This book report is written in English and includes a summary, information about the writer, description of the characters, genre, setting, theme and structure.
Book report - Girl in Translation (Englisch written)
All for this textbook (2)
Written for
Secondary school
VWO / Gymnasium
Engels
200
All documents for this subject (931)
Seller
Follow
iljakuiper
Reviews received
Content preview
Ilja Kuiper V4C
Girl in Translation
My expectations and first reaction
I decided to read this book, because I had never read a story about emigration from two very
different parts of the world before. I was interested in how the main character would deal with that. I
expect that this book let me empathize with the main character by telling her feelings in detail. Also I
expect to have a new experience when I close this book.
After turning the first page, I immediately wanted to continue reading, because the book starts in the
future so you want to know what happened before. This made me very curious.
Summary
Kimberly Chang and her mother moved from Hong Kong to New York for a better future. Kimberly’s
aunt Paula arranged a house in Brooklyn, a school for Kimberly and a job for her mother. Aunt Paula
lives in the United States since she married Bob, her husband from America.
The house turned out to be very old, without central warming, almost no furniture and there are
living a lot of vermin. Mother gets a job in an illegal clothing factory in Chinatown, where Kimberly
has to help her after school.
Kimberly goes to a local school in Brooklyn, where she has to talk English. In China she was the best
student in class, but now she can’t understand the language and she gets low grades in every subject.
Her teacher doesn’t want to help improving her English.
Kimberly hates school so much that she decides to stay at home when her mother leaves to the
factory. In the afternoon she goes to the factory to help her mother with the work. She meets Matt, a
boy who also helps his parents at the factory. When Kimberly meets his parents, who are working in
the factory their whole live, she decides to go to school from now on to get a better future for her
and her mother.
Kimberly is improving her English with help from Annette. Annette is sitting next to her and they
become best friends. After this school year Annette is going to Harrison Prep, a local high school for
rich children. Kimberly wants to go there as well, but she knows she and her mother don’t have
enough money. To her great surprise Kimberly wins a full scholarship and is able to go to the same
high school as Annette. At this new school, she gets individual English lessons and her marks are
becoming higher. However, she doesn’t have any friends in her class and she is the only Chinese girl.
Kimberly’s life is getting better when Kimberly and her mother have no debts left with aunt Paula.
They decide to leave the factory, because aunt Paula isn’t helping them at all. One day, Annette visits
Kimberly at her house. She discovers the bad circumstances they are living in. Annette wants to help
them and her mother arranges a better house for Kimberly and her mother. Next to this amazing
change, Kimberly gets a full scholarship for Yale, because of her great scores. Kimberly is really
exciting, because she can finally become a doctor.
In the course of the story, Kimberly becomes friends with Curt. A boy who she gives tutoring lessons
at Harrison Prep. Also the relationship between Matt and Kimberly becomes more serious. They kiss
, Ilja Kuiper V4C
in the factory and fall in love with each other. However, Kimberly keeps her distance, because Matt is
still in a relationship with Vivian. When Matt’s mother dies, he finally sees that Kimberly is the only
one he wants. They are very much in love with each other, but then Kimberly discovers she’s
pregnant by Matt. She struggles with her future. She has to make a choice between a future with
Matt and a future as a doctor. She decides that she wants to be a doctor and she breaks up with
Matt.
Twelve years later, Kimberly is finally a heart doctor. She meets Matt by accident outside the
hospital. Matt is married with Vivian and they are expecting their second child. Kimberly is still in love
with him, but she knows their lives are to different to be together. Kimberly has her own live
together with her mother and her son.
Facts
The book ‘Girl in Translation’ is written by Jean Kwok. The name of the editor is Juliet Annan. The
book is published in 2010 and has 293 pages.
Biography of the writer
Jean Kwok is a Chinese American author. She moved from Hong Kong to New York, when she was
five years old. She lived with her parents and six siblings in a house with roaches and rats and no
central heating. She worked in a clothing factory in Chinatown. The book ‘Girl in Translation’ is based
on her own youth in the United States. Just like Kimberly, Jean was a very smart girl, but got low
grades in America, because she couldn’t understand the language.
After she finished elementary school, she went to Hunter College High School. That’s a public
secondary school for gifted students. During this study she had different part time jobs, because she
didn’t want to work in the factory any longer. She discovered that she likes dancing and she became
a professional ballroom dancer after her graduation. In her book ‘Mambo in Chinatown’ she wrote
about this experience. After her dance adventure, Jean Kwok decided to go to the Columbia
University to study English and American literature. She also got a master in fiction.
Jean Kwok moved to the Netherlands for love and worked for Leiden University and the TU Delft as
an English teacher. She also worked as a Dutch-English translator. Finally, she became a full-time
writer. In 2010, Jean made her debut with the book ‘Girl in Translation’ based on her own live in New
York. The book was a New York Times bestseller and was published in seventeen languages. Right
now, Jean Kwok is still living in the Netherlands with her husband and their two sons.
Biography of the main works of the writer
Jean Kwok has written two books so far:
‘Girl in Translation’ in 2010
‘Mambo in Chinatown’ in 2014
Jean Kwok is working on a new book, which will be published in June 2019.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller iljakuiper. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.82. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
