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Girl in Translation
by
Jean Kwok (Goodreads Author)
Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about 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 di ...more
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 di ...more
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Sheri C
I bet if you read chapters 9-13 you would find out.
Community Reviews
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You probably don't want to listen to my rating, because I'm just a bit biased. However, I'd like to thank everyone who's posted here. Whether you love the book or hate it doesn't matter, I'm just glad you've taken the time to read it.
I've never read a book that described more accurately what it is like to be an Asian American immigrant.
It's like Ms. Kwok took pieces of my own experience (growing up in a cockroach-infested apartment with parents scraping by by working multiple menial jobs), and lines lifted from my friends' stories (calling an eraser a rubber, telling parents report cards came out only at the end of the year) and merged them with a thrilling and thoroughly absorbing story.
The novel takes the Chinese immigrant ...more
It's like Ms. Kwok took pieces of my own experience (growing up in a cockroach-infested apartment with parents scraping by by working multiple menial jobs), and lines lifted from my friends' stories (calling an eraser a rubber, telling parents report cards came out only at the end of the year) and merged them with a thrilling and thoroughly absorbing story.
The novel takes the Chinese immigrant ...more
4.5. I read Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok at a time when I read little fiction. I found the book at one of my favorite places- the check out counter at the library- and grabbed it because of its vivid colored cover.
In this debut novel, Kwok tells the story of Kimberly Chang and her mother, immigrants from Hong Kong to Brooklyn. Forced to live in a condemned apartment and work in horrid conditions because their sponsor, Kimberley's aunt, feels as though they are burden on society, Kimberly gr ...more
In this debut novel, Kwok tells the story of Kimberly Chang and her mother, immigrants from Hong Kong to Brooklyn. Forced to live in a condemned apartment and work in horrid conditions because their sponsor, Kimberley's aunt, feels as though they are burden on society, Kimberly gr ...more
I'm very hesitant to review this book, mostly because I'm not quite sure how to put to words what it is that reading this has made me feel.
It is at once both very familiar, and yet completely foreign. The Cantonese, the way that the author translates the slang and the phrases, the cultural traditions, the deeply embedded lifestyle that is Chinese pride and saving face...when I read about that, it was like something sparked in my blood. This part, I understand, and I have lived.
But then there's t ...more
It is at once both very familiar, and yet completely foreign. The Cantonese, the way that the author translates the slang and the phrases, the cultural traditions, the deeply embedded lifestyle that is Chinese pride and saving face...when I read about that, it was like something sparked in my blood. This part, I understand, and I have lived.
But then there's t ...more
Somehow, I managed to finish this book, though I complained about it the entire time (I know, my own fault, I should have shut up or stopped reading it). I could not understand the rave reviews about it and couldn't fathom that people had read the same book that I was reading until I realized a consistent flaw in how we review both books and film: too often, people are praising the story itself rather than the telling of the story. Which is what I believe happened with this book. I suffered thro
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Remember the popular song in the 90s, It's a Hard Knock Life? That song kept popping into my head as I read this novel. For Kimberly, a Chinese immigrant residing in the slums of Brooklyn, it's a hard knock life indeed. Her mother and her come from Hong Kong when Kimberly is approximately eleven years of age and fully dependent on Aunt Paula, a jealous relative, they find themselves living intimately with roaches and rats in a garbage-bag-in-place-of-windows, illegal apartment with no heat or ai
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When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to America, they are forced to reside in a cheap Brooklyn apartment with no heating and a copious amount of mice and roaches. To survive their horrible living conditions and financial struggles Kimberly works with her mother at a sweatshop in the afternoon while attending school in the daytime. Despite her initial inability to speak English, Kimberly works her way up to the top of the class in order to secure a better life. But when she
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This was a really good read. A mom and daughter immigrate to America and endure hardships working in a sweatshop owned by a relative. It's about a girl who is smart as a whip who is finding her way to save her and her mother by getting an education. It's a story of survival. Good character development and an interesting perspective. Unbelievable that such conditions did exist. I think her story is one of many stories of these immigrants who were taken advantage of and didn't have the knowledge o
