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August 2015 Vol. 52 No. 12

This book by Ruecker (English, Univ. of New Mexico) explores the academic writing journey of seven native Spanish-speaking students as they transition from high school to college.  Ruecker’s research is multi-faceted, conducted through classroom observations, interviews, and a series of questionnaires over the time he spent following the students.  He examines the support for and academic abilities of each student prior to attending college, the length of time attending a US school, students' social economic backgrounds, and the transition and writing support services provided at the college each student attended.  With the El Paso, Texas–Juarez, Mexico, border as the focal region for his research, Ruecker notes that US public schools along the US-Mexican border have English language learner services in place, allowing public school teachers to monitor a student’s level of language growth to provide a learning structure that fits the student's style.  On the contrary, first-year college writing courses tend to be one size fits all in nature.  Ruecker’s research goal is to create a dialogue that will close the gap between high school and college and get conversations started to better service English language learners.  His research provides a solid foundation that encourages positive and proactive discussion.

--J. M. Stiles, SUNY Potsdam

Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.