Skip to main content

Review: Uprooted

Image
By
Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back
By Ruth Chan
New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2024. Comics. 285 pages.

In 1993, Ruth's parents tell her that her dad has found a new job, and so they will be moving from their home in Toronto, Canada back to Hong Kong. Ruth is apprehensive about the move. She loves her friends and life in Toronto, she isn't confident speaking in Cantonese, and her older brother is staying in Canada -- at a boarding school, so he can finish his senior year. Adjusting to life in Hong Kong is predictably difficult for Ruth. School is harder, the city is bigger, and she struggles to make friends. Meanwhile, her father is busy traveling throughout China for his new job, leaving Ruth without their nightly chats, and her mother is busy with her social life, now that she's back in her home country. How much can one 13-year-old be expected to endure?

Graphic novel memoirs have become a mainstay of the children's comics section, and this one will be especially popular. Ruth's story of migration is highlighted by memories from her parents of their own immigration from Hong Kong, and the family story of leaving China during the Sino-Japanese War. Filled with emotional depth and stories of perseverance, this story could easily feel really heavy. But Ruth Chan, who is well-known for her humorous picture books, adds a sense of laugh-out-loud humor that makes for a really complete feeling memoir. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

By
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Fresh Start

By
Fresh Start By Gale Galligan New York: Graphix, 2025. Graphic novel. 270 pages. Ollie Herisson is only in 7th grade, but she has already lived all over the world. Her father is an American diplomat, whose job has taken their family to France, Singapore, Thailand (where her mom is from), and now to Chestnut Falls, Virginia. Ollie loves that her family doesn't stay in one place very long, it allows her to have a fresh start and hide from any embarrassing moments each time they move. But Ollie's parents have big news -- they've decided to buy a house in Virginia and put down roots. Now, Ollie and her younger sister Cat have to figure out how to build lasting friendships which means resolving conflict rather than running away when things get hard.  Loosely based on the author's own childhood experiences, this graphic novel is sure to be popular with readers who like coming of age stories. Watching Ollie learn to think of others as she advocates for her sister Cat, and navig...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listicle: New Picture Books about Love

By
Romantic love, familial love, the love between friends...it all makes the world a more loving place!  Spread some love with these adorable pictures books! Heartfelt Written by Elaine Vickers Illustrated by Samantha Cotterill New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture Book. A child gifts paper hearts to members throughout their home and community.  The hearts accompany loving acts of service. The child feels, sees, smells, hears, and tastes love all around them in this joyful ode to the power of one person to make the world a more loving place. If you run out of words By Felicita Sala New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2024. Picture Book. In a book that might hit very close to home for some parents, a young child sees their father thoroughly distracted by his smartphone.  The father regretfully stops his typing when his child asks what will happen if their dad runs out of words and has none left for them.  The dad and child then go b...
Post a Comment
Read more