Literature Page

Author:An Na

Age: Junior and senior high school.

Genre: Asian American fiction

Topics for Discussion: abuse, cultural assimilation, immigration

Summary: The narrator is a young Korean girl who's family has immigrated to the United States. The story follows her from her earliest memories in Korea to her teen years in America. Throughout the novel, she must first adjust to a language and culture that is entirely different from her own, and then reconcile her parents' traditional views with her growing American sensiblities. Added into these challenges are her father's alcoholism and her parents' obvious favor for her little brother.

Book Review: I think my favorite thing about this book is that the narrator's voice actually changes over the course of the story, starting out very simple and childish and becoming more sophisticated as the narrator grows up and becomes more comfortable with her new language and her own voice. It is a beautifully told story, even if a bit disturbing at times.

Multimedia:

Christian Perspectives: The book does not deal with any religion at all. Rather the author focuses on issues surrounding immigration and traditional vs. American values. It is really a fantastic book to understand the challenges that first generation immigrants face in America and the additional challenge of trying to maintain their culture in their children's lives. There are definitely some parts of the book that are not appropriate for very young readers, but Na deals with them in a discreet manner.