Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Racial slurs, Medical content
BOTM book -excellent account of the author’s immigration
this was gorgeously told. the power of libraries is amazing! i hope her wrist healed well
I really enjoyed this book. It is a good book to remind yourself how privileged you are and to be thankful for all that you have. I really enjoyed the author's writing style, and the way they were able to recount the stores from their childhood made it feel like it had just happened the other day.
What can I say besides it was so so so so good? Nothing! It was so so so so good! As I proceed to say more:
This brought me to tears, made me angry and heartbroken and laugh. It brought such a tender, humanizing perspective to a plight that is so frequently reduced to dehumanizing, xenophobic othering. I will recommend this until the cows come home, which is always because I don't have any cows!
*book #6 for march buzzword challenge: locations
*thank you to libro.fm for this audio copy
This brought me to tears, made me angry and heartbroken and laugh. It brought such a tender, humanizing perspective to a plight that is so frequently reduced to dehumanizing, xenophobic othering. I will recommend this until the cows come home, which is always because I don't have any cows!
*book #6 for march buzzword challenge: locations
*thank you to libro.fm for this audio copy
In this thoughtful, often distressing memoir, Wang documents her family’s undocumented years in America. So many immigrants face poverty and horrible work conditions; endure xenophobia and racism. Such a brave and scary choice her parents made even though they suffered greatly for it. As a child, Wang taught herself English by reading picture books. Throughout this account, her love of books is very evident. They’re magic.
emotional
It was a very straightforward memoir of a girl as an undocumented Chinese immigrant who came to NY with her mother at 7 to join her father. In China, her parents were both educated, well-respected professors, but in America they work low wage, sweatshop jobs. I liked the author's storytelling and POV of her childhood experiences. Her story was poignant and touching. The hunger - literal and for knowledge - was clearly depicted (eating pizza for the first time - the whole family sharing one slice - and her "free breakfast" that she didn't arrive in time to receive to allow her family more food) . I liked the story and was invested, but then the end was super rushed. It felt like the memoir was building this detailed depiction of struggles as a child and memories, and then just ended. I think a more gradual/detailed or reflective closure would have been more satisfying. Also, there were likely significant developments in her life that lacked emotional payoff. Similarly, most of the space is dedicated to childhood experiences but doesn't connect that to how that shaped her adult life, feeling incomplete/unfinished. The author became a US citizen and a lawyer, graduating from Yale Law School.