10 November 2024 UPROOTED: A MEMOIR ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR FAMILY MOVES BACK by Ruth Chan, Macmillan/Roaring Brook, September 2024, 288p., ISBN: 978-1-250-85534-3

“‘It’s okay to be nervous about change and the unknown. Just remember that you’ll be okay. The unknown is simply a part of life’”

I love that sentiment, and how Ruth’s father plainly expresses it.

“Move on up

And keep on wishin'

Remember your dream is your only scheme

So keep on pushin'”

– Curtis Mayfield (1970)

“Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday stood by debunked claims that immigrants in Ohio were eating pets, telling Latino voters during a town hall he was ‘just saying what was reported.’

Trump in recent weeks has amplified a false claim that has gone viral that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing residents' pets or taking wildlife from parks for food.”

– Reuters (10/16/24)

When a parental job opportunity requires Ruth to say goodbye to all her friends and all her stuff, and move from Toronto (the only place she’s known) to her parents’ former haunts and relatives in Hong Kong, she becomes the new kid in the classroom. The new kid from halfway around the world who doesn’t always know what was just said or written. This can certainly complicate things.

For many reasons, the graphic memoir UPROOTED by Ruth Chan will be one I won’t soon forget. It includes a haunting immigration tale that makes it a must-have for tween and teen collections, and (SHHH!) I’m also counting on it making for a pretty hip Christmas and Hanukkah present. 

“Like a lot of kids who grew up in English-speaking countries with parents who spoke languages other than English, I grew up speaking both English and my parents’ native language, Cantonese. More specifically, my parents spoke Cantonese to me, and I spoke English to them. Sometimes they would mix Cantonese and English together, and sometimes there were words or phrases in Cantonese that I didn’t fully understand. 

To make this clear for you, the English words are in black, the Cantonese words are in gray, and the words I couldn’t fully understand are in Chinese characters.”

– From the author’s preface 

It’s so interesting having those Chinese characters suddenly pop up. Unlike other languages that also employ our Latin-script alphabet, there is no guessing what the Chinese characters might be saying. It reinforces how lost and out of her element Ruth can feel at times.

The intense and inspiring immigration story-within-the-story involves Ruth’s paternal grandparents. Along with some neighbors, they fled for their lives amidst the Sino-Japanese portion of World War Two, emigrating from China to Hong Kong while her grandmother was pregnant with Ruth’s father. 

Immigration, and immigrants fleeing desperate and deadly situations, promise to be among the top news stories over the next four years. The taut immigration story makes this illustrated memoir one that is important, relevant, and award-worthy. It is well-illustrated, well-written, and thoroughly thought-provoking. 

And I am deeply disappointed by the President-elect's demagoguery and lies. Not that it’s something new for him or for America.

The primary story of the new kid making friends, experiencing innocent crushes, and finding her way in her new environment is great fun. But the powerful underlying immigration story makes UPROOTED a total standout. 

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/    

richiepartington@gmail.com