Open Books 2024: Refugees

Updated December 26, 2023
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Americanah
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Audiobook
The wind knows my name : a novel
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * "The lives of a Jewish boy escaping Nazi-occupied Europe and a mother and daughter fleeing twenty-first-century El Salvador intersect in this ambitious, intricate novel about war and immigration" (People), from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea and...
The boat people
Bala, Sharon
Paper Book
When a rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and five hundred fellow refugees from Sri Lanka's bloody civil war reaches Vancouver's shores, the young father thinks he and his six-year-old son can finally start a new life. Instead, the group is thrown into a detention processing center, with government...
Hear my voice : the testimonies of children detained at the southern border of the United States
Binford, Warren
Paper Book
The moving stories of children in migration--in their own words. "In Spanish and in English, a devastating first-person account of children's experiences in detention at the southern U.S. border.... A powerful, critical document only made more heartbreaking...
Where the wind leads : a refugee family's miraculous story of loss, rescue, and redemption
Chung, Vinh
Paper Book
Through a series of miraculous events, a Chinese family, living in Vietnam, joins the ranks of "boat people"and overcomes oppressive struggles to raise its children in the foreign culture of America.
These olive trees
Ghanameh, Aya
Paper Book
The story of a Palestinian family's ties to the land, and how one young girl finds a way to care for her home, even as she says goodbye. It's 1967 in Nablus, Palestine. Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she...
The night diary
Hiranandani, Veera
Paper Book
A 2019 NEWBERY HONOR BOOK "A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults."                                          ...
Sea prayer
Hosseini, Khaled
Paper Book
An illustrated book on the refugee crisis that will break your heart in under 48 pages, from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed. "Intensely moving. . .Powerfully...
Call Me American A Memoir
Iftin, Abdi Nor.
Paper Book
Abdi Nor Iftin first fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop artists like Michael Jackson and watching films starring action heroes like Arnold Schwarzenegger. When U.S. marines landed in Mogadishu to take on the warlords, Abdi cheered the...
When stars are scattered
Jamieson, Victoria
Paper Book
A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl. Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab,...
In the tunnel
Lee, Julie (Children's fiction writer)
Paper Book
Trapped in an enemy tunnel, a young refugee experiences the Korean War firsthand in this searing story of survival, loss, and hope, a companion to the Freeman Award-winning novel Brother's Keeper. Myung-gi knows war is coming- War between North and South Korea. Life in...
The beekeeper of Aleppo : a novel
Lefteri, Christy
Paper Book
This unforgettable novel puts human faces on the Syrian war with the immigrant story of a beekeeper, his wife, and the triumph of spirit when the world becomes unrecognizable. "A beautifully crafted novel of international significance that has the capacity to have us open our...
Run for your life
Mitchell, Jane
Paper Book
A moving and sensitive children's book exploring a child's experience living in refugee accommodation in Ireland. School Library Journal, "Best Books 2023" Bank Street Best Children's Books 2024 Azari's...
The ungrateful refugee : what immigrants never tell you
Nayeri, Dina
Paper Book
A Finalist for the 2019 Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction "Nayeri combines her own experience with those of refugees she meets as an adult, telling their stories with tenderness and reverence." --The New York Times Book Review "Nayeri weaves her empowering personal story...
Enrique's journey
Nazario, Sonia.
Paper Book
"Un relato conmovedor que le da un rostro humano a los indocumentados, tan bello como marcado de cicatrices. Imprescindible".--Kirkus Reviews, reseña destacada.   Basada en el libro homónimo para adultos, La Travesía de Enrique de Sonia Nazario está disponible en su...
Sunshine nails
Nguyen, Mai
Paper Book
A Real Simple Must-Read Book of Summer 2023 "Mai Nguyen has proven herself to be a real standout." --Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author A tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do...
The displaced : refugee writers on refugee lives
Nguyen, Viet Thanh
Paper Book
In January 2017, Donald Trump signed an executive order stopping entry to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries and dramatically cutting the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States each year. The American people spoke up, with protests, marches, donations...
The Refugees
Nguyen, Viet Thanh.
Paper Book
Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer was one of the most widely and highly praised novels of 2015, the winner not only of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but also the Center for Fiction Debut Novel Prize, the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, the ALA Carnegie Medal for Fiction, the Asian...
The Cricket War
Pham, Tho/ McTavish, Sandra.
Paper Book
A gripping story of a boy's escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author's own experience. It's 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly...
Wild poppies
Saleh, Haya
Paper Book
Two brothers fight to reunite amidst the turmoil of the Syrian War. Since the passing of their father, Omar has tried--and in his little brother Sufyan's eyes, failed--to be the man of his family of Syrian refugees. As Omar waits in line for rations, longing...
The last green valley : a novel
Sullivan, Mark T.
Paper Book
"Mark Sullivan has done it again! The Last Green Valley is a compelling and inspiring story of heroism and courage in the dark days at the end of World War II." --Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author From the author of the #1 bestseller Beneath a...
Alone : the journeys of three young refugees.
Tom, Paul
Paper Book
Finalist, Governor General's Literary Award, Translation Each year, more than 400 minors arrive alone in Canada requesting refugee status. They arrive without their parents, accompanied by no adult at all. Alone relates the journey of three of them: Afshin, Alain and Patricia. Their...
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous A Novel
Vuong, Ocean.
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller * Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction * Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century ...
The girl who smiled beads : a story of war and what comes after
Wamariya, Clemantine
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The plot provided by the universe was filled with starvation, war and rape. I would not--could not--live in that tale."   Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to...
Other words for home
Warga, Jasmine
Paper Book
New York Times bestseller and Newbery Honor Book! A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Aisha Saeed. Jude never thought she'd be...
The bookbinder : a novel
Williams, Pip
Paper Book
A young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words. "Williams spins an...
We are displaced : my journey and stories from refugee girls around the world
Yousafzai, Malala
Paper Book
Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai turns the faceless statistics and endless news stories about displacement into real people--introducing a small fraction of the millions worldwide who have fled home in this powerful and...
On fragile waves
Yu, E. Lily
Paper Book
NPR Books We Love 2021 | Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2021 | Booklist Best of 2021 | Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Titles | NYT Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2021 | Washington Independent Review of Books 51 Favorite Books of 2021 "On Fragile Waves is a...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.