community is welcome to participate.
The chosen book for this year is The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Minnesota author Kao Kalia Yang. It is a Hmong family memoir involving families searching for a place to call their home. Hmong families moved from Laos to refugee camps in Thailand and then made their way to the United States. Few of the stories of their journey have been told, and Yang’s novel is one of the first to tell about the Hmong experience.
This is the fifth year the Community Book Read has taken place. Each book is chosen by a committee of teachers, and the discussion itself is led by students in CIS: Introduction to Literature.
“It’s a good opportunity for the class because so much of what they learn is in discussion,” said English teacher Denise Wahlin-Fiskum.
There will also be a presentation by Yang and by Cultures United in the Performing Arts Center.
“You get a new perspective on a book when you hear the author speak, especially since this is a memoir,” said Wahlin-Fiskum. “It’s not fiction, it’s her life – her family’s life – and it’s so moving. I’ve ended up in tears both times hearing of her experiences, good and bad. It’s really something to hear it in her own words. Rarely do you have that opportunity.”
Copies of The Lathomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir are available in the library for anyone who wishes to participate in the discussion.
By Kristin Jeske and Caroline Persons
