Girl in Translation is the story of Kimberly, a Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong who moves to New York City with her mother.
So far, I'm pleasantly surprised by Girl in Translation. Usually, I'm not the greatest fan of historical fiction (even though this is not that far in the past) or immigrant stories. I usually feel like they're too played out and a lot of the time, not that well written. It's really hard to relate to these characters because of their situation for me, which makes me not enjoy the book as much.
In Girl..., possibly because of the relative modern-ness of the story, I can pretty easily relate to Kimberly as a character. She is a smart, aware character who still has normal wants as an eleven or twelve year old, but is not taken over by these actions. She knows the importance of family, another thing I like about Kimberly.
Also layers of the story are interesting. Kim wants to be accepted by her peers at school and in the factory, but her strong Chinese upbringing is keeping her from totally assimilating. She also wants to please her traditionalist Chinese mother, but at the same time it's hard to do that when you're trying to become more American so you can do well in school and make new friends, even talk to your crush. Kim is a torn character, and I can't wait to watch her as she grows and sees which path she takes.
I was also interested in the Aunt's role in this. Kim's Aunt, Paula, seems very reluctant to help her sister and her niece, for reasons that have been hinted at, but not totally explained. The customs of the Chinese don't let Kim's mother complain about her sister not helping them as much as was promised, but I want to see if the sheer terribleness of Kim and her moms condition makes Kim's mother break away from their customs for a little while.
Great post Emma. I liked how this entry is obviously just the beginning of your thoughts on Kim and the story, you keep the reader on their toes. Girl in Translation seems like a great book, and I want to read it! Keep us updated!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Zoe! Yeah, I definitely can't wait to read deeper into this story and share what I find out about the character in general. You should read it, I've gotten even further in the story and it doesn't disappoint.
DeleteNice post Emma. I agree with Zoe that your writing brought the reader into wanting to learn more about Kim and the book. It also sounds very intersting, and can be related to what we learned in social studies. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, see my fancy social studies vocabulary word there? Assimilating? I'm so cool. But thanks for commenting, hehe. Yeah I was thinking about how even though the book is in a time period very different from the late 1800's and early 1900's, you can still see the conditions really don't change in some ways, just were even more overlooked and clouded over because no one really wanted to know about what was happening to the poor immigrants.
DeleteI started reading this book randomly because I finished mine one day but I never looked into it any further but now I think I might! BTW nice spelling in your title :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a great book. I really enjoyed it, and as I said above, even though it was a historical fiction-type book. I strongly recommend it! (Also, fixed the title, just for you Clara, just for you...)
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