Justice for Robert Fuller: https://www.change.org/p/los-angeles-sheriff-s-department-palmdale-station-justice-for-robert-fuller?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_22793923_en-US%3Av10&recruiter=275455711&recruited_by_id=51954910-e049-11e4-82ed-052f7a80ffbf&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi
Trigger warnings: Depictions of racism and microagressions; bullying
Synopsis: For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.
So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily. And worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.
Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.
Review: Almost American Girl is a condensed view of Robin Ha’s life as she was uprooted from Korea and moved to the US. While reading this book, I found myself thinking of a guy from Turkey who lived with me and some friends during his first year in the US. There were many similarities like struggling to keep up with English conversations and understanding American mannerisms, but Robin moved to the US unwillingly. Seeing her decide things like an “American” name and making the decision to finally learn English was enlightening. Those were honestly some of the easier hurdles for her to manage compared to familial issues. Even though she was living in America, she lived with Koreans who held onto their strict ideas of families. Not only was Robin struggling to find a place in America, she couldn’t even count on family to help her when she came home.
I’m making Almost American Girl sound sad, but it really isn’t. There are scenes of microaggression, racism, and family issues, but Robin does find a place of her own in America. When the story starts, Robin and her mother move to Alabama, but then they end up moving to Virginia. This really shows how some parts of America are better suited for foreigners. I grew up in the south and there aren’t many places here that would be beneficial to people from other countries. My friend from Turkey had it a little easier because we lived in a city and there was a decent Middle-Eastern community there. There is a really good chapter when Robin returns to Korea as an adult and she realizes that there’s a lot of Korean culture she doesn’t necessarily agree with. I love that Robin makes an active decision to identify as Korean-American because there are more modern ways of thinking in the US that Robin followed. It shows that you don’t have to be born in America to identify as American. It brings back the idea that America is really meant for anyone and everyone, and I thought that was a beautiful note to end on.
Great graphic memoir about the challenges one might face when moving to the US from another country.
4 howls
If you enjoyed Almost American Girl, consider checking out the following titles:
New Kid by Jerry Craft (Fictional graphic novel about an African-American kid who recently starts going to a mostly white private school)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Mixture of Chinese mythology and contemporary fiction as Gene Luen Yang shares his experience as a Chinese-American)
Stargazing by Jen Wang (Fictional graphic novel about friendship and growing up)
The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson (Non-fiction graphic novel that follows Noelle Stevenson’s life as she becomes one of the most beloved graphic novel artists)
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (Non-fiction graphic novel where Maia Kobabe helps readers better understand the gender queer experience)
Trigger warnings: Depictions of racism and microagressions; bullying
Synopsis: For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.
So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily. And worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.
Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.
Review: Almost American Girl is a condensed view of Robin Ha’s life as she was uprooted from Korea and moved to the US. While reading this book, I found myself thinking of a guy from Turkey who lived with me and some friends during his first year in the US. There were many similarities like struggling to keep up with English conversations and understanding American mannerisms, but Robin moved to the US unwillingly. Seeing her decide things like an “American” name and making the decision to finally learn English was enlightening. Those were honestly some of the easier hurdles for her to manage compared to familial issues. Even though she was living in America, she lived with Koreans who held onto their strict ideas of families. Not only was Robin struggling to find a place in America, she couldn’t even count on family to help her when she came home.
I’m making Almost American Girl sound sad, but it really isn’t. There are scenes of microaggression, racism, and family issues, but Robin does find a place of her own in America. When the story starts, Robin and her mother move to Alabama, but then they end up moving to Virginia. This really shows how some parts of America are better suited for foreigners. I grew up in the south and there aren’t many places here that would be beneficial to people from other countries. My friend from Turkey had it a little easier because we lived in a city and there was a decent Middle-Eastern community there. There is a really good chapter when Robin returns to Korea as an adult and she realizes that there’s a lot of Korean culture she doesn’t necessarily agree with. I love that Robin makes an active decision to identify as Korean-American because there are more modern ways of thinking in the US that Robin followed. It shows that you don’t have to be born in America to identify as American. It brings back the idea that America is really meant for anyone and everyone, and I thought that was a beautiful note to end on.
Great graphic memoir about the challenges one might face when moving to the US from another country.
4 howls
If you enjoyed Almost American Girl, consider checking out the following titles:
New Kid by Jerry Craft (Fictional graphic novel about an African-American kid who recently starts going to a mostly white private school)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Mixture of Chinese mythology and contemporary fiction as Gene Luen Yang shares his experience as a Chinese-American)
Stargazing by Jen Wang (Fictional graphic novel about friendship and growing up)
The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson (Non-fiction graphic novel that follows Noelle Stevenson’s life as she becomes one of the most beloved graphic novel artists)
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (Non-fiction graphic novel where Maia Kobabe helps readers better understand the gender queer experience)
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