Qian Julie Wang's memoir, "Beautiful Country", details her story growing up in America as an undocumented Chinese immigrant. While the story certainly isn't new to most Americans living in 2021, Wang's prose allows the reader to empathize and connect to her story in a way that is more intimate than most other accounts.

There were moments that absolutely gutted me, like her constant companion, hunger, or her worry about how much of a burden she would be on her family as a child. But there were two moments that stood out as different from other accounts I've read in the past that I thought were personally powerful.

The first was her childhood memories of transitioning out of ESL into general education classes. It made me reflect on my role as a teacher with students whose first language isn't English and how I can better support them through that challenging and often isolating process. Kids can be mean...

And the next was actually her parents' experiences. Prior to leaving China, they were both highly educated professionals working in academia, but upon moving to the US, they are forced to take any job they can get without identification, social security numbers, or other work permits of the sort. These are people who have so much to offer the world, but are forced by fate of location and circumstance, to find work that allows them to barely eke out a living. As someone who values my career and education above most other aspects of my life, I sympathized and read along in horror as I read about her parents taking menial jobs, feeling unfulfilled along the way.

This memoir was a well-written, cohesive narrative that I believe some students would enjoy reading. It may offer them a new perspective about living in America, especially if they are unfamiliar with the experience of living in American undocumented. For teachers, some of these chapters could be excerpted for in-class analysis (for English or even history!). There's a lot to unpack here, and I'll probably be buying it to add to my American lit supplemental text list.

This was simply gorgeous.

I love memoirs, so I might be biased, but this one is exactly what I want in a memoir.

Hot Takes
- The most striking part of this book was how the author wrote about her childhood through the actual lens of her being a child. She wrote as if she was that age, and it made for a beautiful perspective, where her innocence of her situation was so heartbreaking.
-The pain of feeling and knowing you are constantly hiding as an undocumented person was so strong throughout this book. Woof.
- Her father's perspective on how he views the American dream was felt throughout the book and I'm in awe of how the author, as a child, was able to maintain to become someone as authentic as she is. Her father frequently discussed blending in as typical Americans as a way to truly belong, and it was heartbreaking to see it rip apart a family.

Read If You Like
- The Undocumented Americans, for another perspective of undocumented folks
- The Ugly Cry, for a intense look into a difficult childhood
- Memoirs!

CW: Emotional abuse, animal cruelty, racism

Wow. This is a moving memoir, sad, haunting, and difficult to read in many parts, but an enlightening account of one young girl's experience as an undocumented, poor Chinese immigrant in New York City.

This book is set in Qian Wang's early, early childhood, starting with a short history of her parents' upbringings in China, moving to her happy young years growing up with her mom and her mom's parents, then shifting to her and her mom immigrating to join her dad in the U.S., where the majority of this book takes place. America in Chinese is "Mei Guo," meaning "Beautiful Country." Qian had many images of America growing up in China, some good, and some bad. When she actually moved here, the only thing that really evoked and earned the name was walking down Fifth Avenue during Christmas, window shopping for things that cost more than her family's rent and admiring the beautiful lights. The rest of her youth in America was markedly traumatic. And Qian Wang writes her first book, as she notes in the acknowledgements, all about her early trauma.

When Qian and her mom join her dad in New York City, Qian immediately realizes that her life here will be nothing like her life in China. Instead of being surrounded by family, friends, and all of her favorite delicious foods, she will be lonely, outcast, and starving. Her parents, despite having higher education degrees in China and prestigious positions, are now relegated to the lowest of the low jobs, especially given their beginner knowledge of English. Her mom begins working at a sweatshop in Chinatown, and Qian joins her basically every day to cut threads and earn extra money herself. It's backbreaking work, but they get a scoop of rice and a few dollars to live off of. On Qian's first day of school, she is assigned to a Chinese-American girl who hates her and refuses to help her learn. When it's clear that Qian isn't learning English, she is sent to the library to work alongside the special-education kids, where she teachers herself English simply by reading through the children's books at the school.

