Customer Reviews

Growing Up Ethnic in America: Contemporary Fiction About Learning to Be American

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Growing Up Ethnic in America" is an immensley important anthology of honest, emotionally-charged, compassionate prose by established and newly emerging writers of all backgrounds. It is a testament to the truly groundbreaking work that the Gillans have been doing in book after book. This dynamic cultural duo have managed to not only change the face of mainstream anthologies by challenging the same old dominance of the mostly white male contributor, but have managed to create teaching tools for teachers faced with educating students of diverse backgrounds. I don't know how many times a student has come to me testifying that something they read in "Growing Up Ethnic in America" speaks to their personal experience and has inspired them to write, think and feel deeply, not only about themselves, but of others as well. "Growing Up Ethnic in America" is a life-changing anthology of brave and honest testimony from those often pushed to the margins of our society. The Gillans have done a remarkable job in culling together all of these fascinating and incredible writers. This should be one ... anyone's book club; but especially for educators and readers who truly care about where we've been as a country, where we are, and where we are headed.

A very powerful collection of work that tells the real story of what it means to be an American. As an educator, I have researched and read other collections that claim to be similar, even superior but there are no comparisons. GROWING UP ETHNIC IN AMERICA is by far superior in quality.

The best thing about this anthology of short stories is the real-world voice that it provides for teenagers who read it. So many teens can feel disenfranchised by the American perspectives on opportunity, and this book shows a very valuable multicultural and immigrant perspective. I teach creative writing in a high school program, and this book, containing such excellent writers as Judith Ortiz Cofer and Gary Soto, is a strong resource for providing modern examples of differing aesthetics and points-of-view.

This is a very moving and fascinating collection of fiction and memoir that includes work by such writers as ELDoctorow and NashCandelaria and Louise Erdrich and Amy Tan. It opens up all sorts of avenues for discussion in a classroom or a reading group at a library. These editors have done an excellent job of assembling a group of stories that are clear, powerful, driect, moving, and help illuminate the experience of the outsider in American society. Really wonderful. their other anthologies are exceellent as well.

This book is truly wonderful. It contains very strong work by people from various ethnic groups, a brilliant introduction by Jennifer Gillan, and moving, powerful work. I really enjoyed reading it,a nd return to it often for its clarity and wisdom. I also have used it with many classes at the college level and find it an excellent source for discussion.

This book does a "dis"-service to the multicultural movement in that it is too much of a whine and complaint when taken in total. There are some excellent writers included, but many who should be here are not included. There are much better books that do what this one attempts to do, as for example KALEIDESCOPE: Stories of the American Experience from Oxford University Press. Also, available at the marvelous Amazon.com. KALEIDESCOPE by the Perkins which preceded this book in multicultural pioneering is more varied in theme and does all that the Gillan's attempt to do, only better. I recommend it as an anecdote to this collection, as it provides more subtelty and variety of tone. The Gillans seem to be best at whining when they edit a collection. Still, some of the stories taken individually are excellent, but all stuffed into one binding to make the Gillans sell books, they have a one note tone. Try KALEIDESCOPE instead. It shimmers in a better American light than this copy cat collection.