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A review by theshaggyshepherd
Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home by Adi Alsaid
4.0
Come On In // edited by Adi Alsaid
When I first saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I am an immigrant myself that just recently became a citizen. But I am on the end of the spectrum of immigrants that is extremely privileged when it comes to the ease of receiving the papers that allowed me to come here, stay here, and then eventually become a citizen. I am also married to a person that is much closer to the other end of that spectrum. We’ve had many conversations about this in the past and it continues to be a frequent topic, especially in the current political climate.
There are 15 short stories in this anthology that have authors and characters from all over the world. While they speak about many different cultures, the thing they do have in common is that they – or their families – have or are crossing borders in these stories. Despite my own privilege that allowed me to avoid many of the struggles addressed here, I was touched by the many things I could relate to anyways, such as saying goodbye to the many little things in your life, the worry for your undocumented friends, the conflicting feelings about your homeland and your current home, the pull between who your family expects you to be and who you want to be, learning a new language through books, and closed borders.
I enjoyed the majority of the stories but often felt that they ended too soon. As soon as I got attached to the characters, we would get to the end and I would have to readjust to a new narrator. The way they ended though often left me with a very good feeling because of a lesson the narrator learned or a realization they had. I did really struggle with a couple short stories but overall, I was happy with them. My favorites are the last three in the book. They are Hard to Say by Sharon Morse, Confessions of an Ecuadorkian by Zoraida Cordova, and Fleeing, Leaving, Moving by Adi Alsaid. These and a few others are authors that I will be keeping my eye on in the future as they really struck something in me that is looking to read more from them!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
When I first saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I am an immigrant myself that just recently became a citizen. But I am on the end of the spectrum of immigrants that is extremely privileged when it comes to the ease of receiving the papers that allowed me to come here, stay here, and then eventually become a citizen. I am also married to a person that is much closer to the other end of that spectrum. We’ve had many conversations about this in the past and it continues to be a frequent topic, especially in the current political climate.
There are 15 short stories in this anthology that have authors and characters from all over the world. While they speak about many different cultures, the thing they do have in common is that they – or their families – have or are crossing borders in these stories. Despite my own privilege that allowed me to avoid many of the struggles addressed here, I was touched by the many things I could relate to anyways, such as saying goodbye to the many little things in your life, the worry for your undocumented friends, the conflicting feelings about your homeland and your current home, the pull between who your family expects you to be and who you want to be, learning a new language through books, and closed borders.
I enjoyed the majority of the stories but often felt that they ended too soon. As soon as I got attached to the characters, we would get to the end and I would have to readjust to a new narrator. The way they ended though often left me with a very good feeling because of a lesson the narrator learned or a realization they had. I did really struggle with a couple short stories but overall, I was happy with them. My favorites are the last three in the book. They are Hard to Say by Sharon Morse, Confessions of an Ecuadorkian by Zoraida Cordova, and Fleeing, Leaving, Moving by Adi Alsaid. These and a few others are authors that I will be keeping my eye on in the future as they really struck something in me that is looking to read more from them!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.