Qian faces trial after trial after trial. Her suffering is seemingly endless. From describing in great detail her hunger and stomach pains to being bullied and not accepted by kids at school to being her mom's therapist and witnessing the gradual breakdown of her parents and her parents' marriage to her mom's health decline and months in the hospital to Qian getting severely injured and not telling anyone about it to being forced to give up her friend and companion Marilyn the cat... This isn't even an exhaustive list. The book is difficult to read because there are so few bright spots in these years for Qian. It's selfish and privileged, but I admit that it's difficult to read about a young girl who faces hardship every single day, almost worsening as she gets older. Any person who has to go through this is brave and certainly comes out the other side stronger.

The book actually ends quite early in Qian's life - when she's in about 6th grade, her family leaves the U.S. (I won't say exactly what happens, you'll just have to read it!). Qian notes early in the book that she does return to the U.S. as an adult for college and to attend Harvard Law School. So, you know that somewhere down the line, things get better for her. I almost wish that the book had continued so I could see her grow and change and learn a bit better how this traumatic early childhood experience shaped the rest of her life. But she doesn't owe that to us as readers, and her motivation for writing this book was to show other kids in her same position - other undocumented immigrants, other children who don't speak strong English, other poor kids - that they're not alone, and that things can get better. I think she succeeded in that.

Overall, this is a powerful memoir that will certainly stay with me for a long time. Thank you to Doubleday for the ARC via Netgalley.

Beautiful Country tells a story of immigrants, sweatshops, poverty and racial prejudice from a child of Chinese immigrants who have clearly been ignored until recently. This memoir gives a front row seat of the conditions and struggle of a family of illegals living in fear and poverty in America.
I can’t imagine the pressure of a child having to help parents who are greatly superstitious and know very little English. I supposed this changed the roles a family.
Bravely told I have a greater understanding of the poor conditions this author experienced and commend her ability to share her story. I believe all of us can learn something from this.
Thanks Doubleday books via Netgalley.

This book was HEARTBREAKING, soul crushing and such a beautifully told memoir. I did feel like the ending was rushed a bit and would have liked to have learned more about life in the future but even still this memoir will be one that sticks with me for a very long time. Thank you so much for a chance to read this !

This beautifully written, eye opening and unforgettable memoir provides first hand insight into what life is like for an undocumented child in the United States. Wang was seven years old when she was brought to New York City from China. Her parents, who were professors in China, toiled as poorly paid sweatshop workers in America. Through the eyes of her younger self, Wang shares stories and memories of her formative years and the daily toll that being “illegal” took on her and her family. Her story is at times raw and heartbreaking while also being a moving depiction of the power of determination, perseverance and resilience. As a child,Wang taught herself English and found refuge in PBS shows and books at the library. As an adult she graduated from Yale Law school and is now a published author. This debut is a rare gem that will stay with you a long time, don’t miss it.

Memoirs have long been one of my favorite reading genres. They have the unique ability to take you to places and perspectives that are so different from your own life, all through the pages of a book. ⁣ While our circumstances and environments can be vastly different, relating with someone else's vulnerabilities is one of the most powerful forms of connection we can have⁣.

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang is an incredibly powerful and detailed account into one families quest for the "American Dream". Wang gave me a new perspective of the Chinese immigrant experience that was both incredible and heartbreaking. Her ability to share this mulitfacted coming of age experience with such honesty and vivid detail is something I will never forget. 4.5/5 stars.

