When I finally set down Beautiful Country to gather my thoughts, I quickly realized I needed more time to process what author Qian Julie Wang shares in her memoir. It took Wang many years more. She has managed to take us on an extraordinary journey of personal healing.

Her earliest years spent in China, Qian’s family immigrated illegally to the United States to settle in Brooklyn, New York when she was . From there a powerfully rendered story unfolds—of upheaval and resilience, loneliness and familial connection, reconciliation and empowerment. While I could feel these universal themes permeate deeply throughout the narrative, Wang even more masterfully navigated the difficulties of chronologizing her experiences in vignettes. In each, she spoke with unembellished prose, inhabiting her mindset as a child to recount her memories while infusing her reflections through her adult perspective.

During the Cultural Revolution, her parents, both educated professors, make the decision to leave China. Her father brings them illegally to America, a place which translates literally from Chinese, Mei Guo, to beautiful country. But the reality is, America is steeped in myths of freedom and opportunity that mask a deep well of racism and poverty and suffering.

With her entire life uprooted and her identity fractured, the fear that Qian and her family might be deported at any moment is a suffocating millstone hung upon their necks. Qian and her parents must reckon ceaselessly with the manifestations of physical and emotional trauma—cultural shock, poverty, fear, hunger, and sickness. Her complex relationships with her parents, classmates, and self are proffered with emotional authenticity. Though her illegality equates to secrets, she has given us the privilege to be right up against the glass window looking into her life, or even directly in the room with Qian, as she unearths these hidden troves of her childhood.

Beautiful Country, exploring the magnetic throughline of a girl’s remarkable coming-of-age as an undocumented immigrant, ultimately draws the curtain on the entangled and bitter truths of America. With none of her hurt, flaws, and hopes sugar-coated, this reconstructed patchwork of her youth is cogent proof that Qian Julie Wang is an ember brilliantly burning away and reforging the idea of America as a “Beautiful Country.”

Many thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have long enjoyed reading memoirs. It allows me to peek into another person’s life and experience things from their perspective. Wang arrived in the US in 1994. Her story is a compelling one. It includes stressed parents, much angst, always fearful of deportation, and never having enough. Books from the library were her one solace and I can relate to her on that level. It’s an interesting read.

This story was beautiful. I’m struggling right now to put my thoughts into words how I felt reading Qian’s family’s story. It is heartbreaking how immigrants are treated when first coming to America. I hope a lot of people come across this book.

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang is autobiographical. It tells the story of a girl who came to the United States from China. The story could be about many immigrants. It tells of Qian’s life of poverty and abuse . It is very candid and often hard to read, but it is a story that needs to be told.
Ms. Wang’s descriptions of her experiences are vivid. The story has throughout Cantonese words , I guess that was to make it more realistic, but I found it hard to get into the story because I was interrupted by those lessons in vocabulary. Later in the novel I had wished there had been more translation of dialogue. The reader has to intuit what is being said.
As a teacher of ESL, I have had many students whose life somewhat mirrored that of Qian’s, the factory work and the poverty. I think this book would be best for those who need a more in-depth exposure to the immigrant experience.

Pub Date: September 7!
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Qian tells us her childhood story, immigrating to America from China at age seven, and her strategies of survival.

This is a beautiful memoir. I inhaled it from the very beginning. Not only is her story interesting, but it also made me feel very thoughtful about her experience and feel even more empathetic towards the children of undocumented immigrants in the US.

Qian is a child of the ‘90’s, just a few years younger than myself. She references her love of the Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High books, along with her coveted Tamagotchi. She could have been a childhood peer or classmate.

