2008 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature

Touching Snow
By M. Sindy Felin

If you were an immigrant in this country, what would you endure to stay? This is the story of a young Haitian girl, Karina, who is balancing two cultures. She and her family who have migrated to the suburbs of New York have a secret until social services intervenes. This novel is an excellent way to highlight the realities of immigrant living. It also depicts the double lives some of its first generation Americans experienced. Readers can see first hand, the compromises the family makes to live and achieve the American dream. I think while this book is an emotional read with contents of some brutality and inhumane treatment, will have its audience cheering for the young heroine and provide proof of a resilient adolescent dealing with adversity to find her voice. To me, this book should definitely open the discussion of the line between discipline and abuse.