Behind the Mountains (First Person Fiction)

Rating:
Summary: Young Immigrants Featured Review
Review: As I walked through the leafy Boston suburb, I saw a uniformed chauffeur waiting outside a big house. He was gazing into the trees, obviously enjoying the quiet spring morning. A nametag on his lapel identified him as "Jean."

"Are you from Haiti?" I asked.

He nodded, surprised.

"I just read a great book about your country," I told him. "I learned about the beautiful mountains and hibiscus flowers there."

I watched the smile spread across his face. Were it not for Edwidge Danticat's young adult novel, Behind the Mountains, I might have walked wordlessly past this stranger. Now I was curious about his journey, and he was thrilled by my knowledge of his country and culture. That's the purpose of Orchard's First Person Fiction series - to create understanding and empathy for the immigrants around us. Using fictional diary entries, Danticat recounts Celiane Esperance's journey from a rural town to Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn. I painlessly learned about Haitian history and politics, and gained insight into why some Haitians desire to immigrate to America.

The book is also particularly written for immigrant teens. Danticat, the acclaimed author of three adult novels, expertly depicts Celiane's high hopes of seeing her father again and the subsequent stressful reality of a family reunion. Reading about Celiane's first miserable days in New York will encourage immigrant teens to welcome other newcomers. As Celiane describes her sorrow over her father's conflict with her older brother Moy, I remembered my older siblings hammering out compromises with our parents. These and other themes common to immigrants from any country make me wish this book had been around when I was reading out on that Flushing fire escape.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting to read
Review: Read as part of a course on bilingualism & biculturalism this book provided a personal glimpse into a child's life and how it changed.