Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
This is a beautiful book - funny, sad, and important. I listened to the Audible version, which is beautifully read by the author. I listened to it with my family during a road trip, and we all enjoyed it.
Reminiscent of many things that happened to me in my own childhood, but written as if it came from a ninth grader.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
3.5 stars.
Immigration and illegal immigrants is a hot topic right now. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of beliefs with this subject, one thing I think we can all agree on is that no child should starve or be scared for their life on a daily basis. This point is something that is painfully highlighted in this book. Qian Julie Wang’s parents came to America looking for a better life. Her parents were educated, held high profile professional jobs in China and were even published authors. Yet here they were forced to live the “undocumented” life and worked for pennies in sweatshops. They led a life of poverty, starvation, humiliation, exploitation and trauma. This book pulls back the curtains to give you a glimpse of the horror her family faced just to survive.
It took a lot of courage to write this book. Even though now she is legal, there is still that scared little girl hiding in the shadows who is terrified of being deported. But also, Wang is very open and honest about the good, bad and ugly parts of her and her life. As a mother, my heart broke every time her stomach rumbled with hunger, every time she blamed herself for her parent’s situation, every time she was made fun of for not speaking English correctly, every time she feared her mother or father might not come home, every time she feared she might not come home. This was her life at an age when she should have Barbie dolls and ballet lessons and play dates with her girl friends at the playground.
My criticism of the book is that it really stops with her at 6th grade and jumps to her being an adult. There’s a lot of story there I think would have been fascinating to read and learn. Also, while heartbreaking, at times in the book I didn’t connect emotionally with her the way I feel I should have. Either way, this book made me reflect on the life I’ve had and other sides of the immigration debate I honestly didn’t know (specifically the day to day life of an undocumented immigrant). I am thankful Wang was brave enough to share her story with the world.
My thanks to Qian Julie Wang, Doubleday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Immigration and illegal immigrants is a hot topic right now. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of beliefs with this subject, one thing I think we can all agree on is that no child should starve or be scared for their life on a daily basis. This point is something that is painfully highlighted in this book. Qian Julie Wang’s parents came to America looking for a better life. Her parents were educated, held high profile professional jobs in China and were even published authors. Yet here they were forced to live the “undocumented” life and worked for pennies in sweatshops. They led a life of poverty, starvation, humiliation, exploitation and trauma. This book pulls back the curtains to give you a glimpse of the horror her family faced just to survive.
It took a lot of courage to write this book. Even though now she is legal, there is still that scared little girl hiding in the shadows who is terrified of being deported. But also, Wang is very open and honest about the good, bad and ugly parts of her and her life. As a mother, my heart broke every time her stomach rumbled with hunger, every time she blamed herself for her parent’s situation, every time she was made fun of for not speaking English correctly, every time she feared her mother or father might not come home, every time she feared she might not come home. This was her life at an age when she should have Barbie dolls and ballet lessons and play dates with her girl friends at the playground.
My criticism of the book is that it really stops with her at 6th grade and jumps to her being an adult. There’s a lot of story there I think would have been fascinating to read and learn. Also, while heartbreaking, at times in the book I didn’t connect emotionally with her the way I feel I should have. Either way, this book made me reflect on the life I’ve had and other sides of the immigration debate I honestly didn’t know (specifically the day to day life of an undocumented immigrant). I am thankful Wang was brave enough to share her story with the world.
My thanks to Qian Julie Wang, Doubleday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced