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Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir (2020)

by Robin Ha

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
5153847,826 (4.18)46
"A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life--perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo. For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn't fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother. Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined"--Amazon.com.… (more)
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» See also 46 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)
Gr 7 Up—When Chuna's mother moved them from South Korea to the American South, the teen's life became a
seemingly hopeless struggle to regain her footing. An enduring love of art led the newly named Robin to social
lifelines, confidence, and a maturing appreciation of the highs and lows of American and Korean culture. An intimate,
contemplative take on forging identity.
  BackstoryBooks | Apr 2, 2024 |
Ooof this poor gal and her mom have been through it all. Almost American Girl is about South Korean teen who gets blindsided by her single mother with a move to the US. I've worked with a few kids who recently immigrated and were struggling to fit in when they barely spoke the language, it's so rough especially when they're older!!

I’m struck by how often comics are central to various graphic novel memoirs. Like, comics are the thing that drive these folks and that keep them going. ( )
  boopingaround | Mar 6, 2024 |
I love Robin Ha's other work, so I was very excited for Almost American Girl. This isn't a standout memoir on a technical level, just competent, but it's a fascinating story and I learned a lot about the immigrant experience, stuff I hadn't considered or understood. Especially the end, where Robin finally gets to return to Korea as a visitor and starts to understand how much she and the horizons of her life have changed. ( )
  caedocyon | Mar 6, 2024 |
I really appreciated getting a deeper looking into the experience of Ha; her struggles in adapting to her new home, sadness over losing what was familiar, and her focus on the particular hardships Korean women have had to deal with were especially eye-opening. This memoir made me feel a whole lotta emotions, and I'd love to read more of Ha's work. ( )
  deborahee | Feb 23, 2024 |
Wonderful memoir by Robin Ha and her experience in being uprooted to America as a teen. Her honest portrayal of the racism she encounters is poignant. She does not fit in at her new American middle school and her new Korean-American step-family in Alabama. She is also isolated from the one person who has always been in her corner -- her single Mom. Robin is lost in much of the novel. Being a teenager is hard enough, but to be a teen who straddles two very different cultures and languages takes its toll on her and her relationship with her mother. But through her own grit and support of her mother, Robin finds hope in experiences such as a piano recital and comic book club and she begins to makes connections with others and carve out a place for herself.

As a parent, I can't imagine the struggle her mother goes through in Korea as a single parent and the drive to uproot herself and her daughter to escape the sexism and traditional expectations of Korean culture in the 1980s and early 1990s. ( )
  AnnesLibrary | Jan 28, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)
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To my mother, whose tenacity has taught me never to give up
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August 7, 1995, Seoul, South Korea
"Welcome to Good Morning English!"
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"A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life--perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo. For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn't fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother. Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined"--Amazon.com.

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