(First Person Fiction)
by Edwidge Danticat
Review: by Edwidge Danticat
I am currently evaluating books for a unit that I want to incorporate into my school curriculum next year based on Immigration. The school librarian and a fellow English colleague, who I am working with to create this unit, recommended about six different books on the topic. My plan is to read all of the selections and post a review for each. This is the first one I read and was it a good one to start with. I really loved the second half of this "first person fiction" story. The setting of the story takes place in two very distinct areas. We are introduced to the main character Celiane Esperance in rural Haiti, during election time and bombs are going off in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Celiane's father is currently living in Brooklyn , New York and is trying to save enough money to send for his wife, son and daughter. The second part of the story ( told in a diary format) takes place after the family is reunited. We witness the families struggle to adjust in a new land and maintain their identity so far from home. Overall, I was very pleased with this book and will recommend it for the unit and to my current students for "free reading".
books about Haiti:
After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Crown Journeys) by Edwidge Danticat
The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States
by Edwidge Danticat
Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance
by Beverly Bell
