With adultery being punishable by death in Iran, a young couple makes the fateful decision to flee the country with their son Mani. Love Child, is the intimate love story about an illicit family on a journey to seek asylum in Turkey and start a new life.

ADULT NONFICTION

Boochani, Behrouz. No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison. Toronto, Canada: House of Anansi Press Inc, 2019.
Winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature, “No Friend but the Mountains” was written, text message by message, by Behrouz Boochani, as he documented his experience in Manus Island, a refugee detention center off the coast of Australia.

Bui, Thi. The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir. New York: Abrams Comicarts, 2018.
The past and future clash for one family after the fall of Saigon in Thi Bui’s debut graphic memoir. Bui recounts her family’s journey from South Vietnam to a Malaysian refugee camp and finally the Bay Area. The sacrifices she must make as an immigrant and new mother are uncovered in this family tale that questions what makes a family, especially in times of crisis.

Luiselli, Valerie. Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Coffee House Press, 2017.
In “Tell Me How It Ends” Valeria Luiselli describes what happens to the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors arriving in the US without papers, through the construct of the 40 questions they are asked in the court forms.

Nayeri, Dina, The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You. New York, New York: Catapult, 2019.
In “The Ungrateful Refugee” Nayeri confronts notions like ‘the swarm.’ and, on the other hand, ‘good’ immigrants. She calls attention to the harmful way in which Western governments privilege certain dangers over others. With surprising and provocative questions, this book challenges the reader to rethink how they consider the refugee crisis.

Nguyen, Viet Thanh. The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2018.
Edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen, “The Displaced” features essays about exile and dislocation by 17 refugee writers from around the world.

Shukla, Nikesh. The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America. New York, New York: Little Brown and Company, 2019.
In this book, editors Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman hand the microphone to an incredible range of writers to share their powerful personal stories of living between cultures and languages while struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong.

Wamariya, Clemantine. The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After. New York, New York: The Crown Publishing Group, 2018.
Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, Clemantine Wamariya and her Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety -- perpetually hungry, imprisoned, and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, and witnessing inhuman cruelty.

Hamid, Mohsin. Exit West. New York, New York: Riverhead Books, 2017.
In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet - sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. Exit West imagines the forces that drive ordinary people from their homes into the uncertain embrace of new lands.

Henriquez, Cristina. The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel. New York: Penguin Random House Books, 2014.
A boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny. A novel that offers a new definition of what it means to be American. Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America.

Khakpour, Porachista. The Last Illusion. New York, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
The Last Illusion explores the powers of storytelling while investigating contemporary and classical magical thinking. Its potent lyricism, stylistic inventiveness, and examination of otherness can appeal to readers of Salman Rushdie and Helen Oyeyemi.

Lalami, Laila. Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits. New York, New York: Workman Publishing, 2005.
In Laila Lalami’s debut novel, she explores what propels people to risk their lives in search for a better future.

Mbue, Imbole. Behold the Dreamers. New York, New York: Random House, 2016.
In Behold the Dreamers, Mbue explores marriage, immigration, class, race and the trapdoors in the American Dream - the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy.

Reza, Parisa and Adriana Hunter. The Gardens of Consolation. New York, New York: Europa Editions, 2017.
In the early 1920s, in the remote village of Ghamsar, Talla and Sardar, two teenagers dreaming of a better life, fall in love and marry. Sardar brings his young bride with him across the mountains to the suburbs of Tehran, where the couple settles down and builds a home. From the outskirts of the capital city, they will watch as the Qajar dynasty falls and Reza Khan rises to power as Reza Shah Pahlavi.

McCarney, Rosemary. Where Will I Live?Oxford, England: New Internationalist, 2017.
A photojournalistic look at the issues confronting refugee children and their families.

Rajendra, Vijeya, Gisela T Kaplan, Rudi Rajendra.Iran. (Cultures of the World series.)New York: Cavendish Square, 2015.
Presents Iran’s history, culture, economy, art, people, government, and more for elementary and middle school students.

Roberts, Ceri and Hanane Kai. Refugees and Migrants (Children in Our World series).London, England: Wayland, 2018.
The Children in Our World picture book series is intended to help children make sense of the larger issues and crises that dominate the news in a sensitive and appropriate manner. With relatable comparisons, carefully researched text and striking illustrations, children can begin to understand who refugees and migrants are, why they've left their homes, where they live and what readers can do to help those in need.

Somervill, Barbara A.Iran.(Enchantment of the World series.)New York, New York: Children’s Press, 2012.
Describes the geography, plants and animals, history, economy, language, religions, culture, and people of Iran.

Behrangi, Samad and illustrated by Farshid Mesghali. The Little Black Fish. London, England: Tiny Owl Publishing Ltd, 2019.
Little Black Fish wants to explore beyond the small stream that is his home, but his mother and their neighbors discourage him and even make fun of his curiosity and openness to wonder. First published in Farsi in 1968 and banned in pre-revolutionary Iran, Behrangi and Mesghali’s fable is an ode to a past filled with struggles for liberation and an inspiration for the many battles ahead [Children’s picture book.]

Hall, Michael. Red. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 2015.
A blue crayon mistakenly labeled as "red" suffers an identity crisis in this picture book about being true to your inner self and following your own path despite obstacles that may come your way. [Children’s picture book.]

Hiranandani, Veera. The Night Diary. New York, New York: Kokila, 2018.
Set in India in 1947, half Muslim, half-Hindy Nish doesn’t know where she belongs or what her country is anymore. The Night Diary is a heartfelt story of one girl’s search for home, for her own identity and for a hopeful future. [Ages 8-12]

Kheiriyeh, Rashing. Saffron Ice Cream.New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2018.
Rashin is an Iranian immigrant girl living in New York, excited by her first trip to Coney Island, and fascinated by the differences in the beach customs between her native Iran and her new home--but she misses the saffron flavored ice cream that she used to eat. [Children’s picture book.]

Saedi, Sara. Americanized: Rebel Without A Green Card.New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018.
In San Jose, California, in the 1990s, teenaged Sara keeps a diary of life as an Iranian American and her discovery that she and her family entered as undocumented immigrants [Ages 14 and up.]

Warga, Jasmine. Other Words For Home.New York, New York: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2019.
Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises. [Grades 4-8]

Young, Rebecca. Teacup. New York, New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2016.
A boy travels across the sea in a rowboat in search of a new home, making a journey that is long and difficult--but also filled with beauty and hope. [Children’s picture book.]