Coming to America

Velshi Banned Book Club

The story of this country is told through the eyes of immigrants. This episode of the Velshi Banned Book Club will explore two critically acclaimed additions to the American immigration literary canon: “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents” by Julia Alvarez and “American Street” by Ibi Zoboi. Both novels examine what becomes of identity, religion, family, and community when confronted with the push and pull of engrained cultural heritage, a beloved homeland, contemporary American young adulthood, and the desire to belong. Here, we will examine the realities of the so-called American dream and what it means to come-of-age between two worlds.