Scan barcode
mccarthygirl25's review against another edition
emotional
tense
3.0
A tough audiobook. Think I would’ve liked to actually have it in my hands. I enjoyed this book and it was thought provoking. For instance it’s sad that Quan’s father changed so much after moving to America. Even with how he was raising Qiab to have her head down when in China he wanted her to be confident in herself. I felt said for all the stress Qian was under as a little kid. I also had a difficult time listening to the cat abuse from the father. I hate how cruel he was. I’m glad that Qian talked about her school experience in America. It bothers me that she was automatically placed in what sounded like special education. This is why it’s so important to advocate for English language learners and not bar them from experiences due to their language barrier.
whatchareadingheather's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
My main thoughts while listening to this:
1. Men are terrible
2. This country (USA) is terrible
3. This would make a great movie
1. Men are terrible
2. This country (USA) is terrible
3. This would make a great movie
dinasamimi's review against another edition
4.0
I never cease to be amazed by the breadth of people's untold stories and hardships. I gravitate towards memoir with a migration tie-in and this one is particularly well-written and moving.
mrsdarcylynn's review against another edition
3.0
3- “It was okay”
I think this was a pretty middle of the road memoir for me. The author narrates the entirety from the perspective of her childhood self and hits on some important issues with being the child of undocumented immigrants.
For me, the lack of contextualization made this a weaker memoir. There is no hindsight, the author doesn’t bring any of her present understandings to bear on these past memories. You kind of just get the stories. Which is fine, but doesn’t make it a standout for me. I didn’t get a sense that there was a call to action, any insight, just observation.
I also thought she lingered too long on some of the animal violence and excrement pieces of her childhood memories. There wasn’t much of a point to those parts of the stories.
Overall, an okay read.
I think this was a pretty middle of the road memoir for me. The author narrates the entirety from the perspective of her childhood self and hits on some important issues with being the child of undocumented immigrants.
For me, the lack of contextualization made this a weaker memoir. There is no hindsight, the author doesn’t bring any of her present understandings to bear on these past memories. You kind of just get the stories. Which is fine, but doesn’t make it a standout for me. I didn’t get a sense that there was a call to action, any insight, just observation.
I also thought she lingered too long on some of the animal violence and excrement pieces of her childhood memories. There wasn’t much of a point to those parts of the stories.
Overall, an okay read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, and Racism
dreamer626's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
spregasaur94's review against another edition
5.0
It takes a lot to be this vulnerable, raw, and honest in writing, especially when telling a narrative of being an undocumented Chinese immigrant in a country that fights against you at every turn. Wang beautifully navigates the exploration or childhood and coming of age, and the complexity of doing so while navigating a new country, language, and world. Please read this book.