Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I devoured this book. The vivid descriptions of Qian's daily life as an undocumented person and her struggle to achieve her dreams make you empathize and root for her and her family.
A warning though: there are several graphic descriptions of violence against animals that I wasn't prepared for.
A warning though: there are several graphic descriptions of violence against animals that I wasn't prepared for.
I thought that a memoir about a child's experience being undocumented in the U.S. would be extremely heavy and hard to read, something I'd have to digest slowly. Take plenty of breaks from. Instead, I found that I didn't want to put this down.
4.5 ⭐ rounded up due to it's "required reading for my kids" status in our home library.
4.5 ⭐ rounded up due to it's "required reading for my kids" status in our home library.
An eye-opening look into immigration and poverty as well as the long-term psychological effects of the fear of deportation. Qian provides an important perspective which challenges the idea of the "American dream."
I marvel at the memory so many seem to have about their childhoods. So remarkable. This book had me in tears thinking about my own immigrant journey even though it’s no where close to Qian’s experiences. I loved it!
In China, Qian Julie was a precocious tomboy and her parents were respected professors. But when the family moves to New York as undocumented immigrants, Qian Julie is shunned for her limited English skills and her parents are forced to work in a sweatshop. In this lyrical memoir, Qian Julie looks through her own childhood eyes at her family’s struggle to make a home in America.
This is a quiet, thoughtful, often painful memoir of a traumatic childhood. Qian Julie Wang writes honestly and clearly through her own younger eyes in a way that really resonates. This is a powerful testament to the hidden pain of undocumented immigrants, and especially to the children who can too easily fall through the cracks.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This is a quiet, thoughtful, often painful memoir of a traumatic childhood. Qian Julie Wang writes honestly and clearly through her own younger eyes in a way that really resonates. This is a powerful testament to the hidden pain of undocumented immigrants, and especially to the children who can too easily fall through the cracks.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Beautiful Country was an absolutely heartbreaking story that highlights the true resilience, pain, and injustice that impacts immigrants in America.
As Chinese illegal immigrants living in New York, Wang covers the stress and tension she and her parents faced through the innocent eyes of her childhood. Her story navigates the inhumane exploited positions at businesses like the warehouse sweat shops and seafood processing plants her family worked, poor living conditions, the alienation and exclusion of the education system on the poor, the predatory nature of people towards immigrants, and the mental, familial, and health impacts poverty causes.
As a result, her memoir is an unapologetic gut punch that absolutely screams the quiet part out loud - for millions of immigrants the American dream is, in fact, nothing but an impossible dream.
What an eye opening and impactful memoir; we are a country of immigrants and we must do more to protect them and provide a path to citizenship.
As Chinese illegal immigrants living in New York, Wang covers the stress and tension she and her parents faced through the innocent eyes of her childhood. Her story navigates the inhumane exploited positions at businesses like the warehouse sweat shops and seafood processing plants her family worked, poor living conditions, the alienation and exclusion of the education system on the poor, the predatory nature of people towards immigrants, and the mental, familial, and health impacts poverty causes.
As a result, her memoir is an unapologetic gut punch that absolutely screams the quiet part out loud - for millions of immigrants the American dream is, in fact, nothing but an impossible dream.
What an eye opening and impactful memoir; we are a country of immigrants and we must do more to protect them and provide a path to citizenship.
A well-written account of a young immigrant's experience coming from China to New York City. The details were both astounding and heart-breaking.
reflective
sad
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced