A review of Welcome to the New World by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan (Mateo Herandez)
A
review of Welcome to the New World by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan (Mateo
Herandez)
Based
on the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times series, Welcome to the
New World follows the Aldabaan family, who, faced with violence and
conflict in Jordan, were given the opportunity to move to Connecticut in the United
States as refugees. The family faced a time crunch of making the decision to
leave for America before election day 2016, with the possibility of Donald Trump
winning the election and shutting down immigration. The family was approved to leave,
but some of the extended family members were not. After a lot of arguing over
the decision to stay with Grandma in Jordan or leave for the U.S. to pursue a
better life, they ultimately chose to come to America and arrived on election
day: when Trump won the election. Even though the family was out of the war
zone in their home country, they were faced with a new set of challenges in the
United States and had some regrets. The family of seven knew no English, had no
jobs, and were given only 90 days of support from the refugee resettlement organization
‘IRIS’ – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services. Would the family survive
their financial difficulties, the first fearsome days of high school, and
eventually a death threat from an unknown person? You’ll have to read Welcome
to the New World to find out!
I
personally enjoyed this graphic novel, which is based on a true story, quite a bit. It touches on the themes of
immigration, hope, and fear of what is to come in a new place, which made it a moving
story. One reason I enjoyed this novel so much is because I personally
connected with the teenage boy, Naji, a lot. I found his story relatable in
that he had a lot of fear and anxieties about starting high school in a new place
and tried to do well, for the good of his family. Due to its format, as a
graphic novel, it is a relatively short read that I finished in just a day, but
nevertheless I found the story of this family moving and hopeful for newcomers
to the United States who are coming to our country from all over the world in
search of a better life.
Another
reason I connected with this story is because my parents are volunteering with an
organization called Welcome Corps that helps refugee families, like the
Aldabaans, to adjust to America during their first three months in this country.
Last year, they formed a private sponsorship group with other people from our church
and raised money for a refugee family of three from Kenya. The family was
scheduled to arrive in Indianapolis on December 14, but there was a delay due
to their exit permissions from Kenya. So we are still waiting to hear when they
will finally arrive here. I have a feeling our sponsored family’s experience
may be similar to the family followed in this book. There are so many people around
the world like them that need help. Even little things, like bringing a child
to a doctor’s appointment, can make a big difference to these families as they
adjust to a new language and culture.
Overall, I found this a very moving and entertaining book (even suspenseful at times), that I really enjoyed and would highly recommend! (If you want to borrow it from me, let me know and I’ll loan you a copy).
Hi Mateo, I think that you did a good job with your book review. I will make sure to check out this book as well.
ReplyDeleteMateo I just want to say this was an amazing blog post! This book seems very interesting and due to it being a graphic novel I might give it a try...
ReplyDeleteHi Mateo! I really like how you described this story and it surely seems like one I would like to read! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Mateo, your blog post has to be one of my favorites and I loved the way you described the story! I'll have to check the book out sometime as it seems like something.I would potentially be interested in as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Mateo, this definitely would seem like an interesting read and very relatable for immigrants and refugees, so I will make sure to check it out. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Mateo! Welcome to the New World seems like a very interesting that explores different challenges of immigrating to the US. You did a great job at describing the book, and the fact that it is a graphic novel makes it even more interesting. I'd be down to loan a copy from you! I think it's also pretty cool that your parents volunteer at a organization that helps refugees that come to the US! Great blog Mateo.
ReplyDelete