Her parents were professors in China; her mother had published a math textbook. But when they arrived in NYC they were reduced to nothing. And although this memoir account is from over twenty years ago, there are many immigrant families facing these circumstances today. Highly recommend reading this story. Thank you to #netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

#beautifulcountry #newreleasebooks #memoir #immigrantmemoir #doubledaybooks #netgalleyreview

Qian Julie Wang’s memoir details her life before and after becoming an undocumented immigrant, both of which are written from the perspective of her as a child. This perspective, which many people have noted, paints a complicated view and is ever more painful to witness her childhood’s highs and lows in the midst child naïvety. Seeing through the eyes of such a young narrator made this book easy to read—I kept coming back to it and wouldn’t put it down—but hard to swallow. Despite the negativities and suffering that came with her undocumented life, her voice still shines on the values and importance of her family, her culture, her home. I would recommend this read to someone looking for some sort of insight on the experiences of dislocation. I think this book could even be recommended to be read in school. Whoever decides to pick it up, brace yourself for some heartbreak.

On the positive side, it's well written and reads more like a novel than a memoir. But despite those factors, it just didn't hold my attention. I suspect some of it was due to the oddly placed definitions of the Cantonese words. Almost all were defined but not necessarily in the most logical way for my brain.

A memoir by a nobody (not a celebrity) AND an immigrant! Two of my favorites, and Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang did not disappoint. The writing is clear and straight forward, and Wang in no way asks for praise or pity for overcoming the obstacles before her.

I hate when professional reviewers say that it is important that a book be read, but I think that is true of this (and some other) memoirs by immigrants to the United States. Beautiful Country is special not just because the story is compelling, but because the writing is good. Wang's story was like no other immigrant story, but at the same time it had elements of every immigrant story I've encountered Not in books, but as an ESOL/ESL teacher. For so many Americans, the woman cleaning the office or the man driving the cab have no history and certainly not a history that may have been more professional, educated, affluent their born-in-the-USA life. Beautiful country makes it impossible to see immigrants in that way again.

On a more personal note, the immigrant experience hasn't changed much. My grandfather was an illegal immigrant from Lithuania. His first son was locked in his classroom cloak room in first grade because he didn't speak English. My grandparents' and father's lives were as, or more maybe even more, desperate than the Wangs' in some ways. Part of me is afraid that some will read this and dismiss Wang's story as no different than what their family had experienced. And that would be sad because recognizing their story, we should want to say no more.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A heart wrenching eye opening memoir.a story so beautifully written so intimate I was brought to tears a times.Quian was brought to America by her parents escaping the Chinese revolution.They live the life of the undocumented the poor.The author brings us into their world the desperation to survive.From childhood her spirit her survival instinct her love for books guides her and her family.This is a book that should be read in school classes book clubs and by anyone who really wants to feel what the life of the undocumented is really about.This is an important book especially in this time with the world as it is .Highly recommend willbe gifting.#netgalley #doubledaybooks

Beautiful immigration story that for me re-emphasized the importance of reading other’s story’. We can only gain more understanding about other experiences by reading about other people’s perspectives, experiences and ideas. Love a good memoir, especially one sharing the multicultural experience, and I’m glad I was able to read this one.

Qian Julie Wang's extraordinary journey is a timeless immigration story of triumph and resilience in the face of poverty and fear. Civil rights lawyer Wang recounts beginning from the age of 7, the moment she arrives to New York City with her parents as an undocumented immigrant seeking for a better life in the "beautiful country." In perpetual trepidation, xenophobia and humiliation the family wrestles in darkness to seek hope and preserve one's dignity.

This was one meaningful and necessary read. I couldn't help admiring the author's audacity and courage in sharing her trauma sincerely and with grace. Eloquent writing, beautiful prose and humor, Wang's memoir holds greater power. She understood the significance and the responsibility upheld in sharing her immigration experience, the importance of representation and to provide hope to the majority undergoing similar circumstances. This memoir can be characterized as a immigration and/or Asian American story, however Wang's insight provides a bigger picture. This is mainly a human story. We all experience pain, fear and joy. It is an exploration of the human experience. Whatever background and circumstances it is a reminder that we are all connected. There are many dark moments in Wang's life but it ends in a hopeful tone. She conveys revisiting and honoring the force our childhood holds into our adulthood is one way our society and our individual self can heal. A profoundly inspirational and courageous memoir with Wang's incisive voice that demonstrates what turning one's hardship into power looks like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful Country is a very intimate look at the change for one Chinese family after they fled to the United States during the Cultural Revolution of China. The author writes about the vivid contrasts her family must undertake to attain personal freedom. Life is never easy for the family in either country, but somehow the young child has persevered and she has become a successful college graduate in America. Kudos to Qian Julie Wang for her adjustment to America, and for devotion to her own family who were so ostracized in both countries.

