Girl in Translation (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Kimberly Chang: 11 years old, she immigrated to the United States with her mom from Hong Kong. Very talented intellectually.
• Aunt Paula: Kimberly's aunt, sponsored Kimberly and her mother and brought them to the United States.
• Matt Wu: A Chinese boy who works with Kimberly in the factory.
• Miss Annette Avery: Kimberly's rich friend from middle and high school.
• Curt: Kimberly's schoolmate in high school.
• Park: Matt's brother who is not all there and has a love for motorcycles.
• Mr. Bogart: Kim's 6th grade teacher who is not very open to her, despite the fact that she barely speaks English.
• Mrs. Avery: Kimberly's friend's mother. A real estate agent.
• Nelson: Kim's cousin. Very competitive and self-righteous.
• Vivian: A friend of Matt's.
• Uncle Bob: Kimberly's Chinese-American uncle who is married to Aunt Paula and runs a clothing factory.
• Tammy: A schoolmate of Kimberly's.
• Greg: A ginger who is very cruel to Kimberly when she first arrives at Harrison.
• Mr. Reynolds: A science teacher at Harrison Prep.
• Mrs. Laguardia: The principal of Kim's grade school.
• Dr. Copeland: Director of the science and math department at Harrison Prep.
• Dr. Weston: The principal of Harrison Prep.
• Sheryl: Curt's ex-girlfriend and a schoolmate of Kimberly's.
• Luke: The class bully at Kimberly's elementary school.
• Tyrone Marshall: An extremely intelligent African American who went to elementary school with Kimberly.
• Mrs. Wu: Matt and Park's mother.
• Mr. Al: Kimberly and her mother's neighbor who owned a furniture store near their apartment
• Godfrey: Kimberly's cousin, Aunt Paula and Uncle Bob's son, brother of Nelson.
• Jason: A young boy from the end of the book.
• Pete: Add a description of this character.
• Kerry
• Mr. Avery
• Miss Kumar
• Pa
• Julia Williams
• Mr. N
• Mr. Jamali
• Mr. Scoggins
• Mrs. Chang
• Mr. Pak
• Mr. Ho

Quotes edit see section history

• “Brains are beautiful.”

  Kimberly Chang

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• There’s a Chinese saying that the fates are winds that blow through our lives from every angle, urging us along the paths of time. Those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown.

  Highlighted by 89 Kindle customers

• Talking about my problems would only illuminate the lines of my unhappiness in the cold light of day, showing me, as well as her, the things I had been able to bear only because they had been half hidden in the shadows. I couldn’t expose myself like that, not even for her.

  Highlighted by 57 Kindle customers

• But sometimes our fate is different from the one we imagined for ourselves.”

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• “What a relationship looks like on the outside isn’t the same as what it’s like on the inside. You can be more in love with someone in your mind than with the person you see every day.”

  Highlighted by 52 Kindle customers

• I thought, I never want to love someone like that, not even Matt, so much that there would be no room left for myself, so much that I wouldn’t be able to survive if he left me.

  Highlighted by 42 Kindle customers

• In those days, I wanted to believe our love was something tangible and permanent, like a good luck charm I could always wear around my neck. Now I know that it was more like the wisp of smoke trailing off a stick of incense: most of what I could hold on to was the memory of the burning, the aftermath of its scent.

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• At the time when it seemed that everything I’d ever wanted was finally within reach, I made a decision that changed the trajectory of the rest of my life.

  Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers

• “Because when something is not realistic, it becomes a container for whatever you want it to be. Like a word or a symbol or a vase. You can pour anything you want into it.”

  Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers

• “They enter at this table as children and they leave from it as grandmas,” Aunt Paula said with a wink. “The circle of factory life.”

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• The boys at Harrison Prep were merely a dream to me: delightful and delicious but evanescent.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Brooklyn
• Queens
• New York City's Chinatown
• New York City's Time Square
• Statue of Liberty

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Jean Kwok (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Alex Awards (2011)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

The language of the book is easy enough for younger readers, and it has a good message about the importance of education, but there are scenes and frank discussions about sexuality and drug usage.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States › Asian American
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary

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