the author's prodigous body of children's literature and picture books. But Yolen has written a few novels for adults too, among them the haunting story of Briar Rose. Inspired by the Chelmno concentration camp, which was housed inside of a castle, Yolen crafts her story of the Holocaust around the fairytale of "The Sleeping Beauty." After the death of her beloved grandmother, Becca begins to delve into her family's past and uncovers a hidden message in her grandmother's favorite story, "Briar Rose." Her discovery takes her back to the terrifying days of World War II, half a world away. Suitable for both Adult and Young Adult readers. HM

buzzzz for Little Bee...

recommended read and a starred review by Booklist---Little Bee, smart and stoic, knows two people in England, Andrew and Sarah, journalists she chanced upon on a Nigerian beach after fleeing a massacre in her village, one grisly outbreak in an off-the-radar oil war. After sneaking into England and escaping a rural “immigration removal” center, she arrives at Andrew and Sarah’s London suburb home only to find that the violence that haunts her has also poisoned them. In an unnerving blend of dread, wit, and beauty, Cleave slowly and arrestingly excavates the full extent of the horror that binds Little Bee and Sarah together. A columnist for the Guardian, Cleave earned fame and notoriety when his first book, Incendiary, a tale about a terrorist attack on London, was published on the very day London was bombed in July 2005. His second ensnaring, eviscerating novel charms the reader with ravishing descriptions, sly humor, and the poignant improvisations of Sarah’s Batman-costumed young son, then launches devastating attacks in the form of Little Bee’s elegantly phrased insights into the massive failure of compassion in the world of refugees. Cleave is a nerves-of-steel storyteller of stealthy power, and this is a novel as resplendent and menacing as life itself.---Seaman, Donna Copyright 2008 BooklistDistributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc. CKW

An Edible History

97 Orchard, by Jane Ziegelman, is a fascinating book! It is the story of five immigrant families who lived in one New York tenement building. I especially enjoyed reading about the women of different nationalities and how they coped with carrying water up flights of stairs for cooking and bathing, carrying babies up those same flights of stairs, and then shopping for groceries and carrying those up the same stairs. Then, to top off their days, these German, Irish, Italian and Jewish women cooked the food for their families. Some of my ancestors were German so I was interested in the recipes the Germans relied on each day.

Will Work for Food

Gabriel Thompson decided to work in three industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor: agriculture, poultry processing, and behind-the-scenes in restaurants. A year and three jobs later, he was tired, sore, and had an appreciation for the people who don't have the choice to walk away from the back-breaking work. Working in the Shadows will enlighten you and make you think twice the next time you buy a head of lettuce or a bouquet of flowers.