Thank you to Doubleday Books for my gifted review copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really loved this book. It was so different and unique compared to other books on immigration. Other books on immigration focus on the struggle and then ultimately the success the immigrants find in the United States. This book was a little bit different. While the MC was starting to fit in, her parents were struggling with the choice they'd made to come to the states and they ultimately decide to leave and instead go to Canada. And I know that it still shows them as succeeding because when they went to Canada, they did in a way, but I like that this book shows that sometimes the struggle to live in the US becomes too much. And that sometimes a hard decision is made to go back or start somewhere else. You don't normally get to see that side of the story, and I found it interesting. I also like that it only focused on a portion of the MC's life from when they arrived in the states to when she was in middle school. You got the complete story of what it was like for a child to grow up as an immigrant in New York. The author wove everything together so beautifully and the story just flowed, you'd look up from the book and realize an hour had gone by. She completely sucked you in to that time in and place. I look forward to reading more on the author's journey.

This book was so raw and it made me feel things that a book has not made me feel in a long time. Empathy and thankfulness. This is an incredible memoir about Qian and her family's travels to America or "beautiful country" for a better life. What they are greeted with is far from this dream that they had envisioned leaving china. This story was so beautifully written and it had this way of making me feel every possible emotion all in one. I truly could not put this down, one of the best memoirs I've read in the last year!

Most memoirs that cover childhood are often filled with glossed-over details. I appreciated that this memoir only delved on Wang's childhood and at the end she addressed how the prolonged trauma that she had tried to suppress for so long demanded to be processed.

This memoir will have you experiencing every emotion and is difficult to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was disappointing. The author ended up in the US because of something her father did in China’s repressive society, but falls short of understanding her father’s enlightened thinking, and that he hated being told what to do by the government. It’s sad they had to escape the way they did, without being able to prepare language skills that could’ve vastly changed their future.

The use of foreign terms was mildly irksome, and the primary focus being her negative experience as a child in NYC left me feeling a little shortchanged in terms of a memoir covering only her early life.

Beautiful, heartwarming/heart breaking story of Chinese immigrants. Very relevant today. New York City life for a Father/Mother/Daughter. Can't imagine that life!

The word for America is Mei Guo, which translates as Beautiful Country. This story chronicles 5 years of the author's life as an immigrant child. Many Chinese people in her hometown saw America as the land of the free, home of the brave, land of opportunity. Qian immigrated to New York City with her parents as a young child. She remembers little about her roots except the warmth and love of family left behind. Her parents, professors in China, had to take menial jobs in America. Sweatshops, warehouses, meat packing plants, cab driving- you name it. Their education and expertise were not recognized and left them with few opportunities. They live in less than ideal living quarters in less desirable areas. School was a challenge for Qian as she did not speak English.
Can her parents improve their circumstances? Can Qian rise above the challenges she faces in America?
This is a beautifully written book. The descriptions make the author feel as though they are present in the story. It is a story of hope perseverance and determination. It kept me reading because I just knew things had to get better for this family.
*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY tells the story of a little girl who leaves China, moved to America with her mom to be with her dad (who has been in America for 5 years already). They leave the country they know where they lived comfortably, to go to this “beautiful country” where they live undocumented in poverty.

This is a raw, emotional read that will leave you laughing at times, crying at others. Qian Julie Wang is close in age to me so her writing about things like The Babysitters Club and Tamagotchis really connected me even more to her story. Her teaching herself to read and finding sanctuary in the library were some of my favorite parts.

This is an honest, beautifully written book about growing up as discreetly as possible in America, hoping that no one asks questions. You’ll find yourself angry for their family and realizing how little has changed for immigrants since then.

I highly recommend this book, even if you aren’t normally a fan of nonfiction. The writing is so amazing and this story, her story, is just so important.

An eye opening memoir of a young Chinese girl who came to American with her parents as an undocumented immigrant. Qian arrives as a seven year old in 1994 - where there are still slum apartments with shared kitchens and bathrooms, sweat shops that prey on the undocumented, and much hunger. "Mei Guo", translated to "beautiful country" hardly lives up to it's name. Although Qian's mother was a professor in China, she now works a number of horrible jobs just to put food on the table. In a land of excess it is sickening how many live in abject poverty. Qian writes very honestly, and I was terrified reading of her journeys on the subway (alone) and how she learned to deal with her situation. It made me sad to see how much Qian coveted toys like the Tamagochi, or Polly Pockets that many of her classmates had, but she did not. I admired her making the best of the placement in the "alternate" classroom, where by looking at picture books she began to teach herself English. Her love of the library warmed my heart. Highly recommend for book clubs.

