Reviews

It was an OK read. Was really enjoying the first part of the book where Kim and her mom were settling down in NY. Since I like emigrant type of stories, how they pushed through hard times. Also a good understanding how does it feel to start your life from 0. Second part of the book with Matt was a bit boring, kinda of cheesy love story. Also not a fan of the ending.

amararangwala's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

i actually really enjoyed this book right up until the very end. i loved watching kim grow up, embrace both her chinese roots and learn to grow a new american identity. i found myself feeling proud of her when she succeeded, and i felt for her when things were difficult. there were some truly beautiful scenes peppered throughout the story, and i really enjoyed the author’s writing style. i also liked how i felt as though i was growing up with kimberly, being exposed to the world at the same time she was. for the most part, i think that this book is an important and impactful read. however, like most coming-of-age stories, this felt very predictable. i knew what was going to happen for most of the story, but i was mostly fine with it because i enjoyed the author’s depiction of maintaining a double life, working hard to stay afloat, and desperately clinging to the idea of the american dream that just never seemed to come to fruition for kimberly and her mother. the ending was the part which really ruined the story for me. i found myself very emotional at the end, however i recognized that this was simply because so many events were happening at the exact same time and none of the outcomes aligned with kimberly’s character. i believe that these events would have played out better if the reader had been given more time to understand kimberly’s decisions and understand her feelings rather than packing it all in the last chapter. too many storylines and characters (curt and annette) were left behind, and the last 3 chapters felt like a completely different book from the first 11.

missdaniboo's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

DNF. It’s not a bad story, I’m just tired of reading about 1990s sweatshops in NYC and immigrants living through the same prejudices and learning curve of becoming American. Beating a dead horse on the head with the same boring storytelling actually does a disservice to the immigrant story because it enables people to become desensitized to it. If an immigrant like me is rolling my eyes reading some of these outrageous scenes, imagine a white person who is just trying to understand the immigrant experience. They either really believe that every immigrant story is awful like that, or like me thinking “cool story bro, but not relatable”

Being an immigrant myself and coming to the USA and New York state at 9.5 yo, I honestly have never had a teacher be so rude to me knowing that English is my second language. I don’t know if it’s actually an experience the author had, but I didn’t need chapters of spelling out “my teacher was rude to me not realizing I don’t understand English” because it’s unbelievable the first time it’s described and even ludicrous in subsequent chapters, especially when she goes to Yale on a scholarship later on

bethsandford's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

This is a story about a strong and tenacious young girl who immigrates to Brooklyn with her mother. The mother works in her sister's clothing factory and Kim often has to help her mother in order to finish the shipments on time. I have read other books about life in China for women and girls, but this was different as it was told through the eyes of the immigrant girl in America. I was amazed by what they needed to overcome just to survive each day. It was the author's first novel, but it read effortlessly! A great story for a long weekend :)

junereadsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

carolynu's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I liked the little twist at the end. Another depressing story, but with some bright spots. Another piece of our world I appreciate knowing more about. The description of sweat shop clothing factories is really sad.

katrinblomquist's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I loved the representation of non-translateable phrases and words and the perspective of a very young child navigating immigration. Could not put it down.

More...