YA Immigrants and Refugees

Read stories of displaced people fleeing their homeland to find safety and a better way of life. This list includes both true and fictionalized experiences from across the globe.


Compiled by:
Tyana P. & Fern S.
The Astonishing Color of After

Emily X. R. Pan
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Pan)

After her mother's suicide, grief-stricken Leigh Sanders travels to Taiwan to stay with grandparents she never met, determined to find her mother who she believes turned into a bird.


Clap When You Land

Elizabeth Acevedo
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Acevedo)

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people ... In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance -- and Papi's secrets -- the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.


Don't Ask Me Where I'm From

Jennifer De Leon
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Deleon)

Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school, but when family secrets come out and racism at school gets worse than ever, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.


An Emotion of Great Delight

Tahereh Mafi
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Mafi)

In the wake of 9/11, Shadi, a child of Muslim immigrants, tries to navigate her crumbling world of death, heartbreak and bigotry in silence, until finally everything changes.


Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True Story)

Daniel Nayeri
(Juvenile Fiction - J Nayeri)

At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. Khosrou's stories—stretching back years, decades, and centuries—are both beautiful and terrifying.


The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

Ben Philippe
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Philipp)

Norris is a Black French Canadian whose family just moved to Austin, Texas, he finds himself cataloging everyone he meets. He's amusing himself until it's time to go back to Canada. But soon those labels soon become actual people. When Norris screws everything up royally on prom night, will he be able to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions, and start living his life?


House of Yesterday

Deeba Zargarpur
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Zargarp)

With her beloved grandmother suffering from dementia, Sara, a 16-year-old Afghan-Uzbek girl, stumbles upon the haunting apparition of a much-younger version of her grandmother, which brings to light her family's immigrant past.


I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Erika Sanchez
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Sanchez)

Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.


Indivisible

Daniel Aleman
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Aleman)

New York City high school student Mateo dreams of becoming a Broadway star, but his life is transformed after his parents are deported to Mexico.


Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Malinda Lo
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Lo)

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.


The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School

Sonora Reyes
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Reyes)

Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she's gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: Keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don't fall in love.


Lobizona

Romina Garber
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Garber)

When her mother is arrested by ICE, sixteen-year-old Argentinian Manu -- who thinks she is hiding in a Miami apartment because she is an undocumented immigrant -- discovers that her entire existence is illegal.


Only This Beautiful Moment

Abdi Nazemian
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Nazemia)

Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.


Salt to the Sea

Ruta Sepetys
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Sepetys)

As World War II draws to a close, refugees try to escape the war's final dangers, only to find themselves aboard a ship with a target on its hull.


Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

Laekan Zea Kemp
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Kemp)

As an aspiring pastry chef, Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her traditional Mexican-American mom and dad have different plans. Xander Amaro Is a new hire at Nacho's. For him, the job is an opportunity for a chance at a normal life. When both the restaurant and Xander's immigrant status are threatened, he will do whatever it takes to protect his new found family and himself.


Swan Dive

Brenda Hasiuk
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Hasiuk)

Refugees from the Bosnian War, Lazar's family flees the Siege of Sarajevo and arrives in Winnipeg in the early 1990s. Despite various mini dramas unfolding at home, the bitter cold and a strange city and country, Lazar manages to find a place for himself at school, largely by making friends with Elle, a sassy, outspoken girl who divides her time between living with her hoarder mother and her hippie father, Jimmy, who lives in British Columbia. But as two geeky loners, Elle and Lazar are happy in their own bubble of friendship, especially after they form a pop duo and dream of making it big on Star Search.


This Land is Our Land: The History of American Immigration

Linda Barrett Osborne
(Adult Nonfiction - 304.80973 Osb)

This book explores the way government policy and popular responses to immigrant groups evolved throughout U.S. history, particularly between 1800 and 1965. The book concludes with a summary of events up to contemporary times, as immigration again becomes a hot-button issue.


This Place is Still Beautiful

XiXi Tian
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Tian)

Margaret looks just like their mother, while Annalie passes for white and looks like the father who abandoned them years ago, leaving their Chinese immigrant mama to raise the girls alone in their small, predominantly white Midwestern town. When their house is vandalized with a shocking racial slur, Margaret rushes home from her summer internship in New York City. She expects outrage. Instead, her sister and mother would rather move on. Especially once Margaret's own investigation begins to make members of their community uncomfortable.


We Are Not from Here

Jenny Torres Sanchez
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Torres)

Pulga has his dreams. Chico has his grief. Pequeña has her pride. And these three teens have one another. But, none of them have illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. And when those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home.


While You Were Dreaming

Alisha Rai
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Rai)

 Indian American Sonia, who has undocumented family members, goes viral after saving her crush James's life.


Zara Hossain is Here

Sabina Khan
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Khan)

Ever since her family moved to Texas from Pakistan when she was a baby, Zara Hossain has only ever called Corpus Christi home. Being the only Muslim girl at her conservative Catholic school, blending in isn't really an option, especially with people like Tyler Benson always tormenting her.


Graphic Novels
Almost American Girl

Robin Ha
(Graphic Novels - GN 741.5092 Ha Ha)

For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes.


The Best We Could Do

Thi Bui
(Graphic Novels - GN 741.5092 Bui Bui)

Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.


Isla to Island

Alexis Castellanos
(Juvenile Graphic Novels - J-GN Castell Isla To Island)

A wordless graphic novel in which twelve-year-old Marisol must adapt to a new life 1960s Brooklyn after her parents send her to the United States from Cuba to keep her safe during Castro's regime.


The Magic Fish

Trung Le Nguyen
(Graphic Novels - GN Trung Magic Fish)

Real life isn't a fairytale. But Tié̂n still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tié̂n, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?


Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American

Laura Gao
(Graphic Novels - GN 921 Gao Gao)

Seamlessly toggling between past and present, this funny graphic memoir follows a queer Chinese American's immigration to Texas where she just wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why she is attracted to girls.


Our Stories Carried Us Here: A Graphic Novel Anthology
(Graphic Novels - GN 305.9069 Our)

The first national graphic anthology of 10 U.S. immigrants and refugees illustrated by 10 immigrants and refugees from all over the world.


Zenobia

Morten Dürr
(Graphic Novels - GN Durr Zenobia)

When the Syrian war reaches Amina's village she is forced to escape, and during her perilous journey she thinks of the brave warrior Zenobia to remind her to stay strong.