Ms. Hen reviews Girl in Translation

Girl in Translation

Jean Kwok

Riverhead Books

2010

 

Ms. Hen picked up this book at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She didn’t know anything about the book or the author, but she read the back quickly, and thought it would be something she liked. This book was part of an event in the town where she lives called Malden Reads, which tries to have people read the same book so they can all discuss it. It is run by the Malden Cultural Council. Ms. Hen has never been to any of their events, but she has read some of the books the group has suggested.

 

This novel is about a young girl, Ah-Kim or Kimberly and her mother who are from Hong Kong, but emigrate to New York. Kimberly is twelve when she arrives, and she barely knows any English. She and her mother live in a dirty apartment with roaches and rodents that does not have heat. Her mother works in a sweatshop that is run by her sister. Her mother has to pay off her sister for her trip to America, and also helping her to recover from tuberculosis. Kimberly works with her mother in the factory because her mother gets paid by the piece, which is illegal.

 

Kimberly was always the smartest person in her school in Hong Kong, but she initially struggles in school in New York. She eventually gets into a prestigious high school, and works hard to get good grades so she can get a decent job in the future and support her mother. She suffers in school at first because she is the only Asian person, and she is poor and wears homemade clothes. She falls in love with one of the boys that works in the factory with his mother, and flirts with other boys in the school. She is industrious, and does not want to be distracted from her goals.

 

Ms. Hen found this novel gripping. There are parts which are like everyone’s life in school, how it’s embarrassing, and awkward, but for Kimberly everything seems much worse, because she’s so different. This is not a young adult novel, even though it’s written about a teenager. There are a lot of colorful descriptions, and unique ways of saying things, especially when the characters are speaking in Chinese. Ms. Hen is fascinated by the immigrant experience, most likely because she is not an immigrant, and does not know what it’s like to leave everything behind and start a new life.

 

Some chickens appear in this novel, which Ms Hen appreciates. A great scene is when Kimberly’s mother gives the teacher, Mr. Bogart, a Christmas gift, “He raised his eyebrows and then slowly flipped open the cover of the container to reveal a large soy sauce drumstick inside.” Kimberly was mortified, also because she and her mother could not afford such luxuries. Ms. Hen knows this does not mention a chicken, but she assumes the drumstick is chicken. Ms. Hen thinks this scene is sad, and she knows things like this happen to children all the time.

 

Ms. Hen loved this book. She thinks that the character is fascinating; she goes from rags to riches, a true American dream story. Ms. Hen admires people who can work hard, and achieve a lot, and though this is fiction, there are stories like this everywhere. Ms. Hen understands that this novel was partly based on the author’s life, which Ms. Hen is impressed with because even though the novel is not completely true, the author made the character's life into something different and fascinating in its own way. Ms. Hen adores books like this.