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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I kept getting lost in the three interwoven timelines of before Baba leaving, after he left and after they immigrated, having to wait for clues as to which period we were in.
“Be silent. Say nothing.
My voice no longer had a place.”
I’m glad this undocumented young girl eventually found her voice after years of living in the shadows. I just wish there would have been more about her years of finding it! The bulk of the book takes place before she reaches 6th grade and then after moving to Canada, the book wraps up hastily with her back in NYC as a college graduate.
My voice no longer had a place.”
I’m glad this undocumented young girl eventually found her voice after years of living in the shadows. I just wish there would have been more about her years of finding it! The bulk of the book takes place before she reaches 6th grade and then after moving to Canada, the book wraps up hastily with her back in NYC as a college graduate.
Heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.
A friend on Instagram posted about this book, and I’m glad it brought it to my attention. I loved that each chapter was like a short story about an important memory is Qian’s life. It’s hard to read about how our country created so much fear for a family seeking freedom and a better life, but I’m glad Qian had the ending she did.
A friend on Instagram posted about this book, and I’m glad it brought it to my attention. I loved that each chapter was like a short story about an important memory is Qian’s life. It’s hard to read about how our country created so much fear for a family seeking freedom and a better life, but I’m glad Qian had the ending she did.
I read this alongside Simu Liu's memoir [b:We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story|52582665|We Were Dreamers An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story|Simu Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652709298l/52582665._SY75_.jpg|78254898], and while Simu Liu made me laugh, Qian Julie Wang made me cry. Her story as a young Chinese girl who immigrates at a young age into a life of illegality and instability and then finding a home in Canada when being 黑 in America became too much speaks to me on a profound level as someone who immigrated from China at a young age into instability and poverty. The stories about her difficulty adjusting to a 美國 that rebukes immigrants and demands assimilation. The stories about her family always being on alert, ready to pack up and leave at any moment. The stories of hunger and free school lunches. The stories of her loneliness as an only child roaming Manhattan Chinatown and finding refuge in books at the public library. It would be a lie to say that I didn't see myself in her story, and yet a moment of disconnect and hurt occurred when her mother makes a statement about Fuzhounese people (my background) being farmers and unintelligent. Enough of an ouch to make me switch tabs to Simu Liu's memoir, indulging in some laughter and snappy lines. Nonetheless, I appreciate Qian Julie Wang's vulnerability and transparency in sharing her story as an undocumented Chinese American. There are too many stories about wealthy Asian Americans and not enough about the rest of us who came and started with close to nothing.
Wow Wow Wow! I devoured every word of this beautifully written memoir of a young immigrant girl finding her place in Mei Guo.
I literally read this in mere hours as the words just flew off of the pages.
Part of me relived my childhood through her reading of The Babysitters Club, Charlotte’s Web and Sweet Valley Twins! The other part of me felt a gut wrenching ache for this little girl with a rumbling stomach and tattered clothing.
Qian Julie Wang has the gift of plunging her reader into her story with vivid descriptions. I loved every minute of this one!!
I literally read this in mere hours as the words just flew off of the pages.
Part of me relived my childhood through her reading of The Babysitters Club, Charlotte’s Web and Sweet Valley Twins! The other part of me felt a gut wrenching ache for this little girl with a rumbling stomach and tattered clothing.
Qian Julie Wang has the gift of plunging her reader into her story with vivid descriptions. I loved every minute of this one!!
"In the vacuum of anxiety that was undocumented life, fear was gaseous: it expanded to fill our entire world until it was all we could breathe."
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Raw and moving, but still relatable in parts and shameful (in regards to how our country treats immigrants) most of the time. I loved the authentic writing style that made everything seem as difficult as it must have been, but also that it was just how things were.