From the author of Searching for Sylvie Lee, the iconic, New York Times-bestselling debut novel that introduced an important Chinese-American voice with an inspiring story of an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures. 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. Through Kimberly's story, author Jean Kwok, who also emigrated from Hong Kong as a young girl, brings to the page the lives of countless immigrants who are caught between the pressure to succeed in America, their duty to their family, and their own personal desires, exposing a world that we rarely hear about. Written in an indelible voice that dramatizes the tensions of an immigrant girl growing up between two cultures, surrounded by a language and world only half understood, Girl in Translation is an unforgettable and classic novel of an American immigrant-a moving tale of hardship and triumph, heartbreak and love, and all that gets lost in translation.
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"Very good read. It was hard to put down. Utterly fascinating look into the life of a Chinese girl who has moved to America with her Mom and finds herself working in very poor conditions in a sweat shop by night, and going to a fancy prep school by day. The contrast is what makes the book really interesting. I loved it." — Maria (5 out of 5 stars)
"Very good read. It was hard to put down. Utterly fascinating look into the life of a Chinese girl who has moved to America with her Mom and finds herself working in very poor conditions in a sweat shop by night, and going to a fancy prep school by day. The contrast is what makes the book really interesting. I loved it."
“Part fairy tale, part autobiography…What puts this debut novel toward the top of the pile is its buoyant voice and its slightly subversive ending that suggests ‘happily ever after’ may have more to do with love of self and of family than with any old Prince Charming.”
“At age 5, Kwok moved with her family from Hong Kong to a New York City slum…She has spun some of her experiences into this involving debut…Kwok drops you right inside Kimberly’s head, adding Chinese idioms to crisp dialogue. And the book’s lesson—that every choice comes at the expense of something else—hits home in any language.”
“Writing in first-person from Kim’s point of view, Kwok cleverly employs phonetic spellings to illustrate her protagonist’s growing understanding of English and wide-eyed view of American teen culture. The author draws upon her own experience as a child laborer in New York, which adds a poignant layer to Girl in Translation.”
“The astonishing—and semi-autobiographical—tale of a girl from Hong Kong who, at age eleven, shoulders the weight of her mother’s American dream all the way from Chinatown sweatshop to the Ivy League.”
“I love how this book allowed me to see my own country, with all its cruelty and kindness, from a perspective so different from my own. I love how it invited me into the heart and mind of Kimberly Chang, whose hard choices will resonate with anyone who has sacrificed for a dream. Powerful storytelling kept me turning the pages quickly, but Kimberly’s voice—so smart and clear—will stay with me for a long time.”
“Drawing on her own experiences as an immigrant from Hong Kong, Kwok adeptly captures the hardships of the immigrant experience and the strength of the human spirit to survive and even excel despite the odds.”
“Jean Kwok takes two well-trod literary conceits—coming of age and coming to America—and renders them surprisingly fresh in her fast-moving, clean-prosed immigrants’ tale.”
" Wonderful, insightful, inspiring. An altogether good read. "
" I could not put it down. I was caught up in this book from the first paragraph to the last word. It was one of those...oh my, is it really 3 am and I just finished this book in one day? moments. "
" Very inspirational story about a young immigrant's experience. This is not a "way back then" story - it's about coming to the U.S. in the 70s, and the work required just to survive. "
" This was a great read. It made me think about how others lead lives that are completely different than mine. "
" This is an amazing story that helped me understand a little more of my husbands journey to this country as an immigrant from China. Kimberly was easy to identify with and her story is one that will stay with me for a very long time. "
" WOW! I felt like it was more of an autobiography. Well written and captivating! "
" A well-written, captivating story told from an immigrant's perspective. A definite must-read. "
" Interesting subject matter, but I felt like I was reading a book written by a 2nd grader. "
" I listened to this one via CD and enjoyed it. It was a new perspective on Chinese immigrants and I really liked the characters. The ending was slightly disappointing but overall i enjoyed it. A few swear words and a couple steamy scenes (I just fast forwarded them). "
" I would give this book a 2.5. It was really hard to get into and really didn't seem to have a plot. Just kind of boring. "
" Very interesting perspective. Must have been a difficult transition coming to America "
" It brought me to tears. I loved it and thought of my own mother's struggles. "
" The story reinforces what can be done with motivation, hard work, sacrifice, and determination. "
" Read this woman's bio before you read the book. Wow. "
" Listened to this book on tape. The reader was excellent, and the story was clear and touching. "
" The story was compelling - a Chinese immigrant who works her way up from extreme poverty to Ivy League schools. However I thought the author wasn't descriptive enough and the characters were a bit one dimensional. "
" Held my interest. "
" Excellent. Jean Kwok did a wonderful job of consistently telling this story in an age appropriate voice. And they was an unexpected twist at the end that drove me back to reread the open pages. Very clever use of words. Both story & characters were extremely believable. "
" 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the story up until the very end when it got a bit too Hallmark movie-ish for my liking. "
" Loved this book and finished it very quickly. I was rooting for the main character and enjoyed reading about the journey to make a better life for herself and her mother. "
" I loved this book so much I had to read it twice. I seldom do that, so it will be kept in a special place on my bookshelves. Thank you, Jean Kwok. "
" Loved this compelling tale. Funny, charming, inspiring. "
" Eye-opening, the life of Chinese immigrants in New York City, the difficulties they face in regard to language, cultural barriers/challenges and one girl's determination to overcome. Great book! "
" Fascinating story about the hardline and determination of an immigrant Chinese girl in New York City, who works in a sweat factory and is a top student in the 1980s (I think). "
" Outstanding debut novel; bittersweet and real. "
" A little sappy but very interesting look at the immigrant experience in modern day new york "
" Wonderful-a quick read and compelling story. Gives a hard look at immigrant life in the US. "
" Great book! It's a story about how a girl who immigrates to the US with her mother. They have very little money and struggle to make ends meet as her mom works in a sewing factory. She decides she is going to use her education as a way to escape the poverty. "
" Oh, ugh. So predictable.I'd recommend Anzia Yezierska's 1925 classic The Bread Givers</> instead. "
" Wow. I'll leave it up to you to discover why. "
Jean Kwok was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Brooklyn as a young girl. She received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard and completed an MFA in fiction at Columbia. She worked as an English teacher and Dutch-English translator at Leiden University in the Netherlands before writing full-time. She has been published in Story Magazine and Prairie Schooner.
Grayce Wey is an actress and screenwriter known best for Anna’s Eve, a horror film which she wrote, produced, and starred in.
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