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Ive read this book twice now, once on my own and several years later for book group. Both times I had the same experience. I just love the first half of so when she is younger and they are struggling to learn English and American ways. As she assimilates I find my attention moving to anger at the heartless aunt who has them in virtual bondage, living in a condemned building without heat, working 12 or more hours a day. Kim is a hard working student struggling to balance her school and economic d
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4.5 stars
I really liked this book, a lot. Hence how I was able to finish it in a single sitting. It was very interesting. The story revolves around an Chinese mother/daughter duo's immigration from Hong Kong to New York. The book focuses on the experiences of culture clash, isolation and all the other difficulties they go through to adapt to the strange new world they find themselves in. Perhaps I resonated with this so strongly because both of my parent's were immigrants, it was because of the ...more
I really liked this book, a lot. Hence how I was able to finish it in a single sitting. It was very interesting. The story revolves around an Chinese mother/daughter duo's immigration from Hong Kong to New York. The book focuses on the experiences of culture clash, isolation and all the other difficulties they go through to adapt to the strange new world they find themselves in. Perhaps I resonated with this so strongly because both of my parent's were immigrants, it was because of the ...more
I was very impressed with this book. It teaches important life lessons, such as the amount of money you have or earn doesn't define who you are as a person. This is shown throughout the book as Kim and her mom make nearly pennies a day but continue to be very positive people and it doesn't stop Kim from her school studies. It was a very easy story to follow and readers never knew what was going to happen next. There are few reviews about this book on goodreads, but all of them are positive and t
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I should probably bring this book down to a 3 for how terrible the end is. And clearly the characterizations of everyone except our narrator are fairly unsubtle. But I was completely engrossed in the details of this story of growing up dreadfully poor in Brooklyn a generation ago, a Tree Grows in Brooklyn for the late 20th Century. Kwok's tale really grabs you, and if you have a hard time crediting some of the details, the deeper unease is with the undeniable fact that the world she portrays - p
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While looking at the upcoming release from Jean Kwok, I went back to my review and decided to update it. I have increased the rating from 4 to 5 stars as this is one of a few novels that has stayed with me a couple of years after reading.
I actually obtained this book for my wife as it was on a "top twenty books a woman should read" list. Having found it on such a list, I assumed that it would be some form of "chick-lit". Needing something to read and finding the synopsis to be interesting, I rea ...more
I actually obtained this book for my wife as it was on a "top twenty books a woman should read" list. Having found it on such a list, I assumed that it would be some form of "chick-lit". Needing something to read and finding the synopsis to be interesting, I rea ...more
I see I'm against the grain here, but I was not into this book AT ALL. I read it for my Kinshasa book club- if not for that I would have stopped halfway through. The story is the most average, unsurprising "coming of age" tale I have ever read. The fact that the girl grows up working in a sweat shop would have been shocking if I was as naive as the main character's best friend, Annette. And the love of her life made no sense. She kept calling him beautiful, talked about what a wonderful person h
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I bought this because I enjoy immigrant fiction: it often gives interesting insights into American or British life, and I'm an immigrant myself. And for about two-thirds of this book, I was not disappointed. But then … Ah Kim (Kimberly) turns into a teenager. She's been granted a full scholarship at an exclusive New York secondary school despite living in an appalling slum with her widowed mother who works all the hours God sends in a garment sweatshop in Chinatown run by her elder sister and br
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Girl in Translation is the story of Kimberly Chang, an eleven-year old girl who arrives in Brooklyn from Hong Kong with her widowed mother. Their immigration has been arranged and paid for by Aunt Paula, her mother’s older sister. They are hopeful -- and why not? America is the country where dreams come true.
Every novel needs a villain and here it’s Aunt Paula who takes on the role. Having paid for bringing her sister and niece to America, she now feels they owe her total obedience for the rest ...more
Every novel needs a villain and here it’s Aunt Paula who takes on the role. Having paid for bringing her sister and niece to America, she now feels they owe her total obedience for the rest ...more
Girl in Translation is a walk in the shoes of Kimberly, a child immigrant caught in an exploitative labor trap upon arriving in America from Hong Kong. Because she is a uniquely gifted child, there is a chance of Kim escaping her crushing reality.
Her story compassionately explores why and how she and others make momentous choices, and leads us to the brink of a pivotal moment in Kim's life.
I liked the humanity of the characters. Most of Kim's confusion - at being immersed in a strange culture - ...more
Her story compassionately explores why and how she and others make momentous choices, and leads us to the brink of a pivotal moment in Kim's life.
I liked the humanity of the characters. Most of Kim's confusion - at being immersed in a strange culture - ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I can't do justice to this book, you need to read it for yourself. A novel told in the first person, it is a simple story. Eleven-year old Kim Chang and her mother come to Brooklyn from Hong Kong while they can. They work hard, live in desperate poverty, and are hurt by the family already in Brooklyn who should be helping them. Kim tries to be a good student despite the language barrier and students and teachers who treat her badly and contemptuously. After school, she helps her mother in her il
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I’m not sure why this book has garnered such buzz and great reviews. The writing is straightforward and easy to read, but far from being literature. This book seems to belie the fact the author has an MFA in fiction, or perhaps this is all it takes to get an MFA in fiction from Columbia these days-I don’t know. Perhaps the book should have been categorized as YA since it seems to have been written for an eighth grade reading level. I was especially annoyed by the use of italics to start each new
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In all honesty, this book was too short for me. the beginning, I liked, but in the end, i was really dissappointed. It made me go, "What?" because i mean, she was this good girl at the beginning, but suddenly became a boy crazy girl in the end. This really confused me. When she started getting interested in boys, the author failed to explain very much about it. Such as her first kiss or such. The author just said, "I got excighted because I was doing something my mother told me not to." but why?
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Weird and disappointing to have the exact same reaction to two consecutive novels (both on Amazon's list of best books of 2010, incidentally) -- the story had potential, but was told way too superficially. Only this book was actually less enjoyable for me than Secret Daughter, the last book I read.
I felt like I'd read this story many times before. Eleven-year-old Kimberly emigrates from Hong Kong to the U.S. with her impoverished widowed mother in seek of a better life; the two struggle with adv ...more
I felt like I'd read this story many times before. Eleven-year-old Kimberly emigrates from Hong Kong to the U.S. with her impoverished widowed mother in seek of a better life; the two struggle with adv ...more
I enjoyed this story of Kimberly and her mother, immigrants from China, who faced extremely bad living conditions and sweatshop labor while attempting to make a life for themselves in America. Kimberly is a good student and decides that education will be the best way to help them escape poverty. I appreciated her tenacity and dedication to her mother and improving their life. I have to say I was kind of disappointed in the end as it isn't necessarily a "Happily Ever After Ending" but really enjo
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After reading one of Jean Kwok’s earlier novels, it intrigued me as to how unique her style of writing was. In “Girl In Translation” the protagonist: Kimberly Chang, is characterized as a somewhat naive, yet highly intelligent and considerate girl. Through Kimberley’s point of view, the reader gets a glimpse of both the external conflicts and internal conflicts she faces; from having to keep secrets about working in a sweatshop to help her mother since the age of 11, and the feeling of alienatio
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nevjerojatno snazna i predivna knjiga. jedna od onih koje bas svi zbog samih sebe moraju procitat. cula o njoj svasta, ali me nista od toga nije pripremilo na to da ce me zbilja bas ovako uzdrmat uzduz i poprijeko.
Exactly the kind of book I enjoy: immigrant family, conflicts between cultures, love story. I enjoyed it very much.
I'm embarrassed by how shocked I felt to realize just how hard conditions are for some new immigrants: the cruelty of sweatshops and a slum-landlord- owned apartment without heat, in a roach and rat infested, abandoned building. The author herself worked in a sweatshop as a child, so those descriptions are grounded in reality. Your heart breaks for young Kimberly, but as a result, you cheer her successes even harder. Her double life as a scholarship student in an exclusive private school by day
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Dijelom autobiografska, ovo je priča o djevojčici koja je primorana, nakon smrti oca, iz svog rodnog grada Hong Konga, zajedno s majkom, preseliti se u Ameriku, 'u bolji život'.
Govoreći o problemima imigranata, posebno onih koji su u SAD pristigli iz dalekih istočnih zemalja, vidimo da je siromaštvo tek jedan od problema s kojima se ti ljudi susreću. Puno veći im je problem, u biti, golemi jaz između istočne i zapadne kulture, velike poteškoće u učenju posve drugačijeg jezika i općenito prilagod ...more
Govoreći o problemima imigranata, posebno onih koji su u SAD pristigli iz dalekih istočnih zemalja, vidimo da je siromaštvo tek jedan od problema s kojima se ti ljudi susreću. Puno veći im je problem, u biti, golemi jaz između istočne i zapadne kulture, velike poteškoće u učenju posve drugačijeg jezika i općenito prilagod ...more
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Jean Kwok is the New York Times and international bestselling author of the award-winning novels Girl in Translation and Mambo in Chinatown. Her work has been published in 17 countries and taught in universities, colleges and high schools across the world. She has been selected for many honors including the American Library Association Alex Award, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best B
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“What a relationship looks like on the outside isn't the same as what it's like on the inside. You can be more in love with someone in your mind than with the person you see every day.”
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“Sometimes our fate is different from the one we imagined for ourselves.”
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