New from Here by
Kelly Yang
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Once again Kelly Yang has me turning those pages and just loving Knox's family as they quickly move from Hong Kong to California at the onset of the corona virus. The biggest problem is that Knox's beloved dad must remain behind due to his job. He was really the one who cooked, cleaned, and picked up Knox, his brother, Bowen and sister, Lea from school. This book really got all the feelings of hopelessness, fear, and racism that occurred during Covid. Yang's writing is authentic with Knox and his family dealing with so so many issues that happened (this story is autobiographical, see Author Notes). I loved this book, but I also felt the sadness, fear, anger, greed, the characters dealt with on a daily basis in their new home and school and neighborhood. Knox finding out he has ADHD is such a shock but explains alot too, now he really needs to work on not blurting things out. There was also humor---I loved the whole LinkedIn part where the kids miss Dad so much they hatch a plot to get him to the US, have a yard sale to sell things but also get his father the needed contacts for LinkedIn. There was so much growth between their mom and her children; in Hoing Kong she was always working---in the US she had to do wash (remember to wash!!!) but for all her failings, the kids helped her out by taking on more responsibility. They may have had their fights and conflicts, but this family was very service oriented---even when they got more money or food---they shared with others. Like all of Kelly Yang's book, this is a must read---it shines a light on families, other nationalities, and what we have all gone through since Covid!
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Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes
