From First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants

by Donald R. Gallo (Editor), Pam Muñoz Ryan, Lensey Namioka

First crossing / Pam Muñoz Ryan
They don't mean it! / Lensey Namioka
Lines of scrimmage / Elsa Marston
The green armchair / Minfong Ho

Stories of recent Mexican, Chinese, Arab and Cambodian immigrants who reveal what it is like to face prejudice, language barriers, and homesickness along with common teenage feelings and needs.

Genres: Young Adult, Short Stories, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Cultural, Teaching, Anthologies

120 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2004

About the author

Donald R. Gallo, often called the godfather of YA short stories, is the editor of more than a dozen acclaimed anthologies, including Sixteen, Destination Unexpected, First Crossing, and What Are You Afraid Of?. A former English teacher and professor, he began championing short stories written specifically for teens in 1980, addressing a gap in school curricula. His groundbreaking work has earned numerous accolades, including the ALAN Award for Outstanding Contributions to Young Adult Literature. Gallo now writes, edits, and presents workshops, while also enjoying photography, cooking, and travel from his home in Solon, Ohio.

Reviews

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short stories collection around the theme of immigration. I was impressed that many different ethnicities were represented in this book. There was a Cambodian girl who worked in her father's furniture shop but dreamed of dancing again for her grandmother. There was a Swede whose father's business bought out a local paper mill, so his high school classmates took out their frustration on him. One story was about a Palestinian Arab playing quarterback for his Albuquerque, NM team. Another story is about a Romanian who thinks he's moving to Arkansas but ends up in Alaska! (It's a pretty humorous story.) There are two stories about Hispanics, one a border crossing story using a coyote, and the other an American expatriate married to a Venezuelan. Another story is about a Korean adoptee who lives in the Twin Cities.

One story I think I might read at least part of in class is "My Favorite Chaperone." It's about a family from Kazakhstan and the middle school girl wanting to go to a school dance but still following her family's traditions and helping out with work when her mother gets injured. Another story I might read aloud to my class is "They Don't Mean It" about a Chinese girl and her family adjusting to American culture.

An interesting connection with this book is that several of the authors have written other books that are part of my classroom library. I could recommend this book to someone who likes Pam Muñoz Ryan, Lensey Namioka's Ties That Bind, Ties That Break, or Necessary Roughness by Marie G. Lee.

#bookaday

[Kate Shanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of 10 short stories. I feel like 6 out of the 10 would be suitable to use in the classroom as mentor texts. The four that I would not use are; "First Crossing", "Pulling Up Stakes", " The Rose of Sharon", and "Make Maddie Mad". "First Crossing" seems to encourage the immigration of illegal immigrants from Mexico without going through the legal process of becoming U.S. Citizens. It might open up an interesting debate, but the controversy and message may be a bit much for some students and families. "Pulling Up Stakes" by David Lubar is funny, but the misunderstanding of the Alaskan students thinking the main character is a vampire really misses the point the whole collection is trying to convey about being an immigrant. "The Rose of Sharon" is about an adopted Korean girl wanting to discover who own roots. The story was boring and the ending didn't make much sense. If I didn't get it, junior high students are going to be seriously confused. Lastly, "Make Maddie Mad" is about a Haitian girl who is trying to antagonize one of her peers when she starts working in her parents' restaurant. The girl is mean and the comment by the adult male soccer players wanting "juice from a young girl's titty" is not school appropriate and highly offensive. Otherwise the other stories would work well and I like that there are a variety of stories written from both boy and girl perspectives. The stories that work include; "Second Culture Kids" (Female/Venezuela), "My Favorite Chaperone" (Female/Russia), "They Don't Mean It" (Female/China), "Lines of Scrimmage" (Male/Palestine), "The Swede" (Male/Sweden), "The Green Armchair" (Female/Cambodia). All in all, this was a good read and each story is short enough to be read within one class period.

[Sierra 🌸 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really like this book to be honest. There wasn’t really a story that I loved and I thought a lot of them were just written in a really juvenile way. I mean, I am a bit older than the target audience, but all of these stories are about teenagers, but some of them are just written really young. Another issue that I had was that with a lot of these stories, I feel like I was just left wondering what the point was. Some of the stories I liked more than the others were: My Favorite Chaperone, Pulling up Stakes, and The Green Armchair. Like I said, I didn’t really love any of the stories, but these three had different elements that I liked. My least favorites were: First Crossing, Second Culture Kids, and, above all, Make Maddie Mad. I’m glad I found this book, because I needed it to complete a challenge for a year-long reading challenge I’m participating in and I was having trouble finding a book to fit that challenge. But I’m also glad to now be done reading it.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants is a collection of short stories assembled and edited by Donald R. Gallo. It is an anthology about being an immigrant from the teenaged perspective.

For the most part, I really like these contributions. Eleven well known authors write about the immigrant experience for teenagers. The stories are as different as the countries each immigrant comes from and completely absorbing. There are stories from Cambodia, Korea, Romania, Mexico, Venezuela, among others with a varied of reasons of immigration.

Like most anthologies, there are weaker contributions and First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants is no exception. However, there were mediocrity done in comparison to the rest of the short stories, but it did not ruin my enjoyment of reading this anthology.

All in all, First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants is a wonderful collection of short stories based on real experiences about the immigrant perspective from that of a teenager.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the inclusion of ten short stories, David gallo's literary work Firt Crossing: Stories about Teen Immigrants, whch was published in the early 2000's, depicts the effects of immigration on the lives of students from diverse countries who have made the US their new home. The students in these stories all had diffrent experiences and challenges in coming to the US, but all of their stories have a message of courage and hope.I really enjoyed this book because i have family who also immgrated to the US and this book helped me see things in their perspective.I would reccomend this book to a person who likes to read non-fiction.

[Liz Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! Although I picked it thinking it was nonfiction because it was incorrectly shelved, but it was still good and quite believable as an experience. Although there was one story I didn't enjoy compared to the others, it still wasn't bad. It is a swift read with a lot to offer both an adult and a teen reader.

POP Sugar Challenge: A book about an immigrant or refugee

[Regina Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally put this book on my list last year thinking it was real life stories. When I picked up from the library, I saw it was a young adult realistic fiction. I was disappointed, only 3 stories were really interesting.

[DeNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories were able to quickly introduce me to another way of life, another way of looking at, engaging with, and experiencing the world. The more I live and read, the more I realize how little I know about any of it.

[Kelly Nowotnik waldron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gallo has captured stories from different authors to open the readers eyes to what some immigrants may deal with when coming to the US. Though the stories are fiction they are based off events in people’s lives. It is eye opening!

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of cultural and political make believe muck yuck. I’d love to read what these fine youth and young adult fiction writers could churn out not tethered to a reader expectation that doesn’t exist. Editor Gallo outta be ashamed!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection of immigration stories about teens. Lots of diversity and authentic voices. Going to use as part of my curriculum next year.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 short stories about teens from different countries who have immigrated to the US. Lots of topics covered. Very diverse.

[Kate McCartney · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good short stories in here. The current immigrant narrative is not one that gets written about very often (even if this book is more than decade old this is still more current than most). Overall I enjoyed the stories. Some felt incomplete, but good short story writing is hard.

2017 Popsugar Reading Challenge - book about an immigrant or refugee

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read showing some examples of what it might be like to be an immigrant. Not too extreme or harsh, but still shows the difficulties and hardships leaving home for a new country and culture might bring. Read for Short Story category of Pioneer Book Challenge.

[Ruby Rios]

So, so far in the book Amina and her family are in a sad moment and I dont know what happened because my teacher had to stop so hopefully i get to read the rest today.

[Gilberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading First Crossing edited by Donald R. Gallo. He found different stories about immigrant teens and how they came to the United States. One of the stories that I read was called First Crossing by Pam Munoz Ryan. It’s about a young boy and his father trying to cross the border to go to the United States to work and support their family in Mexico. The father and son had a difficult life working hard in the fields to help the family with food and clothes. In addition their work allowed the daughter to go to school. This story is like others stories in the book because it talks about immigrants struggling in the lives in the U.S.



When reading First Crossing it’s about this boy and his father who both were getting smuggled across the border to work in the flowers fields of Encinitas, CA. It had to be difficult thing to do because they had to wake up in the middle of the night and wait for a van to come and pick them up so they can go to work. At first the van stopped by a hole in the fence in Mexico. They cross the border by foot though the hole and then in to a van waiting for them in the U.S. They got stop by the border patrol and were taken back home. Next they had to hide one person under the hood of the car by the engine. This time they got across the border.



What I wanted to know is that what has happen to them after they made it to the flower fields because the story ends. I really don’t know if they made it back home or if the family had to move there.



