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A Step From Heaven
My Book Review Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an immigrant moving from a foreign country to America? If the answer is yes you should read this book. An Na’s A Step From Heaven shows the hardships of a Korean family that migrates to Southern California. The book focuses on the main character, Young Ju, and explains her life from being a four year old Korean girl to a young, college bound woman in America. Along with experiencing the challenges of learning English, attending school, making friends, and dealing with her father’s abusive ways, Young Ju finds out that she is not strictly Korean or strictly American, but she is her own unique self. The genre that this book belongs to is realistic fiction because the whole story of immigration and learning how to live in America can happen and has happened. The author makes the characters realistic and the situations of poverty, abuse, and alcoholism are all realistic situations. The story first takes place in Korea on the beach. Young Ju is splashing through the waves with her father. Houses in Korea had rice paper doors and the fish factory was the richest place around. Koreans did not have much money and they ate mostly rice. The rest of the story takes place in California where people are rich and have solid blocks of wood for their doors. Young Ju’s family lives in the downstairs of a house and the owner lives upstairs. I admired Young Ju the most because she was a strong, ambitious girl. When she found out she was moving to America at the age of four, Young Ju thought of America as being Heaven. “Where is Harabugi (Korean for Grandpa),” Young Ju asks. “That was a stupid question to ask. Harabugi is in Heaven,” replies her father. “This is Heaven. Mi Gook (Korean for America) is Heaven,” Young Ju states. (p. 25). Being told that men prevailed over women her whole life by her father, Young Ju still manages to be the smartest girl in school and becomes a great woman. Apa, which is father in Korean, beats Young Ju, her brother, and her mother throughout the story. He is an alcoholic who ends up losing his job. Apa is strict on being Korean and doesn’t want Young Ju to hang around her Americans friends because “they have a bad American influence.” “You have been hanging around that American girl for too long. You are not allowed to see her anymore. She is a bad influence,” Apa growls as he hits her across the face. (p. 109) Uhmma, which is mother in Korean, is a hardworking lady that wants a better life for her children. She blames herself for her husband’s beatings and doesn't’t stand up to him when he beats the children because she is afraid. Uhmma’s characteristics change at the end of the book when Apa decides to leave. “I blamed you for my mistake. I blamed you for trying to save me. Now it is my turn to do the right thing for you. For us. My strong children and I will be fine without Apa.” Uhmma says to Young Ju. (p. 143) The writer makes the reader feel as if the characters are real people because An Na gives them real feelings and real characteristics of many people. An Na wrote A Step From Heaven to express the frustrations and hardships that immigrants go through growing up in America. An Na was born in Korea and grew up in San Diego, California. Although she was an immigrant herself, this book was not about her own life. She mixed her own feelings of immigration with other ideas and factors that she found to create her story. She wrote the story from when Young Ju was little to when she was older because she wanted the reader to understand how pieces of Young Ju’s childhood shaped her life. Her name, An Na is unique. Generally in America, we use our first name, then our last. In Korea it is backwards. An is actually her last name and Na is her first name. When Korean women get married they keep their last name and don’t receive their husband’s last name. When her and her parents immigrated to America, they considered her name, An Na, to be just her first name so when she got married she could keep her last name and receive her husband's’s name. Her name is also unique because it sounds like the American name “Anna.” I believe that this book was well developed and helped me realize the tactics and hardships that immigrants have to face just to receive a better life. The story had many strengths because An Na described in detail the way people felt, situations that they were in, and her writing made me get a visual picture in my head every time I read. I would persuade people to read this book because the story really plays on your emotions and makes you realize how lucky you are to be an American. Young Ju was caught between her Korean heritage and her American environment. Most of us don’t have to deal with that. This book would mostly be suited for immigrants, people that have been in abusive situations like Young Ju, or anyone that is emotional and has a good heart because they would be able to relate to this book better than someone who doesn't’t care what happens to immigrants or doesn't’t care about people in general. The author’s style of writing is realistic, and plays on emotions. She likes to get lost in making up fictional characters, but likes to also add realistic features to them. Her story is heartfelt and makes people understand what people really do go through. In An Na’s A Step From Heaven, this theme stands true: If you standup for what is right to protect your family from the difficulties that life brings you, goodness will prevail. Bookhooks report by Lindsey
of Crestview Local/Columbiana County/ Ohio/ US
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Number of Pages: 160
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