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sprucewillow's review against another edition
4.5
I wish there were more good things that happened but who knows if that was due to the author excluding them or good things really did just rarely happen.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Medical content, Child abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Genocide
shortstackz's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Medical content
xeniba's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
mildlypretentiousreader's review against another edition
5.0
“Why were we expected to speak English while praising Americans for even the crumbiest dribble of Chinese?”
Qian Julie Wang’s Beautiful Country details her life as an undocumented immigrant in New York City. As a young child, Qian and her mother reunite with her father in “Mei Guo,” the Chinese word for America meaning “Beautiful Country.” Mei Guo turns out to be anything but beautiful.
Told through the lenses of a child, we peek into the fearful and harrowing life of an undocumented Chinese immigrant family. The Wang family is forced to live
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, Deportation, Racial slurs, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Hate crime, Infidelity, and Stalking
jobaji's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Medical content, Deportation, Racism, Cancer, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body shaming
erebus53's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful Country is a direct translation of the Chinese term for USA 美国 - Mĕiguó . Whenever I hear " Mĕiguó " spoken, I picture the characters in my mind. A year working at a Chinese Newspaper will do that to a nerdy lass who likes languages. I have always been struck by how ironic the name is. The memoire written is an awakening from a childhood where the author needs to protect herself over and again, from the perils of being an "illegal" migrant. When any false word could get you deported, you learn to say what people want to hear.
From sweat shops, and bigoted teachers, buying the cheapest food possible, and making do with forgaed treasures, this is a candid story of poverty, Racism, and survival. I found the descriptions reminded me of many things that have been part of my life, and drew stark contrast between some of my own experiences as a White New Zealander ( Pākeha ) living in a country with social security.
I expect that some of this recounting may be affronting to those who are unaware of the type of life that oppressed people can easily fall into. The story is that of someone who has survived, but doesn't really feel as saccharine as a lot of inspiration stories can be.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Sexism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Deportation, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Abortion, and Gun violence
anitahacker's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Medical content
revolution666's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Xenophobia, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Cursing and Domestic abuse
pun1sher's review against another edition
4.75
It's impossible to call "Beautiful country" a good book. How could I ever call a testimony of poverty and drama, and the crooked American dream good? It's hard to get through but it's full of very true and raw passages that I imagine are true for all immigrants in America. If you grew up around kids who looked like you and spoke like you, you will learn how lucky you were. If you didn't, "Beautiful country" will hold you while you mourn your own child body.
These 300 something pages hold more hardships than I have ever lived through, and it's my duty to soak up stories of people like Qian Julie Wang, who didn't have what I did
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content
Poverty, failing marriage, generational traumasavvylit's review against another edition
4.0
As a whole, Beautiful Country deftly unveils the powerful myth of the American Dream. Though Wang does eventually become a powerful lawyer, it is in spite of America -- not because of it. This memoir is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the challenges of living as an undocumented child in the U.S.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Racial slurs, Classism, Bullying, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Domestic abuse