Beginning in 2001 I worked with two refugee families from Liberia. I wish I had read this book first, because it would have helped me to understand better the sorts of things these families might have experienced before they arrived in our country. While experiences of war, persecution and homelessness vary among people arriving in the USA, the feeling of confusion (even when you speak English, like 'my' families did) and dependence mixed with utter relief of finally getting here seem to be common among all. "My" families knew basic things, but our housing, food and school systems were totally overwhelming even for these educated people. And the police, which we're taught to depend upon, strike fear into every refugee I've ever met. Most of them have had bad experiences with police.
So when I read this book I could relate to some things, I cried over others, and I put others in the back of my mind to remember for when I'm working again with refugee immigrants, especially in these days of heated debates about immigrants.
Personally I think this book should be a must-read in every high school curriculum and for every teacher, not only because it's such a compelling story, but it helps us to see others through another lens and it is ultimately a story of hope.
From a strictly literature point of view there are better books out there, but this one tugs at the heart. And it's also a fast read if you want it to be.

Mawi Asgedom is a young man who went from the deserts of Sudan to a full scholarship to Harvard. Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi himself depicts the life of his childhood and the struggles he had to go through to succeed. This book tells about his young childhood in Sudan, moving to America, and then finally succeeding and graduating from Harvard. The story starts out with Mawi as a young child born in Adi Wahla, Ethiopia. He grew up in a refugee camp in Umsagata. Before his family immigrated to America he had two other brothers named Tewolde and Mawi. Tewolde and Mehret were extremely close and were best friends. Conditions in Sudan were devastating. The family was living on was UN rations and had the fear that any day that their village could be invaded, so Haileab (Mawi's father) decided that they were going to move to America. They found a sponsor to help them when they got to the States. They left Africa in 1982. They left behind a village of family and friends which was heartbreaking for Mawi and the rest of his family.
When the Asgedom family arrived in America they did not have any housing so they lived in a two room motel room in Chicago. They then were sponsored by a church and moved into a home in Wheaton, Illinois. The culture was very different there and it was very hard on the family. They were accustomed to a small village where they knew most of the families living there. The community was mostly white and the family barely ever left the house because they were scared. When they walked down the street people looked at them awkwardly. From the first day they arrived Haileab and Tsege (Mawi's mother) stressed the importance of excelling in school. "Right now, we are among the poorest in the land. Neither your mother nor I will find good work because we lack schooling. But if you, work hard at school and finish the university, maybe someday you can help your selves and help your family too." (33) As the book continues it talks about how Tewolde and Mawi had to learn how to defend themselves since the bullies would pick on them and beat them up all the time, while they were walking their annual two mile walk to school everyday. While they were growing up Tewolde and Mawi would visit the public library a lot. One day they encountered a man sitting outside the library shivering from the cold weather. The two boys asked if he was ok and gave him their sandwiches. The man replied that he had lost his job and he didn't think he would ever get another one. Tewolde would always go down to the dumpsters near Wheaton College and see what he could find. The boys wanted to lift weights and he found weights and a bench there. He brought them home and asked Mawi to help him move the weights across the street to a friend that wanted to use them. When they knocked on the door Mawi saw a familiar man, it was the man who they had seen at the library a year earlier. He told them that he was keeping up with his job but it was hard. Then Mawi realized "My brother had found him housing and a job, encouraged him, and even given money when he could- even though my bro had so little himself. All of this, without telling anyone." (66). This is just one of the stories about Tewolde that I myself find amazing. Later that year Mawi lost his best friend and brother Tewolde. He was killed by a drunk driver midway through his senior year.
In Sudan, Haileab, Mawi's father, had been a doctor that traveled miles to help people. When he came to the US he had to work minimum wage jobs such as a janitor. This inspired Mawi to succeed in school and help his father. Later in his life Haileab started to loose his vision and got fired from his job. He could not work anymore because of his eyes so he had to stay home most of the day. Mawi was in high school now and he was taking all the advanced classes and achieving the highest grades, all the while thinking of his dad. Senior year and he applied to colleges. His college advisor told him to apply to many great colleges and he did. He ended up receiving a full scholarship from Harvard. Once again though in his junior year in college he faced adversity and tragedy. His dad was riding his bike when a drunk driver who was driving down the street the wrong way hit him and killed him. Haileab never got to see Mawi graduate from Harvard but Mawi knew he was there in his heart.
This book is an extremely interesting story and I would recommend to many people. I decided to read this book because it sounded like an interesting story and with Sudan in the news daily I was curious to listen to Mawi's story. This book far surpassed my curiosity about Mawi. The best part about this book was the stories he told about his family. For example, after Tewolde's death Mawi went into his room and was looking through some of his pictures. "A single picture stopped me. It showed a dark-haired South American boy, about five years old, with the warmest, brightest, most hopeful eyes, and the hint of a smile on his light-brown face." He flipped it over it read: "Here is your child. Thank you for sponsoring him. With your twenty dollars a month he goes to school, receives medical care, and eats healthy food." "I wondered how my brother had donated $240 a year to Compassion International, when he has so little money to spare. He was struggling to saver money for college and was trying to help his family too." (70-71) This story to me is one of the most heart warming I have ever heard. The fact that his brother who hardly has any money for himself donated that much to help another person amazes me. It shows great character and what a great person he really was.
The book wasn't just a whole group of dry facts. He let the facts out but expressed them in a way that made you more interested in the book. He added in little pieces of information that caught you attention. Also, the stories that he told about his family were extremely interesting. This book was very well done and I loved it. He could have made the book better by including a little more information about his experience at Harvard. What the environment was like and how the people thought of him. Also, how adjusted to this change like he had done in the past. If you are looking for a great story about a young man that had the will power and the encouragement from his family to make it from a refugee camp in Sudan to Harvard then this is the book for you. It tells a great story and really has inspired me. It has shown me that any bad times that we ordinary people face in our lives is nothing compared to what some people have to go through and Of Beetles and Angles expresses this beautifully.

Of Beetles and Angles is the remarkable non-fiction account of Mawi Asgedom's jouney as an African war refugee to America and the obstacles that he and his family had to overcome. In his own words he describes his inspiring transformation into a man with traditional values and principles mixed in with the demands of everyday life in a new society. Influenced by his older brother and father, Mawi sets out to experience the American dream and more importantly, look upon each and every person as angels sent to test the will of our hearts.

I won't take a lot of space stating what the book is about. Just get it and read it, everyone from middle school through adults. You'll be glad you did.

This book told me one thing: everyone can be an angel. No matter in what form, that thing could be an angel.
From this story, a boy named Mawi was a refugee. His homeland had been involved in a war. His father decided the family would flee to Amerikha, as they called it. It was a place of peace, which was something that didnt exist in Eritrea, their homeland.
Many perils were made in America. Mawi needed to go to school, with his brothers and sister. He survived through prejudice and violence at school. His dream was to be welcomed with a scholarship into a special university. He worked very hard to achieve his goal.
How did it happen? Just read the book and find out!