Girl in Translation

Caught between the pressure to succeed in America, her duty to their family, and her own personal desires, Kimberly Chang, an immigrant girl from Hong Kong, learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.

I was really drawn into this story of Kimberly’s life. She and her mother lived in a condemned building and worked long hours at a factory for low pay while Kimberly worked hard at school. She had so many struggles and difficulties with school work and kids at school. She and her mother also had to work hard at the factory run by her sister Paula who they were in debt to. Then there was a romance with Matt, a boy at the factory, which also had it’s difficulties. There lives were so tenuous that anything that went wrong could result in dire consequences for their lives. I really enjoyed the story and will look for more by this author. ( )

Being a Chinese-American who knows what it's like to be on the outside looking in, I bonded immediately with Kimberly, the titular character. I cheered for her. I wept for her. I laughed with her.

Jean Kwok weaves a wonderful story and I do wonder how much of this is based on her true life.

And I also wondering ... what happened to Annette? ( )

This is a well written, very believable story for a aimed at a young adult audience, which is also enjoyable for grown ups. The only thing I did not find believable was the main character, Kimberly Chang. She is a model daughter, student, and despite some major mistakes everything ends up being just right.
It is clear that the author knows intimately what life is like for immigrants (Chinese in this case, but it could be any ethnic background). I highly recommend this book ( )

4.5 stars. Compelling story about Chinese immigrants (mother and daughter), where the mother works in a Chinatown textile sweatshop paid per piece where the daughter excels in school after having to learn English, earning a full merit scholarship to a prestigious prep school. What impressed me most was Kwok's ability to describe the social isolation experienced by the intellectually gifted. Highly recommended. ( )

Adult fiction. Coming-of-age/immigrant story loosely based on author's own background. ( )