Futureface: A Family Mystery, a Search for Identity, and the Truth About Belonging

Gr 9 Up–Journalist Wagner’s interest in the subject of immigration is not just a professional endeavor, but a personal one: her mother emigrated from Burma and married a white man from Iowa before settling down in Washington, DC. Longing to connect with her ancestors and learn the truth about her family history, Wagner researched and traveled extensively to find a place to belong. Her journey took her to Burma (now called Myanmar) and Luxembourg, and eventually she investigated her own DNA before she began to see the ineffectiveness of labels. This adaptation of an adult work is occasionally disjointed. However, the study of immigration within a historical and geographical context is relevant to today’s youth. Readers will be rewarded with incisive observations on race and realistic acknowledgments of the work still to be done around discussions concerning culture and ethnicity.