Last year I read a newspaper review of Newcomers, purchased it, and from the beginning, Thorpe caught my attention. The scene was a classroom where the teacher approached a new student who did not understand English. “Hi, I’m Mr. Williams,”. the teacher said as he held out his hand in greeting. “Hmmmmm, here’s a technique I can use with Basic ESL students where I volunteer,” I thought.
The story unfolds describing Thorpe’s observation of the “Newcomers Class” of South High School in Denver, Colorado during the 2015-2016 school year. Thorpe wove anecdotes about 22 students ages 14-17 who had entered the States from war-torn, poverty-stricken, countries all over the globe into her book in an attention-keeping way. Because she made “home visits” to many of the students, she, and we, the readers, learn much about the culture and situations of each student visited.
The author’s writing style is succinct and engaging. I could hardly wait to read another chapter to find out what the teacher and the author would do or say next to “handle the situations that arose in the classroom and in the students’ homes. Overall, this was a wonderful reading “experience” for me. I rate it a full five out of five.
powerfulwomenreaders 
I could see you writing a book about teaching. You know so much about good teaching. You have probably seen lots of bad teaching, too.
Teachers can use someone with your depth of knowledge sharing your experiences.
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Kind words indeed, but I am not willing to commit to the huge effort involved in writing a whole book!
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