Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Girl in Translation

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok  293 pp.

Kimberly Chang & her mother arrive in New York from Hong Kong totally indebted to Mrs. Chang's bitter older sister. They end up in a vermin-ridden apartment in a condemned building and work in the sister's sweatshop, paid only for piecework. Kimberly is a brilliant student who conquers her language difficulties in public school to gain admittance to an exclusive private school. She manages to keep her factory life hidden from her fellow students. In spite of the long day at school and long hours in the factory, she struggles to help her mother pull them up from extreme poverty. Occasionally predictable, but a good story.

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