{"id":37702,"date":"2021-01-23T22:34:04","date_gmt":"2021-01-24T02:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37702"},"modified":"2021-01-23T22:34:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T02:34:04","slug":"review-of-almost-american-girl-by-robin-ha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37702","title":{"rendered":"Review of Almost American Girl, by Robin Ha"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Almost American Girl<\/em><\/p>\n

by Robin Ha<\/p>\n

Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins), 2020. 233 pages.
\nReview written May 13, 2020, from a library book
\nStarred Review
\n2020 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#4 Longer Children’s Nonfiction<\/p>\n

The graphic format is so wonderful for a memoir about dealing with middle school and high school under exceptionally trying circumstances. I hope this will enjoy the popularity of similar books such as Smile<\/a><\/em>, Best Friends<\/a><\/em>, and New Kid<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n

When Chuna Ha\u2019s mother brought her to America one summer, Chuna thought they were just taking a vacation. They went to Alabama, a place Chuna had never heard of, and stayed with a \u201cfriend\u201d of her mother. At the end of the \u201cvacation,\u201d her mother said she was getting married and they were in America to stay.<\/p>\n

Chuna took the American name of Robin, but it was hard to pronounce. She didn\u2019t speak English very well and had a lot of trouble in middle school in Alabama. We see Robin having trouble getting along with her step family, bullies teasing her cruelly at school, and how hard it is to make friends when you don\u2019t speak the same language. She finally meets kids she connects with when her mother finds a comics class at a comics store.<\/p>\n

She and her mother move to Virginia when she\u2019s ready to start high school, and then there\u2019s an entire classroom full of English Language Learners, so she no longer feels so out of place, and doesn\u2019t stand out. At the end of the book, Robin visits her hometown in Korea and sees her old friends and learns that not only is she different from them now, she has different hopes and dreams for her future.<\/p>\n

This graphic-format memoir brings you into Robin\u2019s experiences with all its struggles and triumphs.<\/p>\n

banchancomic.tumblr.com<\/a>
\nepicreads.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/almost_american_girl.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a>