susanneb01 's review for:

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

4.0

---

This is an emotional, page-turning memoir of life as an undocumented immigrant in New York from the point of view of Qian, a 7 year old girl. The family leaves a comfortable yet restrictive life in China behind to realize that life in America without papers faces its own limitations. Housing and jobs don’t measure up, homesickness, loneliness and fear are constant companions. The emotional and physical stresses encountered on a daily basis leave their marks, not just on her parent’s marriage, her mother’s health, but certainly on Qian, who, even after finding what we traditionally refer to as success, is still grappling with the aftermaths of trauma long into her adult life. The family’s perseverance is certainly impressive, but we should find ways to lessen the struggles so many immigrants face in our privileged society.
On a side note: a shoutout to public libraries that welcome everyone to read and learn without questions asked.