A Step From Heaven, An Na
A Step From Heaven, An Na
3 Rating(s)
List: $14.00 | Sale: $9.80
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A Step From Heaven

Author: An Na

Narrator: Jina Oh

Unabridged: 4 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/14/2017


Synopsis

From master storyteller An Na comes the Printz Award–winning novel about a Korean girl who tells her firsthand account of trying to find her place and identity in America from the day she leaves Korea as a child to her rocky journey through the teenage years.

At age four, Young Ju moves with her parents from Korea to Southern California. She has always imagined America would be like heaven: easy, blissful, and full of riches. But when her family arrives, she finds it to be the opposite. With a stubborn language barrier and cultural dissimilarities, not only is it impossible to make friends, but even her family’s internal bonds are wavering. Her parents’ finances are strained, yet her father’s stomach is full of booze.

As Young Ju’s once solid and reliable family starts tearing apart, her younger brother begins to gain more freedom and respect simply because of his gender. Young Ju begins to lose all hope in the dream she once held—the heaven she longs for. Even as she begins to finally fit in, a cataclysmic family event will change her idea of heaven forever. But it also helps her to recognize the strength she holds, and envision the future she desires, and deserves.

Reviews

Goodreads review by karen on August 04, 2021

this book was very (view spoiler)[good. (hide spoiler)] i didn't think i was going to like it because it started out in the voice of (view spoiler)[a five-year-old, (hide spoiler)] which was too (view spoiler)[twee (hide spoiler)] for me, but it thankfully changed as the female child-character grows up to show the slow acclimatization and americanization of a korean family and the struggles......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on August 25, 2016

At four years old, Young Ju does not understand that Mi Gook means America, not heaven. When her parents tell her will move to the magical Mi Gook with them, she assumes that they are going to a special, sacred place. She does not understand the problems sure to arise: struggling to learn a new lang......more

Goodreads review by Amy on November 08, 2018

Another required read for my 8th grade English class. I am glad it was though, because this book is not only touching, but important too!......more

Goodreads review by Duffy on September 20, 2012

This is a beautiful book. The prose is simple and graceful. At times it's poetic, at times powerful, and at other times touching. The story is simple, true, and feels inevitable. The characters are believable, as are the situations. For what it is, the book is a little gem, and brilliant on its own......more

Goodreads review by CW ✨ on October 24, 2018

Don't mind the three stars - if this book won't be triggering to you and you want to read more immigrant stories, read this book. It's such an important narrative. - This was such a difficult book to listen to (I listened to the audiobook) but it is such a hard-hitting story that intertwines an immig......more