{"product_id":"beautiful-country-a-read-with-jenna-pick-isbn-9780593313008","title":"Beautiful Country: A Read with Jenna Pick","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BEST SELLER • The moving story of an       undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the       world—an incandescent debut from an astonishing new talent • A TODAY SHOW #READWITHJENNA PICK \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country.” Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian’s parents were professors; in America, her family is “illegal” and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Chinatown, Qian’s parents labor in sweatshops. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly, taking out the stress of their new life on one another. Shunned by her classmates and teachers for her limited English, Qian takes refuge in the library and masters the language through books, coming to think of The Berenstain Bears as her first American friends. And where there is delight to be found, Qian relishes it: her first bite of gloriously greasy pizza, weekly “shopping days,” when Qian finds small treasures in the trash lining Brooklyn’s streets, and a magical Christmas visit to Rockefeller Center—confirmation that the New York City she saw in movies does exist after all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut then Qian’s headstrong Ma Ma collapses, revealing an illness that she has kept secret for months for fear of the cost and scrutiny of a doctor’s visit. As Ba Ba retreats further inward, Qian has little to hold onto beyond his constant refrain: \u003ci\u003eWhatever happens, say that you were born here, that you’ve always lived here.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInhabiting her childhood perspective with exquisite lyric clarity and unforgettable charm and strength, Qian Julie Wang has penned an essential American story about a family fracturing under the weight of invisibility, and a girl coming of age in the shadows, who never stops seeking the light.\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e NOTABLE BOOK \u003cb\u003e•\u003c\/b\u003e ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNPR\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShe Reads\u003c\/i\u003e, and more \u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e•\u003c\/b\u003e One of President Obama's Favorite Books of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Incredibly important, exquisitely written, harrowing. . . \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Country\u003c\/i\u003e tells [Wang’s] story, well, quite beautifully. It is not only Wang’s mastery of the language that makes the story so compelling, but also the passionate yearning for empathy and understanding. \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Country\u003c\/i\u003e is timely, yes, but more importantly it is a near-masterpiece that will make Qian Julie Wang a literary star.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eShondaland\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“For fans of \u003ci\u003eAngela's Ashes\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Glass Castle\u003c\/i\u003e.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“[An] exquisitely crafted memoir.”—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A heartbreaking and intimate memoir... the storytelling from a young Qian’s perspective is riveting.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePolitico\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This unforgettable memoir is eye-opening to the nth degree.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eReal Simple\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Elegantly affecting.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A coming-of-age memoir about an undocumented Chinese girl growing up in New York's Chinatown, this lyrical book is full of small moments of joy, heartbreaking pain and the struggles of a family trying to survive in the shadows of society. It's a uniquely American story, and an essential one.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An astounding memoir from a debut author that you’re not going to want to miss.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePopSugar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[Qian Julie Wang] is remarkable, and her story is a must-read.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlma\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An amazing story of the emotional and physical toll of lives lived in the enforced shadows of anti-immigrant America.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Kos\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Wang’s voice is powerful and the writing is absolutely gorgeous.” —\u003cb\u003eEmma Straub, author of \u003ci\u003eThis Time Tomorrow\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Beautiful Country\u003c\/i\u003e rings with power and authenticity. Wang's searing exploration reveals how she and her family were forced to navigate the yawning cracks in the American Dream. An eloquent, thought-provoking and touching memoir.”\u003cb\u003e—Jean Kwok, author of \u003ci\u003eGirl in Translation\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSearching for Sylvie Lee\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Heartrending, unvarnished, and powerfully courageous, this account of growing up undocumented in America will never leave you.”—\u003cb\u003eGish Jen, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Resisters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Deeply compelling…I was moved by the love and resilience of this family thrust into darkness…that casts an urgent light on a reality that extends way beyond America’s borders.”\u003cb\u003e—Hisham Matar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Return\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A potent testament to the love, curiosity, grit, and hope of a courageous and resourceful immigrant child. Engaging readers through all five senses and the heart, Wang's debut memoir is a critical addition to the literature on immigration as well as the timeless category of childhood memoir.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, *Starred Review*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Extraordinary… With immense skill, Wang parses how her family’s illegal status blighted nearly every aspect of their life . . .While Wang’s story of pursuing the American dream is undoubtedly timeless, it’s her family’s triumph in the face of “xenophobia and intolerance” that makes it feel especially relevant today. Consider this remarkable memoir a new classic.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, *Starred Review*\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The writing is sparse, stylish, sometimes harrowing and sometimes humorous as she narrates experiences that are incredibly common but rarely captured with this level of artful control. It’s shaping up to be one of the best memoirs of the year.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookpage,\u003c\/i\u003e *Starred Review*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] powerful debut. . . [Wang] movingly tells how undocumented families like hers are often overlooked and their experiences ignored. A haunting memoir of people and places that will stay with readers long after the last page.”—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003eQIAN JULIE WANG is a graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College. Formerly a commercial litigator, she is now managing partner of Gottlieb \u0026amp; Wang LLP, a firm dedicated to advocating for education and civil rights. Her writing has appeared in publications such as \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two rescue dogs, Salty and Peppers.