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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
This is a memoir from an undocumented immigrant sent from the Philippines to live with his immigrant grandparents in the US at the age of 12. Vargas didn’t know he was “illegal” until he tried to get a learners permit with what he didn’t realize were fake papers. It was gut wrenching to me to read what it took him to get through school and pursue a career as a journalist while living in the shadows. The anxiety and fear of being caught layered with the feeling of not having a place of belonging leaps off the pages (he’s also a gay man). He decides to “come out” as undocumented and tell his story publicly. We’ll worth the quick read.
This narrative did a phenomenal job of telling a story while also addressing what factors came into play to make the events happen. I learned a lot about our nation’s history, policies, and intentions while seeing how they directly impacted someone. Absolutely an incredible and impactful read!
challenging
informative
reflective
challenging
emotional
informative
fast-paced
An insightful memoir about Jose Antonio Vargas’s experience being an undocumented immigrant in the United States. Vargas tells his story of coming to the US from the Philippines as a young boy and then as a teenager discovering that his green card was fake. He explains the struggle of being undocumented and the constant fear of being discovered as undocumented. Vargas touches on how his personal experiences fit into our immigration system as a whole. He describes his internal conflicts, conflicts with other immigration (both documented and undocumented), and conflicts with the system. Toward the end of the book, Vargas debunks popular anti-immigration myths.
Immigration is a hot topic in politics these days. It is not a problem easily solved. This book, though, put a human spin on the issue and provided the author's experience as an undocumented citizen who was sent over here by his mother from the Phillipines at a young age to live with his grandparents. It wasn't until he was applying for his driver's license that he found out that he was not a citizen. He skillfully wrote about how this unmoored him, questioning who he was and losing a sense of security. I appreciated the history he provided of immigration laws and changes, and he provided some new insights about other things to consider around the matter. I really felt for him with his struggles, learning more about how it's pretty much impossible to correct the situation. Once he came public with his story, people would tell him to fix it. He would have loved to do that, but the crazy immigraiton laws don't make that a viable option. He was stuck being here and having to lie beause he also couldn't go back. I highly recommend this book. I hope you will read it and gain more understanding of what it's like to be in this position.
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This was really good! I liked how Vargas gave information about the immigration system, but through his own personal experiences; I loved how he personalized the story with the emotions of what it was like to live through discovering that he was in the country without papers, and what that would mean for his hopes, his dreams, his life.
Wow. This book was phenomenal. I started and finished it in one night after work. The story of a beautiful life that humanizes the real experiences of so many in the US. One of the best books I’ve read in a while and I will be rereading.