This was such a real and honest book. When reading this you’ll come across true pain but vulnerability that makes you understand that sometimes the end to a part of you is only the beginning to another.

Immigration is the lifeline of diversity. With globalization and travel, people are increasingly moving across continents with ease. Many have also emigrated from their birth countries for various reasons. Some are economic while others are plainly to escape from poverty or persecution. Some countries open their doors only to specific foreign talents to compensate for their lack of skills in that area. Others do so for humanitarian reasons. Having families in a foreign country is another factor. Not wanting to be separated from their loved ones, they put in the paperwork to bring them them over to be reunited in their new country of choice. For all the economic benefits to the destination countries, there are challenges of adaptation and integration. This is especially so when locals feel threatened and insecure due to the introduction of immigrants who were willing to work more for mich less. Locals fear that immigration would strain their welfare systems and social safety nets. Tensions could also arise due to language or cultural difficulties.

For all the political and economic concerns, perhaps the most challenging of all are the social implications. It is not often that we hear how many young immigrants feel. They are often not directly responsible for what their parents or guardians make on their behalf. This book contains poems written by 15 young immigrants on how they feel about leaving their countries of origin and their struggles to adapt to their new countries. The book is a compilation of poems, portraits, and thoughts from young immigrants in a high school in Quebec, Canada. They speak of how decisions made for them by adults had impacted them both physically and emotionally. They come from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America. It is a powerful collection of thoughts and emotions about how young immigrants fear, feel, and hopes about the future. The fears of the new country come with the sadness of leaving their homes of origin. The poems reveal the need to adapt to the external things like new weather changes, strange surroundings, different cultures, identity crises, comparing memories of the past with the conflicted views about the future.

Then there are the portraits which are there for readers to appreciate the fact that immigrants are ordinary folks like you and me. There is no space for arrogance or any arrogant bigotry that elevates local rights at the expense of all others. Immigrants need understanding rather than contempt. We are all in this world together. The Christian message of loving our neighbour can be appropriately practiced through our welcome of immigrants, wherever they are. We need more love. Poems express emotions in ways that prose cannot do. There is no need to explain the words for the expressions enable readers to nuance the emotions in many dimensions. Like the poem of Ariel Kegeles which expresses a longing for a past that is now gone or Olhin Natolla's comparison of a a noisy celebration back home to a subdued occasion in the new country. Almost every poem showcases a longing for the past and some form of trepidation for the future. Most heart-breaking of all is the separation for family and loved ones. Young children draw pictures. Teenagers write poems. These are ways to express the human emotion due to immigration and separation. I must commend the poets for their courage to put into words in their non-native tongue. Perhaps, such efforts are nothing compared to their physical relocation and emotional separation from one country to another. They have given the world a window into their world and their feelings. I believe that being able to identify where they are, how they feel, and what they are hoping for will not only help society at large to empathize with immigrants, but also to be reminded that we are all temporary residents in this world. Let us do our best to be as welcoming of one another as possible. We never know when will that day come when we need to be relocated to another foreign land. I like to conclude with this popular phrase which I paraphrase here: There are no strangers in this world; just friends we have yet to meet. Perhaps, this book has revealed friends in our neighbourhood that we have yet to meet.

ROGÉ is the illustrator of more than twenty children’s books and is the recipient of several awards, including a Governor General’s Award for illustration and a New York Times book award. All the contributors are from Paul-Gérin-Lajoie-d’Outremont high school in Montreal, Quebec.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Owlkids Books and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

A short, profound collection of poems from young immigrants, accompanied by muted and subdued portraits.

Through image and text, a range of authors speak to lived experiences of refugees. Challenge, perservance, and empathy punctuate this book -- well worth reading and sharing with others.

“I am a girl from China/
Before I left/
I was a young bird in a cage One day through a porthole A never-seen landscape Forests, mountains, blue sky/
Reaching Montreal/
I emerge” - Shuning Dou (China)

Carry On is a collection of poetry by young immigrant poets, newly calling Canada their home. It began in a high school in Outremont, Quebec in a creative-writing workshop hosted by author and poet Simon Boulerice. The poems are paired with portraits by the artist Rogé, highlighting the emotive, intimate experience of each young person.

Striking, heartfelt, and moving, Carry On allowed me to experience the hardships and triumphs of those moving from their homeland to Canada. I appreciated the honesty - the anxieties, the struggles, and the hardships - in each of the pieces. Despite the difficulties expressed by each of the poets, there is an overwhelming sense of hope for the future and a growing into the feeling of belonging. I thought it was touching to be able to look at each poet’s portrait and read their words as I pursued a relationship with them as a reader.

This collection of poetry and art is stunning. As an educator, I think it is important for young people to see other young artists and creators express themselves and share it with the world. I really do hope that each of these young poets continue to express themselves in words. This collection of own voices pieces belongs shelved with the great poets of our time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for the opportunity to read and review this collection.

A beautiful poetry collection written by high school students about their experiences immigrating to Canada. The brief poems are haunting, hopeful, and beautiful. The poems are accompanied by gorgeous water color portraits of each student. This would be a great collection to share with students.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Carry On is a moving, heartfelt collection of poetry by young newcomers to Canada. Originally for a creative-writing workshop, the poems reflect on their experiences relating to leaving behind their countries of origin, friends, and families. Through their words, the poets express fears, anxieties, and hopes. The accompanying portraits add to the contemplative and, at times, melancholy vibe of the collection. Despite the pain and sorrow that resonates through many of the poems, you can feel the students’ anticipation and hope for the future. I think that society in general has a tendency to underestimate the emotional depth and intelligence of young people. This collection was a firm reminder of just how powerful and insightful their voices can be. Thanks to Owl Kids Books and NetGalley for generously providing an ARC.

This was a hauntingly beautiful collection of poetry from some young people who are putting their own experiences with immigration down on the page. There was sadness, anxiety, hope, and more - perfectly encapsulated into bite-sized poems. I applaud the bravery and resiliency of these young people and hope they continue exploring poetic expression.

In this collection of contemporary poems, students were given a voice to express their feelings on leaving their homelands to start a new life in Canada. The poems often straddle two worlds to find truth in their experiences of new beginnings, border crossings, leaving friends and family, feelings of being different, and homesickness.
The gorgeous portraits by award-winning artist Rogé add another layer of richness by putting a face to the feelings of sadness, worry, gratitude, and the longing of acceptance.
This book should be in every school library.

"Carry On" is a beautiful collection of poems written by newcomer immigrant students in Canada during a writing workshop. Originally written in French, and translated into English, these poems are a great example of talent and resilience. The art style of the portraits of the students pairs very well with the tone of the poems, and the art and words blend beautifully to create a gorgeous little book.

Professionally, I work with ELL (English Language Learner) students in USA and I could see a lot of their feelings reflected in this book. I believe this book will mean a lot to many newcomer students in different countries, as the feelings of sadness over leaving an old life behind, of anxiety over changes, and of newfound hope and resilience are universal to all people. I am looking forward to sharing this book with my ELL students when it is published. In the meantime, thank you to both NetGalley and OwlKids Books for the digital e-arc in exchange for my honest review.