I like the stories in First Crossing but they kept on changing from one story to another and it’s a bit confusing. When I was reading the others stories they were talking about other immigrant’s teens and how they came to the United States from their country because they wanted a better future for them and their family. It can be a hard thing to leave your family behind because you want to visit them and see if they are doing okay. All these stories about immigrant teens its very tough because they just want to do something for themselves and try to succeed and they want to prove that they can do anything if you put your mind in to it.



In conclusion, I can say that I enjoy reading these stories because it talks about different teen immigrants and what they had been going through coming it to the U.S. with hope. Even though they had a difficult lifestyle they never gave up by helping one another to achieve in their hopes and dream.

[Katie Devaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The range of different cultures represented in this book is fantastic. There was a chapter that connected with a majority of my EL students' backgrounds and/or experiences. This is a good read for teachers and EL students.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally posted on my old YA Materials blog.

What I have can never -- and should never be -- copyrighted. What has been passed on to me is harder than any hardware, softer than any software. A series of words, a sequence of movements -- a story, a dance, these things Grandma passed on to me, these things that are almost sacred in their simplicity. And they are mine, yet they belong to me only as much as the flame of a candle belongs to its wick. When the candle is melted away, the flame is passed on -- that's all.

Each author of First Crossing's short stories weave a brief and yet gripping and well-rounded web of characters and plot within their low word count stories. The narrators are, for the majority, sympathetic and understandable fears and problems that they have to deal with, problems that many teen readers will understand. The variety of their ethnicities is important and also allows insight into different cultures, as well as the ability for teens of that culture to find a guide / protagonist that will connect to them the strongest.

As a whole, the stories all shared the theme of teens trying to fit into a situation that they find strange or different from what they are used to, which is a universal coming-of-age theme. While the cast of characters within each short story is limited, the protagonist is almost always fleshed out with enough detail to be connectible.

[Danielle0z0]

On First Crossing, there were many story's..I thought that putting a lot of story's in one book is kind of weird because they sometimes don't finish what happens. Like in this book, they didn't finish about what happened to the kids in any of the story's and that kind of made me a little mad.. But over all it was a really good book. I probably wouldn't get another by that author if all her/his books are just short story's. But anyway. the first story was probably the best out of the hole book because I like that the boy Marico wanted to help his dad get money and support his family to get more food and also get enough so they can move to a U.S. But what I didn't like from that first story was that they just left us hanging. Didn't tell us what happened with Marico and his dad or if the family moved or not or if they went to jail on the way back across the border. nothing they just ended it and went one to the next short story. I didn't like the second short story in the book at all. But I did like the third story. Which is about a girl named Maya who came form china. Which I thought was really cool. What I liked about the story was how Maya helped her mom and brother while also doing gymnastics after school everyday. The reason why I liked it was because she had so much on her plate and never complained once. she did what she had to do and kept going. But what I didn't like about it was the same thing that happened to the first short story. but out of all it was a really good book.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quoting from the introduction: "this book includes...stories [from:] Mexican, Venezuelan, Kazakh, Chinese, Romanian, Palestinian, Swedish, Korean, Haitian and Cambodian [cultures:]. All these stories are fiction, though they have their basis in real-life events. Whether recounting or only mirroring real events, these stories show teenagers making their way across borders from there to here, by foot and by plane. You will see most of them struggling through school, fending off prejudice and misconceptions, climbing over language barriers. You will see them contending with parental restrictions, trying to find balance between the old world and the new. . .Like teenagers who were born in the United States, immigrant teenager have the same feelings and the same needs n...:they feel insecure, uncertain, lonely; they want to be accepted, loved, respected. They want to succeed."
Each story has a page about the author and often his/her relationship to the story. This is a charming book with many good read-alouds for teachers wishing to introduce an immigration unit or it could be used well in reading circles on the subject of immigration.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

GENRE: BOOK OF SHORT STORIES

Review:
In this book, there was a wide variety of stories all focusing on the topic of teen immigrants living in America. When I was first reading this book, I was dreading the thought that all of the stories were going to be the same; about families sneaking into America. As I kept reading, I read through a variety of stories that all had different plots. For example, in one story the family from Haiti had been living in America for a long time, and the story was simply about their life in America.
In the beginning of the book, the stories seemed to focus more on families coming to America and teens adjusting to the American customs and lifestyle. Later on in the book, the characters in the stories had been living in America for a long time and the stories were simply about the teen's life in school.
Overall, I thought that this book was interesting if you want to know more about the life of teen immigrants and I would definitely recommend it if thats the type of book your looking for.

