OVER HERE IT'S DIFFERENT

A journalistic portrait of a Dominican family now living in Queens, focusing especially on 11-year-old Carolina Liranzo. Frequently quoting the girl and her stepmother, Dawson details their complicated family history and supportive relationship with fellow-immigrant relatives, who are often given housing and help finding jobs when they first arrive and who typically settle nearby and continue to help one other in an extended family. Carolina's comparisons of life in the US and the Dominican Republic are immediate and authentic, though her memories about her earlier school aren't quite believable as simply her own—she was only seven when she came here. Many b&w photos—candid and portrait shots, plus earlier family pictures—complement the upbeat, sympathetic text. (Nonfiction. 7-12)