Jean Kwok novels

 Another Book Bub find is award-winning author Jean Kwok, who bases her novels on her amazing story of moving from Hong Kong as a child to growing up in New York City and finally moving to Amsterdam, currently living there with her husband and children. 

Girl in Translation

I have become a big fan of this author, whose amazing story is the basis for this, her first novel. Having come to New York City from China by way of Hong Kong and losing her father along the way, Kim and her mother are living in an “apartment” in a building owned by Aunt Paula, her mother’s older sister. Kim’s mom is supposed to work as a nanny for her sister’s children; however, that never happens, and she ends up working in her sister and husband’s clothing factory. And Kim must work there after school each day to help make ends meet. The aforementioned apartment is a vermin-infested place with no heat. No one else lives there but Kim and her mother. And then there’s the multi-transit commute from home to school and work. How these two strong females negotiate the world of NYC is a story of perseverance and growth. It’s an ultimately uplifting novel and well worth the read.

Mambo in Chinatown

This novel revolves around Charlie Wong, her sister Lisa, and their noodle-making father. Unhappy with her job as a dishwasher in the Chinatown restaurant where her father works, Charlie answers an ad for a receptionist at a dance studio on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And thus begins her voyage of discovery in the world of dance, which eventually connects Charlie in a wonderful way with her deceased mother, who danced with the Beijing Ballet. Another engrossing tale from Jean Kwok, who was herself a ballroom dancer for a time.

Searching for Sylvie Lee

Amy is drifting after having dropped out of her teacher certification course because her stutter became more pronounced as she tried to teach classes. She lives at home with her parents, Chinese immigrants who work hard to barely make a living. Sylvie, Amy’s older sister, is her hero, a model seemingly impossible to live up to — Sylvie has a fabulous job, a loving husband, and a beautiful home in Brooklyn. Another point of view novel, this one encompasses Amy, Sylvie, and their mother’s perspectives on the paths of their lives. Set in NYC and the Netherlands, it is an insightful look at the treatment of non-whites in both places. It’s so true that different people can see the same event in totally different ways to sometimes tragic results.