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booksicle's review against another edition
5.0
This is a must read, one that details personal family history that you never would've learned in the textbooks full of pictures of the transcontinental railroad. Ava Chin describes her ancestors history and how they found their way to New York City and Mott Street throughout the Exclusion Act in such eye opening detail that even she was caught unawares from time to time. I personally enjoyed it as an audiobook, hearing the correct pronunciations of words and her emotion when talking about visiting her families graves. This is a wonderful culmination of histories and immigration, shedding light on the personal stories that many other immigrant families still go through today.
bookreviewswithkb's review
emotional
informative
reflective
4.0
this is such an interesting exploration of five generations of Ava Chin’s Chinese American family, the journey from China to america, documenting the interpersonal as well as the social and political aspects that dominated the experiences of each family member. Chin focuses on particularly on the Chinese exclusion act, and its significance on the individuals directly impacted as well as the lingering impacts to the present day. this book is thoroughly researched and although its nonfiction it also reads as a multigenerational family saga
aweekinthelife's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
a recounting of personal family history and a more general retelling of various chinese (especially cantonese) immigration stories from the railroad days to more present. the stories of the past are interspersed with the author's current day reflections, highlighting the relevance of the history to the present day as well as reflecting on how societal attitudes may/may not have changed and evolved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Addiction, Death, and Child death