‘Dreamers’
Someday we will become something we haven’t even yet imagined.”
-Dreamers, Yuyi Morales
Author Yuyi Morales shares her work, passion, hopes and dreams in Dreamers. Yuyi’s passage was not easy. In 1994 Yuyi left Mexico and “crossed a bridge” (immigrated) into the United States with her infant son. She was forced to leave behind everything that she knew. The only comfort that she had in the United States was from her son, Kelly. When they arrived in the United States, they were “unable to go back.”
Yuyi brought her strength, passion, hope, and dreams to the United States with her. Her passage was not easy. Yuyi did not speak English. This made it more difficult for her to understand US customs and behaviors. “There were so many things we didn’t know. Unable to understand and afraid to speak.” Coming into this new land, Yuyi and her son were marginalized. Migrating into a new country, unable to speak the language, they were a minoritized population.
However, Yuyi did not accept defeat. Yuyi and her son explored and discovered the unexpected and unbelievable: the public library. Yuyi chose the power to make choices for a better world. She did not give up, even though she didn’t understand the language. Yuyi made the choice to have a better life for her and her son. There, Yuyi and her son untangled the language of the strange new land. They didn’t need to speak to read, they just needed to trust. The local librarian became a friend to Yuyi and her son when she gave them a library card. The books became their language, home, and lives. They made the books their home.
Through these books, Yuyi and her son imagined the impossible. The books expanded their dreams into something that they haven’t even imagined. Their lives became stories, two languages, lucha (fighters), resilience, hope, and amor (love).
Dreamers is a beautiful story about what migrants bring with them when they leave their home. It is about the comfort of family and a reminder that we are all dreamers. We have our own gifts and dreams wherever we roam.
Yuyi Morales is an #OwnVoices insider. Yuyi wrote this book based off of her own migration experience in 1994. In the back of the book, Yuyi has her own story. When Yuyi came into the United States in 1994, she was unable to return home due to immigration rules. Like most immigrants, she missed the familiarity of family, food, friends, job, and the ability to communicate. However, through books, Yuyi and her son were able to find their own path and own purpose.
Yuyi is a dreamer. Regardless of her status, they entered a new country carried by hopes and dreams, and carrying their own special gifts, to build a better future.
‘A Crack in the Sea’
No one enters the second world on purpose. The people that dwell here did not arrive on their own volition. However, in this second world, there are communities that live in harmony. The two communities that exist in the second world are the Raftworlders and the Islanders. The Raftworlders have dark brown skin and tightly curled hair while the Islanders have lighter brown skin and straight hair.
Access into the second world that the Raftworlders and Islanders live in, is gained through a portal. This portal cannot be mapped, tracked or predicted. However, The Raft King of the Raftworlders are desperate to find this doorway. He wants access to this doorway so that he, and the people of Raftword, can finally go back home to the first world. In order to achieve this, the Raft King takes Pip, an islander, back to Raftworld. Pip is an extraordinary young boy with an incredible gift of speaking to fish. The Raft King believes that Pip can talk to the fish to discover where this doorway is. He is not above kidnapping Pip to get what he wants. Kinchen, Pip’s brother, is determined to rescue her brother and foil the Raft King’s plans.
This novel relates the stories of three different families who’s lives unexpectedly intertwine. Pip and Kinchen, Venus and Swimmer, and Thanh and Sang. However, when their lives collide on the high seas of the second world, their lives fit the pieces of a puzzle together in pleasantly surprising ways. All characters came together in friendship to discover a better life for each other.
All three families are all facing violent and heartbreaking situations in their current lives. In some aspect, all three families are marginalized. Pip and Kinchen are marginalized from the Raftworlders because they are only being used for their talents. Venus and Swimmer were slaves aboard a ship in the 1780s. Thanh and Sang were refuges from the Vietnam War looking for a better and safer life. Despite the challenges that the characters faced, Author H.M Bouwam focused on the unique, and special talents that all characters had.
Author H.M Bouwman used details from the Vietnam war and the slave trade accurately to avoid stereotypes. By using direct language and explicit details about these events, readers can envision the extreme heartache and pain that Refugees and Slaves felt during this time.
