Thirteen-year-old Chinese Canadian Ruth loves her home in Toronto; she has a great, diverse friend group, a glorious room, favorite hangouts, and loads of history. But her dad’s job and mom’s family uproot her, landing her in crowded, loud, chaotic Hong Kong. There, despite looking like everyone else, she stands out for not being Chinese enough. Clear, winningly simple drawings, inked in varied pastel colors, reveal Ruth’s steep learning curve as she makes friends, explores the city, and discovers an unexpected connection to the mythic story of her father’s birth. Tweens and teens, both rooted, and uprooted, will identify with Ruth’s struggles and successes as she accepts that the unknown is part of life. Most characters are Chinese. Thanks to Roaring Brook and NetGalley for a review copy in return for an honest review.

UPROOTED is a graphic memoir based on author Ruth Chan’s experience of moving from Toronto to Hong Kong. The move is a challenge for Ruth, between improving her Cantonese skills, making new friends, learning a new culture, and connecting with family members. She misses her older brother, left behind in boarding school, and her dad, whose new job takes him away from the family. Her mom is busy reconnecting with family and old friends, leaving Ruth feeling even more lost. Ruth’s experiences are interspersed with recollections of “Talk-to-Talk” bedtime conversations Ruth has with her father that provide her with insight into his family’s courage and resilience in the face of challenge. As the book progresses readers see that Ruth gradually comes to form meaningful connections to friends, family, and the community in her new home.

Bi cultural readers will find connections to Ruth’s story, while others will relate to the themes of belonging and friendship that thread throughout the story. The parallels between Ruth’s journey and the experiences of both of her parents provide additional depth to the story. A warm story of perseverance, patience, and finding your place that will be welcomed by middle grade readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an eARC of the book with me.

Book 198 of 300 ~ 2024

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I enjoyed this well thought out memoir done as a graphic novel.

It would have gotten 5 stars if there had been translations for the Mandarin characters and if when the protagonist spoke in Cantonese, the words were put in brackets < blah blah> like this for example.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Nervous about starting at a new school? Imagine leaving all your friends and familiar places to move across the world AND start at a new school with a language you understand but aren't comfortably fluent. Tween graphic novel.

Endearing and absolutely a fantastically entertaining readalike to books like A First Time for Everything and New Kid as it shares in the summary, this one is a new favorite.

Ruth's family lives in Toronto and have lived a good life there, however, Ruth's family has made the decision to move to Hong Kong where her father has a job opportunity in China. He'll be away a little bit more but they'll be back closer to family that they have missed while living in Canada. What Ruth realizes after a few mishaps and missteps when moving back is how lonely her mother felt when Ruth explodes at her parents. In Toronto she was always "the Asian" and now that she's in Hong Kong, she's not Asian enough, not speaking Cantonese well, not fitting in with her extended family, and even her new best friend has been ignoring her and she doesn't know why. Then the isolation of her dad being away more and missing out on their nightly Talk to Talks, she needs to vent. Lovingly, her parents, after their shock, give her some time and space and recognize how they can move forward.

It's a sweet graphic novel memoir with a straightforward premise and all of the realistic battles any teen goes through with a sense of humor and sentimentality toward coming-of-age.

I have read more than one graphic memoir where a young person comes from a foreign country to the US. This was different. A young lady moving from Toronto to Hong Kong. While she was born in Canada, her parents were not. Her father got a job "back home" and her adventure began. Learning a new culture. Making new friends. Trying to figure out her life. This is interwoven with her father telling her the story of how his family had to flee from the Japanese and his birth under difficult circumstances. There is a lot of awkwardness, some good humor, the artwork fits the story well. It is one I would be happy to have in a middle school classroom library.

Hi Again!

It was very nice to take a small break last week but on that break I did a lot of reading. I am nearly done with a very long audiobook (I think it’s roughly 17 hours), started to re-read Heartstopper and Lore Olympus (I am forever sad this series has ended), and even got to read a significant chunk more of an E-ARC and an audiobook ARC both of which I am immensely enjoying so far. Aside from all the reading I have been doing, I also took the time to work on some new graphics and other fun things. But to kick off this week I am going to talk about a graphic novel E-ARC (thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions).

SPOILERS AHEAD

Ruth loves Toronto, it’s pretty much the only home she has ever known. She loves her school, her friends, her home, and just everything about Toronto. However, her parents decided that they would be moving to Hong Kong near where her mother’s family lives and where her father got a new job. Ruth is definitely not excited about the move but she is going to give it a chance. Ruth’s slightly older brother will get to stay behind in Toronto and attend boarding school so before the big move they drop him off at school, finish packing boxes, and then fly out for the big move. Once Ruth and her parents (as well as the family pets) arrive in Hong Kong and make their way to the new apartment, Ruth begins to see how different life in Hong Kong will be. They make it to the new place and begin to settle in, Ruth will start school soon at a German school located in Hong Kong (even though Ruth does not speak German). Her father’s job will also start soon and require him to travel away from the family for the majority of the week, which will be another major change for Ruth, as she and her father are super close and typically do what they call talk to talks at night (this is where they talk about anything and everything with one another while Ruth is in bed and her dad on the floor). Ruth is the least excited about this change but she is still going to do her best to adjust to her new Hong Kong life.

