Publishers Weekly
02/25/2019
In lengthy interviews, nine young adults recount their experiences of immigrating to the United States from Colombia, Ghana, Mexico, Independent Samoa, and South Korea and living as undocumented noncitizens. In an opening note to readers, Kuklin (Beyond Magenta) explains that the book was originally meant to include portraits of the subjects, but the 2017 repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, resulted in the decision to conceal the individuals’ identities—movingly (and dishearteningly), empty frames stand in lieu of the portraits. Kuklin presents the exact words of the contributors, which plainly describe their unique family struggles, the challenges of adapting to a new culture, and the reasons behind their coming to the United States—namely poverty, pervasive violence, the desire for better lives, and escaping tyrannical governments or trafficking. Kuklin includes haunting photos from her journey, guided by human rights activist John Fife, to the border between Nogales, Mexico, and Norales, Arizona: “This author needed to see the border in order to write about it,” she explains. This is a poignant, powerful, and timely volume. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Kuklin walked two tightropes in writing this book, doing so with competence and skill. Her first tour de force was to succeed in writing about people, not politics, even though the latter plays a consequential, even a central, role in the lives of those she writes about, in the form of immigration policies. Kuklin's mastery is also manifest in her ability to engender empathy and compassion without writing a tear-jerker; the painful experiences, often narrated in a raw and unembellished manner, while inspiring, are more conducive to a productive conversation on the complicated issues of immigration. A must-read.
—Kirkus Reviews
[The] author’s note and the annotated endnotes are essential to understand why there are empty frames where photos would typically appear and to consider the more difficult aspects of DACA that will affect the fates of the book’s contributors. For those who understand Kuklin and her interviewees’ intent, the visual redactions are haunting, and the subjects’ cautious but pervasive optimism is a troubling counterpoint to readers’ knowledge that the American welcome mat has subsequently been pulled out from under their feet.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Readers will see how immigration organizations are structured and, prior to the ’90s, how open U.S. borders were. In their accounts, these teens discuss how they are processing DACA’s uncertainty and how they identify with being American (or not). A time line on immigration policies and laws and helpful chapter notes are appended. A thought-provoking read on immigration in America.
—Booklist
Susan Kuklin set out to give voice to the silent in We Are Here to Stay...Kuklin transcribes the stories as spoken by their owners, which serves to bolster their authenticity and the humanity. Their powerful narratives reinforce one immigrant's words: "Being undocumented doesn't define me. I don't want documents... to be my signifier. Ultimately, I'm just a person." And the missing images speak volumes about the way society views these youths. Chilling, inspiring and hopeful, We Are Here to Stay transcends politics and finds the common bonds of mankind.
—Shelf Awareness for Readers
These empty pages are haunting, emphasizing the fear that the children live with, even as their stories address the importance of bringing their experiences out of hiding...We Are Here to Stay is an important book for anyone concerned about the issues surrounding undocumented immigrants.
—Foreword Reviews
School Library Journal
Winter 2018
Gr 5 Up—While the nine young adults who tell their stories in Kuklin's moving new volume came to the United States from different countries, there are commonalities among them beyond the tenuous situations in which they still find themselves. Narratives detailing their experiences with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, border security, and their feelings about assimilating into U.S. society while leaving behind their homelands are illuminating. In order to protect the participants, they are identified only by first initials, empty frames have replaced photographs of them, and all means of identifying them were removed. Kuklin shares her hope that one day the book will be reissued with the photographs and names intact, though the current format effectively demonstrates that many young people have to live hidden in plain sight. A notes and resources section includes a time line about executive actions and immigration law from 1790 through 2017 as well as a list of websites of interest for undocumented immigrants and those seeking information about them. VERDICT A timely account that most libraries will want to consider.—Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Canada
Kirkus Reviews
2018-10-15
A chronicle of true stories of nine undocumented young adults who came to the U.S. in search of a better tomorrow, leaving behind violence, political unrest, and poverty.
Basing her account on lengthy—often quoted—interviews, Kuklin (Beyond Magenta, 2014, etc.) does a brilliant job of transmitting the often upsetting, but always hopeful, stories of nine protagonists from Colombia, Mexico, Ghana, Independent Samoa, and South Korea who are living under the constant threat of deportation to their countries of birth, places many of them know nothing about. Readers cannot help but feel empathy for the individuals as they learn personal details of their lives. The young people are only identified by their initials with blank frames printed in lieu of the originally planned photographs, an editorial decision made after the Trump administration moved to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Kuklin walked two tightropes in writing this book, doing so with competence and skill. Her first tour de force was to succeed in writing about people, not politics, even though the latter plays a consequential, even a central, role in the lives of those she writes about, in the form of immigration policies. Kuklin's mastery is also manifest in her ability to engender empathy and compassion without writing a tear-jerker; the painful experiences, often narrated in a raw and unembellished manner, while inspiring, are more conducive to a productive conversation on the complicated issues of immigration.
A must-read. (timeline, endnotes, author's note, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)
