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ashley729 's review for:
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
by Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers
Having grown up in North Korea Yeonmi had no idea how big the world really was. In order to make ends meet, her father smuggles metals but gets caught and sent to a labor camp from which he returns a shell of a man. They decide the best course of action is o flee to China. Her sister sets out first but when Yeonmi and her mom get to China her sister is nowhere to be found. Yeonmi and her mom fled North Korea when she was 13. There they struggle to make ends meet and mother and daughter are separated and both sold to different Chinese men looking for wives. Her story is heartbreaking and inspiring and she is very frank about what she had to do in order to survive. At times the language is too simple and it feels like it was written by a child. I do understand that this not her first language but with the editors I truly believe some of the sentences could have been rewritten to convey emotion better. The author also has been known to voice some anti trans and anti black remarks which is ironic because as an advocate for social justice this should transcend skin color or partner choice. Still an incredibly moving and inspiring story.