[Japheth Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

When assigned to read "First Crossing" by Donald R. Gallo I thought it would be another mediocre story about illegal immigramts. I later found it to be quite exciting. I found it interesting how the mexicans had to sneak in to the United States by any means necessary. I also found how the "coyote" or the person sneakin them into the States smuggled them in boxes, trunks, under cars and even in the hood of cars very interesting. The mexicans trying to cross the border risked the arrest of the border patrol police and being sent back to their country having faild the mission. They had so much motivation in this story, they could have been caught a dozen times and would go back to the meeting point and try it again until they got it right. This could have been going on for days and they would keep pushin on unitl the suceeded their goal. I would recommend this book to people of all ages it is a really good book to read.

[katarzyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but the stories were hit and miss for me. I picked it up mostly because I wanted to read the story by Rita Williams-Garcia after reading One Crazy Summer , which, awesome book...maybe read that instead :)

Anyway, some of the stories were good but I found too many of them to be boring. The biggest problem I had, though, was that some of the stories -- mostly the ones written by authors who are not actually immigrants and/or from the cultures of the characters whose POVs they wrote from -- seemed inauthentic to me. I just don't get why a book like this wouldn't solely focus on providing a space to hear the voices of people who actually are teen immigrants and thus are more likely to present a realistic picture of that lived experience. Seems like a missed opportunity.

[Alex Templeton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my latest attempt to read and gather good short stories for middle school kids. Unfortunately, I didn't find much good material here. I felt like much of the work was subpar in a literary sense, and/or written specifically for this collection rather than the writer's own need. Frankly, many of the pieces just seemed too clichéd or in some cases cutesy: I can't imagine some of the middle schoolers I've taught getting much out of them that they haven't heard before. I will note Alden Carter's story "The Swede" was a timely look at prejudice against foreigners who have "stolen" jobs, and "Rose of Sharon" by Marie G. Lee gave a sad but likely realistic take on American adoptions of Asian children.

[Heleina Conejos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Although there is an increasing amount of immigrants to the United States from all over the world, their stories are not frequently expressed. Teen voices talk about struggles with learning English, assimilation, and struggling living in two different cultures.

Classroom use: This anthology would be a useful tool in discussing the highly debatable issue of immigration in the United States in a high school United States history classroom. Students should know about the struggles others have when moving to a completely foreign place and having to adapt to it. They may not be able to completely relate to the characters in these short stories, but it will help students create empathy for those less fortunate.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of ten short stories centered around teenage immigrants and some of the issues they face.

Just as in real life, the immigrants in these stories are from many different cultural backgrounds and come to live in America for a wide variety of reasons. Some of the highlights: "First Crossing" about a Mexican boy's first illegal trip into the US; "Pulling Up Stakes" about a Transylvanian boy who finds himself befriended by a group of vampire-loving goth kids; "The Green Armchair" about a young girl who works in her father's furniture repair shop.

Reread 2/10/13 for the 2013 YALSA Hub Challenge

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated the diversity of perspectives in this collection of stories about teen immigrants and also the quality of writing given that these stories are written by real writers such as Pam Munoz Ryan and Minfong Ho. I also loved the fact that, in each story, the characters grow and become better people in one way or another. The fact that they are immigrants is a central characteristic, but it is only one piece of the larger puzzle of navigating the complex world of families, school, friendships, and life as a teenager. I look forward to reading these stories with my ESL students this year.

[Magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. It was kinda how I envision one of those 'culture days' would be like in school (We never really had those days in the schools I attended). It was like every turn of the page was a new experience just waiting to be had. I chuckled, I sympathized, my eyes misted, I remembered. It was great to read stories from male and female perspectives, to feel the sense of triumph they felt when they accomplished something or when they overcame an obstacle. Though these were works of fiction, they were based on real experiences. It is pretty intense to be a foreigner/outsider finding your way and that is conveyed beautifully in this collection of short stories.

[Allison Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first short story anthology I read, and fortunately for me, it did not disappoint. First Crossing gave me new perspective, writing about people from many different places, all moving to America. Reading about people going back and forth from Mexico to America and then Mexico again to earn enough money made me more sympathetic and less judgmental towards people who are less fortunate. I also enjoyed the variety in the stories, some being about different culture, others about the process of adjusting to living in a new country. Overall, I feel that all of them were equally interesting in different ways, and would recommend this book to anyone.