by An Na
First published 2001
Young Ju gazes out the airplane window as her family flies from Korea to California. At four years old, she watches the plane climb higher and higher into the sky and decides they must be traveling to heaven. America is heaven. But after landing, Young Ju discovers a different reality. Her parents struggle to find work and learn English. Her little brother cries in their cramped apartment. The family carries the weight of Korean traditions while trying to navigate American customs. Young Ju grows up caught between two worlds. She watches her father's frustration mount as he fails to find the success he dreamed of. She sees her mother's isolation deepen as language barriers keep her from connecting with neighbors. Through childhood and into adulthood, Young Ju learns that the promised land demands sacrifices she never expected. The journey from Korea was supposed to lift them up, but survival in America requires letting go of pieces of who they were.
Genres: fiction, coming-of-age, asian-american, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: California, Korea
Period: 20th-century
156 pages · Hardcover · Front Street imprint of Boyds Mills Press