Five refugees recount their courageous journeys to America -- and the unimaginable struggles that led them to flee their homelands -- in a powerful work from the author of Beyond Magenta and We Are Here to Stay.

"From 1984, when I was born, until July 16, 2017, when I arrived in the United States, I never lived in a place where there was no war." -- Fraidoon

An Iraqi woman who survived capture by ISIS. A Sudanese teen growing up in civil war and famine. An Afghan interpreter for the U.S. Army living under threat of a fatwa. They are among the five refugees who share their stories in award-winning author and photographer Susan Kuklin's latest masterfully crafted narrative. The five, originally from Afghanistan, Myanmar, South Sudan, Iraq, and Burundi, give gripping first-person testimonies about what it is like to flee war, face violent threats, grow up in a refugee camp, be sold into slavery, and resettle in America. Illustrated with full-color photographs of the refugees' new lives in Nebraska, this work is essential reading for understanding the devastating impact of war and persecution -- and the power of resilience, optimism, and the will to survive. Included in the end matter are chapter notes, information on resettlement and U.S. citizenship, historical time lines of war and political strife in the refugees' countries of origin, resources for further reading, and an index.

"In How My Family Lives in America, " author-photographer Susan Kuklin zeroes in on the source of cultural identity: the family. Meet:

Sanu, who is learning how to braid her hair and to cook the same African meal her father makes.

Eric, who loves to play baseball with his dad and to dance the "merengue" with his friends and family.

April, who works hard on her Chinese writing and tries to keep up with her family's challenging games.

Their stories emphasize the seemingly minor and everyday ways heritage is transmitted: stories, songs, games, language, special occasions. They show the importance of choice and adaptation in forging a cultural identity. And they provoke readers to examine their own families -- what makes them the same, what makes them distinct, and how this uniqueness is celebrated.

"No Choirboy "takes readers inside America's prisons and allows inmates sentenced to death as teenagers to speak for themselves. In their own voices--raw and uncensored--they talk about their lives in prison and share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up there. Susan Kuklin also gets inside the system, exploring capital punishment itself and the intricacies and inequities of criminal justice in the United States.

This is a searing, unforgettable read, and one that could change the way we think about crime and punishment.

"No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row" is a 2009 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year.