\u003cb\u003eHow It Began\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy story starts decades before my birth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn my father’s earliest memory, he is four years old, shooting a toy gun at nearby birds as he skips to the town square. There he halts, arrested by curious, swaying shapes that he is slow to recognize: two men dangling from a muscular tree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe approaches slowly, pushing past the knees of adults encircling the tree. In the muggy late-summer air, mosquitoes and flies swarm the hanging corpses. The stench of decomposing flesh floods his nose.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe sees on the dirt ground a single character written in blood:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e冤\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWrongly accused.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is 1966 and China’s Cultural Revolution has just begun. Even for a country marked by storied upheaval, the next decade would bring unparalleled turmoil. To this date, the actual death toll from the purges remains unspoken and, worse, unknown.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e* * *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree years later, my seven-year-old father watched as his eldest brother was placed under arrest. Weeks prior, my teenage uncle had criticized Mao Zedong in writing for manipulating the innocent people of China by pitting them against one another, just to centralize his power. My uncle had naïvely, heroically, stupidly signed his name to the essay and distributed it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo there would be no high school graduation for him, only starvation and torture behind prison walls.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom then on, my father would spend his childhood bearing witness to his parents’ public beatings, all while enduring his own humiliation at school, where he was forced to stand in the front of the classroom every morning as his teachers and classmates berated him and his “treasonous” family. Outside of school, adults and children alike pelted him with rocks, pebbles, shit. Gone was the honor of his grandfather, whose deft brokering had managed to shield their village from the rape and pillage of the Japanese occupation. Gone were the visitors to the Wang family courtyard who sought his father’s calligraphy. From then on, it would just be his mother’s bruised face. His father’s silent, stoic tears. His four sisters’ screams as the Red Guards ransacked their already shredded home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is against this backdrop that my parents’ beginnings unfurled. My mother’s pain was that of a daughter born to a family entangled in the government. None of her father’s power was enough to insulate her from the unrest and sexism of her time. She grew up a hundred miles away from my father, and their hardships were at once the same and worlds apart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHalf a century and a migration across the world later, it would take therapy’s slow and arduous unraveling for me to see that the thread of trauma was woven into every fiber of my family, my childhood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e* * *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn July 29, 1994, I arrived at JFK Airport on a visa that would expire much too quickly. Five days prior, I had turned seven years old, the same age at which my father had begun his daily wrestle with shame. My parents and I would spend the next five years in the furtive shadows of New York City, pushing past hunger pangs to labor at menial jobs, with no rights, no access to medical care, no hope of legality. The Chinese refer to being undocumented colloquially as “hei”: being in the dark, being blacked out. And aptly so, because we spent those years shrouded in darkness while wrestling with hope and dignity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMemory is a fickle thing, but other than names and certain identifying details—which I have changed out of respect for others’ privacy—I have endeavored to document my family’s undocumented years as authentically and intimately as possible. I regret that I can do no justice to my father’s childhood, for it is pockmarked by more despair than I can ever know.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn some ways, this project has always been in me, but in a much larger way, I have the 2016 election to thank. I took my first laughable stab at this project during my college years, writing it as fiction, not understanding that it was impossible to find perspective on a still-festering wound.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter graduating from Yale Law School—where I could not have fit in less—I clerked for a federal appellate judge who instilled in me, even beyond my greatest, most idealistic hopes, an abiding faith in justice. During that clerkship year, I watched as the Obama administration talked out of both sides of its mouth, at once championing deferred action for Dreamers while issuing deportations at unprecedented rates. By the time the immigration cases got to our chambers on appeal, there was often very little my judge could do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn May 2016, just shy of eight thousand days after I first landed in New York City—the only place my heart and spirit call home—I finally became a U.S. citizen. My journey to citizenship was difficult to the very end: torrential rain accompanied me on my walk through lower Manhattan to the federal courthouse where I was sworn in. I brought no guests, not even my parents.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe rain did not matter. I reveled in joyful solitude, my face soaked in rainwater and happy tears. At the end of the ceremony, a videotaped President Obama greeted me as a “fellow American,” and it dawned on me that though I had become American decades ago, I had never before been recognized as one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSix months later, I awoke to a somber and funereal New York, mourning for a nation that chose to elect a president on a platform of xenophobia and intolerance. It was then that I dug up my voice. Staring shame and self-doubt in the face, I tossed my first attempt at this project and put my fingers to the keyboard anew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI document these stories for myself and my family, and not the least my uncle, our innominate hero. I write this also for Americans and immigrants everywhere. The heartbreak of one immigrant is never that far from that of another.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMost of all, though, I put these stories to paper for this country’s forgotten children, past and present, who grow up cloaked in fear, desolation, and the belief that their very existence is wrong, their very being illegal. I have been unfathomably lucky. But I dream of a day when being recognized as human requires no luck—when it is a right, not a privilege. And I dream of a day when each and every one of us will have no reason to fear stepping out of the shadows.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhenever things got really bad during my family’s dark years, I dreamed aloud that when I grew up, I would write our stories down so that others like us would know that they were not alone, that they could also survive. And my mother would then remind me that it was all temporary:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith your writing, Qian Qian, you can do anything.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne day, you will have enough to eat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne day, you will have everything.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMay that resilient hope light the way.","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304003096805,"sku":"NP9780593313008","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593313008.jpg?v=1767722312","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/beautiful-country-a-read-with-jenna-pick-isbn-9780593313008","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}