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang is a pure and unique perspective of being an undocumented immigrant as told through the eyes of a child. Qian moved to the United States when she was seven. Her life in China before the move is told in a way that I could feel through her words the loss she felt leaving everything that she's ever known and the apprehension she felt moving forward to a new country. However, a strong family will prevail even when their situation is subject to deportation around every corner. There were times when it was so tense that I found myself holding my breath. It is drilled into her what to say, which people are trustworthy and those who are not. Navigating this new life in a country where the language is unfamiliar and trying to find her space was gut wrenching when I tried to put myself in her shoes. It's a hard, rough road trying to make ends meet. This is timely book as immigration has taken up headlines; it puts a sensitive and human touch to a subject that may seem to be only on the news.

Thank you NetGalley, Doubleday, and Qian Julie Wang for sharing her story.

Beautiful Country

This autobiographical story is an eye opener about immigration and class privilege all through the eyes of a child. A love of books is all that sustains the little girl, Qian Qian.

Leaving China with Ba Ba and Ma Ma, Qian struggles to fit into a new culture and life in New York City where very little is explained to her. She fills in many gaps with her own misunderstandings.

Through her own strength, Qian excels academically and makes her way, which is a relief to the reader. Cheer her on to see just how she accomplishes this.

My gratitude to #Doubleday and #NetGalley

This is a brilliant book, period. Not only because of the undocumented Chinese immigrant experience which itself was captivating to read, but also because of the way in which the book is written.

Qian Qian is a happy child in China. Her parents, both professors, cherish her. But one day her father decides to move to America, Mei Guo (which translates to Beautiful Country) because he doesn't want to live in a place where free thinking is prohibited. Wang and her mother follow him later, where her parents' degree cannot be used to get any jobs. What follows is Wang family's journey filled with fear of being discovered and trying to survive in New York.

I don't think Wang left out any aspects of her childhood while writing this memoir. From her hunger for food which she learned to ignore to the forced invisibility that immigrants go through in America, she wrote it all. But what I also loved about the book was how Wang doesn't shy away from the fact that her father, who was hell bent on leaving China because the government wanted to control everything, became more Chinese after living in America by not asking any questions and keeping his head down; the exact opposite of what he taught Wang to do in China. Her relationship with her mother and how her mother confides about her anxiety to this child broke my heart, thinking that she likely did not have a choice to confide in anyone else.

This book is a must-read in my opinion. Wang started writing this book after the 2016 elections because she wanted to tell her story, and she did so with aplomb.

Memoirs featuring a troubled childhood are a staple in literature. There is little market for a tale of childhood lacking strife or conflict to overcome.. Beautiful Country continues this trend with Wang's sharing her memories of moving to The United States from China as a seven year old. The story of an undocumented immigrant in New York City is one that I had not read before. I was appalled to read the details of how people take advantage of others who live in fear of being deported. I worried about young Qian Qian as she traveled throughout the city on her own or stayed at home alone. Wang is a wonderful writer and I was surprised to learn that she wrote this book on her iPhone during her commutes. As hard as it was to read about some of the worst parts of poverty and fear, it is nothing compared to living that reality.

This is a poignant and heart-wrenching memoir. I'm reading it slowly and savoring the author's unique voice. My favorite part so far is the unquenchable zest for life she demonstrates from an early age. Her family's bravery in the face of daunting circumstances is remarkable. I look forward to enjoying the second half of this timely book. I will definitely share my full review as soon as I'm finished reading.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.