Girl in Translation

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

304 Pages
Published 2010 by Riverhead

Description:

When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family’s future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition. Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.

My Review:

Rating: 5/5!!

This was an amazing book. It reminded me of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" except with a mother-daughter Chinese family. Although it wasn't quite to the same caliber as "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," it was an amazing read. 

The characters go through so much in this story, and yet they strive for a positive attitude. In a sense, this is a coming of age novel about Kimberly as she tries to balance her life helping her mother work at a sweatshop, their atrocious apartment, and the American way of life (which includes some teasing at school!). 

I loved how determined Kimberly and her mother are, all the things I learned about Chinese life and immigrant life, and the ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in immigrants, other cultures, and those that just want to read an inspiring book!