Girl in Translation (Jean Kwok)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FCC Disclaimer: I got a free advanced readers' copy and would have given this same review even if I had spent money on it.

It's been a while since I've had nothing to say flat-out about a book. Already I'm forming my argument for why my bibliophile friend should put down her (I'm sure simply fascinating ) book about... whatever she's reading right now, be it the rise of Communism or Neil Gaiman, and read this book.

I think I'll settle with force, as at eleven pm after having spent the best part of the last six hours (with breaks for insignificant things such as, you know, eating) reading, I can't properly think up a good argument other than... Well, "Blahblargblah I didn't get enough sleep. Read this book. Now. It's going to be a bestseller. When it comes out in a month." (editor's note: This review is a couple months old. The book has since been released, and indeed it DID make the New York Times Bestsellers list.)

Well, Twilight got to be a bestseller too, now, didn't it? What sets this marvellous piece of art apart from... I'm not going to say it. What argument will I have to present then?

Perhaps it is the wonderful lead character, Kimberly Chang, whose determination makes her identifiable to two teenagers taking as many advanced-placement classes in their high school years as possible to perhaps gain a good enough scholarship to go to a high-ranking school. Perhaps it is Kimberly's humanness, also, that would bring great appeal--she has high hopes and dreams, but she's not a stiff; she is actually witty and funny, despite what other characters probably would have thought, had them be real people. Perhaps it's the fact that she comes from the poorest of situations and makes it to the top, still without a ridiculous moral tacked onto the end that is impossible to believe. Maybe she is the reason I'll give my lovely bibliophile friend.

Maybe when I shove it into other friends' hands, after getting over my fear of letting the soon-to-be-priced ARC out of my sight, it'll be Matt Wu, the loveable male protagonist who seems to never learn what exactly he wants until it's too late. The heartfelt Matt, who rather than being a tribute to the swooning twelve-year-old's firm belief "Boys are SOOO much better in books!" is a tribute to real-life, seen through the eyes of a girl who never truly wanted to fall in love.

The novel is remarkably well-written, I could claim. It's true. Girl in Translation is no shoddy work, even in a, to quote the front cover "UNCORRECTED PROOF". It does not take wild, Hitchhiker's Guide-esque twists in the plot. Rather, it is a fast-moving river--it does not diminish in grace as it swirls its way around bends.

For the more cultured, I could mention its Chinese-American feel, the way the author avoids watering-down when she can. Many phrases she uses are incomprehensible before 'translating' (even from English to English), so I am driven to suppose they are genuinely of Chinese origin.

I could compare it to other works, of course. The theme rings of many. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, if it struck your fancy. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, if the previous did not. Even my prized-above-all Looking for Alaska could be used to throw some sway. The writing itself can be compared to Author Golden's best-selling, world-recognised Memoirs of a Geisha in its unmistakably biographical feel, or even Amy Tan's equally celebrated The Joy Luck Club. Perhaps the reason for the latter two is explained away easily--the author has stuck close to the truth, or at least the biographical information of her website. Memoirs is written just as a memoir would be--though it is written by an American. Joy Luck, when compared to Amy Tan's biography, includes many interesting parallels to her real life, just as Girl in Translation.

Or, if I am truly a mess of sleep deprivation, having spent about half an hour writing this review and flipping aimlessly through the thin pages, I could simply say--"Read it, because it's good. Trust me. You'll get over the prologue thing and the epilogue thing once you've read the rest of it."