Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is a wonderfully written, inspiring story about a girl and her mother who immigrate to the United States from Hong Kong with nothing to their names and knowing very little English. Kimberly Chang is a 10 yr old girl who has lived through a lot in her short life. Her father has died and her mother has just gotten over having Tuberculosis. Her aunt and uncle in America have paid their way for them to legally move to the U.S. and attempt to start a new life. Upon arriving in the new country they find that things aren't as wonderful as they thought. They are in a shabby apartment with no heat, which is a terrible thing in a New York City winter. Kim must go to a regular American public school knowing hardly any English and manages to not only pass but to thrive and gain acknowledgement.
Kim was a top scholar in her school in Hong Kong and now spends all of her free time either working in the sweat shop with her mother to make a few pennies per item while finishing clothing to be shipped out for sale, or working hard on her homework, even reading the dictionary, to learn the language that is going to their ticket out of the slum they live in. At a young age Kim is torn between the culture her mother knew and is trying to raise her in in Chinatown and the American culture where people say what they think show their true colors without fear.
Girl in Translation follows Kim and her mother, as well as a few other key characters, through a span of 20 years and kept me captivated from beginning to end. Kwok writes such a realistic portrayal that even I, as an average white american housewife, can identify and feel a connection with poor Ah-Kim as she goes through her life remaining respectful of her mother's wishes and still attempting to become a part of American teenage life.
I completely enjoyed reading this story and found it to be a simple, easy read that allowed me to relax and completely immerse myself into the world of these immigrants as they worked to become naturalized citizens and strive for the dream of all Americans... Freedom. Freedom from fear, Freedom from the grips of poverty, Freedom from the weight of expectations.