I enjoyed this graphic novel so much. I loved meeting Ruth and her whole family and getting to see how she viewed Hong Kong. I enjoyed seeing how Ruth settled into her new life and how her parents adjusted as well (I think the ending where her brother came was definitely one of my favorite moments). Moving anywhere is definitely a struggle and usually a large adjustment and Ruth did her best. I highly recommend picking up this graphic novel when it hits shelves on September 10th, 2024!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was great! Ruth's parents immigrated to Toronto from Hong Kong, and now they have the opportunity to move back, with Ruth! Ruth will have to leave her older brother and her amazing friends, live somewhere totally different from what she's used to, where she's not confident in speaking the language, and where it seems like her parents already have big social lives that don't include her! Can she be as brave as her ancestors who left their own homes behind? While this experience of living in multiple countries as a kid is probably not something the majority of middle grade readers can imagine, it seems like Ruth Chan has a direct line to the memories and feelings of her adolescent self, making this memoir totally familiar and relatable.

4.5 stars. I've been a fan of Ruth Chan's picture book work for quite a while so I was excited when I read she was publishing a middle grade graphic memoir, I love her art style. I've read a lot of these types of books and a lot of them hit on the same points (which isn't necessarily a criticism). That said, I loved Uprooted. It's a twist on "moving to a new place and starting over" - her whole family is there, she already is somewhat familiar with the culture, she can sort of get by in public - but even with all that, Ruth still moves to a new place and has to start over. It felt timeless, even though it's clearly set in the 90s - it wasn't too 90s, it was realistic. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed this. It was easy to empathize with Ruth and her situation. And part of that was the simple but engaging illustrations. It may get compared to New Kid and I think fans of that will be fans of this. But it really fits in a different category of growing up and fitting in. Also, so glad to see Ruth’s anger bubble over. We can sometimes take kids for granted and I think her anger is well presented.

This is a unique story that is well told. I think it will be popular with upper elementary and middle school children.

This was an enjoyable graphic novel. I loved reading Ruth's story as she navigates her new life in Hong Kong. Watching Ruth grow, become strong, and put down roots was fantastic. I know that students will enjoy this book and many will likely relate to Ruth's story. Can't wait to add this to my library!

This graphic novel about a Chinese Canadian girl, Ruth, moving to Hong Kong, her mother’s hometown. She barely speaks Cantonese, her relatives are loud and have a lot of customs she doesn’t know, school is hard and she is alone a lot. Slowly Ruth learns how to live in this new place, navigate the changes in the relationships with her parents, and, of course, make friends. A great graphic novel for anyone of any age.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this DRC.
#Uprooted #NetGalley

I really enjoyed Uprooted by Ruth Chan. There are many graphic memoirs that depict the author's moving from their family's home country to the United States in their teen years. It was very interesting to read a memoir about an author who grew up in Canada and then moved to Hong Kong. The cultural transition for Ruth while she also navigated friendships and family made for a great read! Highly recommended for YA collections.

I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel! Ruth has grown up in Toronto, Canada, but her family is preparing to move back to Hong Kong. I appreciated that this graphic memoir is a fresh perspective about moving to a new place and struggling to fit in. This graphic novel will be a big hit in upper elementary and middle-grade classrooms.

A sweet and comforting graphic memoir about Ruth Chan’s move from Canada to Hong Kong in her teenage years. I enjoyed the glimpses of Ruth’s family history and connection to her present day transition. Chan captures all the emotions, challenges, and joys of the transition so well and it was great to see Ruth’s comfort and sense of self grow throughout the book. Can’t wait to purchase for my library - I think all kids can relate to this story, either as the person moving or knowing someone who has moved.

I love Uprooted!! This graphic novel memoir is perfect for anyone who has ever had to move. Ruth describes how hard it was to move to Hong Kong where it felt like everyone else fit in except for her. Through the challenges, Ruth eventually embraces the change and realizes that she really does fit in. There are some sweet moments of Ruth and her Mom that are included as well. Readers will love this graphic novel memoir!

I am really happy that I read this book

This was a reverse of every other book about feeling alienated and not fitting in that I have read. In this graphic novel, the main character, Ruth, moves to Hong Kong from the US with her parents. She was born in the US and had only been to Hong Kong once before. The story is about her acclimation to Hong Kong and the way it feels when you look like everyone else and you should fit in but you really don't.

I enjoyed reading a story from the other side of the immigrant story. It was well written and I didn't feel like I was cheated (as I often to with graphic novels) out of details and background stuff.

The only problem I had with the book was a technical one. The publisher used black, gray and Chinese Characters to distinguish between English, Cantonese Ruth understood and Cantonese Ruth did not understand. The gray was often hard to distinguish from the black. As it was a graphic novel they should have chosen another, not so similar, color. Otherwise I loved the idea.

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is a great story about moving from Toronto to Hong Kong, based on the author’s real life. The story is very relatable with typical experiences of language difficulties, missing old friends and making new ones, and adjusting to the new place. It is well written and is a good fit for the intended audience. Excellent illustrations enhanced overall reading experience. I especially liked how the author used different colors to differentiate between languages.

I enjoyed this graphic memoir immensely. It is a sweet, funny, touching and relatable story about starting over in a new place where everything is unfamiliar.

As a librarian in an international school, this is exactly the kind of book that I look for. I know many of my students will be able to relate to what Ruth goes through as she navigates a new school in a new country.

I will be buying this for my library, and nominating it for this year's Panda Book Awards (an annual reading initiative for international schools in China and beyond). Highly recommended!