From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Black, Latino, Asian-American, and American-Indian artists, writers, activists, and scholars are quoted in this striking collection. Living in the United States as minorities, these individuals reveal unique perspectives on contemporary American life. Nguyen freely admits in the foreword that this is a subjective collection, a fact that becomes clearer with each passing page. The entries are arranged by subject: "Roots," "Selves," "Relationship," "Work and Play," "Making Change," and "Inner Visions," categories that are further subdivided into sections such as "Education" and "Gender" in "Selves." Despite the fact that many of the quotes contain themes of struggle, disappointment, and pain, the selections are woven into a string of exquisite prose. The lack of an index is somewhat disappointing, but reading the book a section at a time is an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience.—Ivy Miller, Wyoming Seminary Upper School, Kingston, PA
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Review

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives. —Toni Morrison, Black novelist

"Indians think it is important to remember, while Americans believe it is important to forget."—Paula Gunn Allen, American Indian writer

"As a Vietnamese refugee who became an American writer, I can tell you that you matter, that your sadness matters, the story of how you survived and triumphed matters. For every story that belongs to you, in time, belongs to America."—Andrew Lam, Asian American writer

"Migration is the story of my body."—Victor Hernández Cruz, Latino poet

"Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope: In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead."—Barack Obama, Black politician

"If you silence yourself, if you try to be good, if you try to be polite, or toe a party line, you end up paying for that in the long run. You pay for it . . . with your homeland, or with your soul, or with your artistic vision."—Diana Abu-Jaber, Arab American novelist