One of the most special aspects of this memoir is that it begins when the author is a child born in China, and she takes us into her experience of immigrating to America when she was still quite young. That perspective of seeing this experience through her young eyes adds so much to the narrative, and it reads much like a novel., This is a poignant and intense time to read a book about what it’s like experience immigration as a child, and to grow up in the constant fear and dislocation that comes from not having documentation. The time of this book’s publication could not be more apt.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

This is the memoir of a child from China (Qian) who came to the States illegally with her parents. (eventually she was able to obtain citizenship)

I will say that I took this with a grain of salt as some of the descriptions of her childhood were so vividly recalled. Seriously, I can't remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday, let alone the memories of when I was five.
Aside from that, it was a well written account of an important issue (immigration). She does a great job of describing the sights/smells and sounds of her childhood.
Her recollections of her happy time in China before she moved to the US gave a better understanding of how it ultimately effected her parents. It wasn't an easy decision but I did empathize in their belief that they were escaping for a better life.
Unfortunately, it became a life of struggling/low paying jobs, hunger, language/culture barriers, racism, strife and fear of being discovered.
Her story helps to give a better understanding and sympathy of what the children of illegal immigrants go through. You can't help but root for her and hope her parents will find some solace in their new lives.
At times heartbreaking and profound.
I'm glad she was able to share her story. I feel a bit more enlightened after reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of The Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang. The publishing date of September 7th is coming right up. I really enjoyed this book viewed through the eyes of a child. Qian came to the US (New York) as a seven year old following her Father’s dreams. It was both refreshing and enlightening to see the world as a child does. This story shows the life of an undocumented immigrant really takes a toll on every member of the family. It’s never as easy as it seems for those of us looking in from the outside. I love how Qian never gives up on her family or her dreams. It’s definitely a read worth your time.

What a powerful, beautiful and harrowing memoir Qian Julie Wang has written. Written on her iPhone while riding the subway to her job everyday, she shares with us snippets of her childhood. Her childhood, first filled with joy and an over abundance of all things in China and then of her journey as an undocumented child in the Beautiful Country. The contrast between the first 7 years in China and the next 5 years in the USA is gut wrenching and heartbreaking. It’s a life you could never imagine. This is a stunning debut that should be required reading.
Thank you Netgalley and publishing house for this early copy in exchange for mu honest review.

This just didn’t end up being a book that interested me. When I first read the premise, I was very excited and invested, but getting into it made it clear that it just wasn’t for me. Hopefully it works for others out there!

A beautiful and heartbreaking account of a life of a child who is an undocumented immigrant in Brooklyn in the 90s. I love that this is told through Qian's eyes. Even the complexity and the language of the book changes as she gets older in the story. You really feel a sense of her struggles trying to grow up and yet, having so much responsibility at such a young age. Truly a heartwrenching and captivating story that would open the eyes of many. Highly recommended.

When she is very little, Qian’s father leaves his family and travels to America. While Qian and her mother wait in China, they live with her grandparents but their life seems happy. Filled with love, good food and culture. Of course, her father came to America for a better life, so when he sends for his family, they go. When they arrive in New York, there is more promise for Qian’s future, but everything else is worth. They share a room in a boarding house, Qian’s mother, though educated, can’t use her degree and they starve just trying to get by and working in sweatshops.

Beautiful Country is really a breathtaking and heart-wrenching first account of the trials that undocumented immigrants face when they come to America. Don’t just take my word for it, Beautiful Country received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus and Bookpage. It’s definitely a book that will resonate with a lot of readers.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out September 7.

Loved this captivating and eye-opening memoir about growing up as an impoverished, undocumented immigrant. Beautifully written and inspires compassion for those who struggle to find jobs and adequate healthcare and who live in constant fear of being discovered.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this memoir. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.