If you're a native speaker of something other than Mandarin, I have a question for you: Have you ever studied a Chinese language?

I have. Briefly. I signed up for Mandarin lessons as soon as we had a match with First Daughter in China.

I'm good at languages. I don't mean this to be arrogant; it's just a particular gift of mine. Mandarin? Impossible. After the first few classes, the teacher put her hand on my shoulder and said, “You should stop now. You'll never learn to speak it.”

According to most linguists, the hardest language adaptation that a human being can make is to go from speaking Mandarin to English. I can't confirm or deny this, but I've heard it and read it, and I have no trouble believing it.

Yet. . . for more than two centuries we have been receiving Chinese immigrants into this country and laughing at their “broken English” and their inability to properly pronounce certain words (flied lice, so funny!).

How bizarre is it, that so many of us have guffawed and chortled at the “dumb” immigrants as they stumble through the complexities of English, not realizing that most of those “dummies” hold post-graduate degrees and that most of us would be lucky to make it through one semester of Chinese with a D.

Such are the themes of IN THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.

Author Jane Kuo, who is both Chinese and Taiwanese, moved to California in the 1980s and was dropped, just a dumpling, into a hotpot of racial stereotypes, bullying and the frequent and “hilarious” usage of the word “chink.”

This is a middle grades read, and a mother-daughter read aloud with my 13-year-old (who happens to be Chinese-American and who originally spoke a regional dialect of Cantonese that I'd have had as much luck learning as I would have Vulcan).

This is a novel, not a memoir, but we sensed it was largely autobiographical. We both thought that it was an important novel, but certainly not an easy or a breezy one. To be honest, it's often a little dark, and, even though I don't forced “happy endings,” I really started hoping, at the 75% mark, that this was going to end on a good note.

The protagonist is bullied (at an elementary school level, nasty, but not violent), and the family suffers racial bullying and vandalism at their new restaurant.

Life isn't easy for any immigrant, but things do perk up after the family's first year, and I was surprised by the “learning” that 12-year-old Anna does by the novel's end.

From her teacher at Sunday school, Anna learns that sometimes we need to “hold on,” and other times we need to “let go.” She breaks this down into her new mantra: Be kind. Hold on. Let go.

Also: we're not nice, straight lines. . . we're crooked, zigzagging lines. Too true.

Humanity: a work in progress. (Now just try saying that in Chinese!).bullied california-dreaming chinese-american ...more92 s8 comments Cherlynn | cherreading1,778 982

4.5?

I teared up at this emotional story told through the eyes of young Anna, who grapples with identity and belonging after her family moves from Taiwan to California.

Anna's voice is incredibly authentic and my heart ached for all that she went through. In fact, this lyrical novel-in-verse reads a memoir because it deals with very real themes such as racism, bullying, financial struggles, the immigrant experience and pursuit of the American dream.

Sprinkled with moments of hope and kindness, In the Beautiful Country is also uplifting, bittersweet and heartwarming all at once. I was brought on a rollercoaster of emotions and this is a book that I will keep recommending to everyone regardless of age.8 s jo ?183 48

I cried while reading this up at my grandparents. It's a beautiful hopeful story and I cannot wait for the sequel.middle-grade pretty-covers8 s Sasa409 144

6 stars



this book hurts me viscerally. it's short, told in verse, and details pieces of an immigrant child's life forced to grow up too soon in a racist world. this book will stick with me forever, but there are three scenes specifically that hit me in the gut: the grocery store scene when she was in line with her mom, when she gave a girl her chinese name after being asked thinking she wanted to be friends, and when she protected her mom by not translating what the racist man in their store said before leaving. i LOVE this book. it's concise, it's beautiful, and it's honest. the irony is that america's chinese name, ?? / "m?iguó", literally translates to "beautiful country" making the title more intentional. I LOVE IT. in the beautiful country should be considered an american classic because there is almost nothing more true to the american story than this and children need to be taught how their words, actions, and microaggressions hurt us.asian-rep audiobooks coming-of-age ...more7 s Shannon5,584 312

A moving middle grade novel in verse about a young Taiwanese immigrant girl who came to America with her family and is finding it difficult to fit in or feel she belongs. Great on audio and perfect for fans of Kelly Yang's Finally seen. I'm excited for the next companion volume coming out in June!aapi-books middle-grade-fiction novels-in-verse7 s Shenwei462 226

I hate that this book is so timely even though it's set in 1980... It's a beautiful book written in verse that is both painful but also full of hope.

cw: anti-Asian racism, bullying, vandalismasian-author by-and-about-poc7 s Afi (WhatAfiReads)522 355


'If there's one thing
I want you to learn it's this:
hold on to what is good.

With all your strength,
grab hold of the good
in this world
and never let go.

Such a telling tale and somewhat a semi-memoir of a Taiwanese-Chinese family who moved to America in hopes in living the America dream.

Personal Ratings : 4.25
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