Almost American Girl

by Robin Ha

[nannah]

Hmmmm. I’m very torn on this one. Did I enjoy reading it? For the most part, maybe, and I'm very happy to have learned more about Korean culture and Korean-American culture. But there were also a lot of fatphobic bits that I did not enjoy, and all-in-all this book reads more like something for middle grade as it’s very simple and (I’m sorry), a little bit shallow.

Content warnings:
fatphobia and fat-shaming (some in-book, some just done by the author)

Representation:
the author/protagonist is Korean
most of the other characters are Korean as well, though one of her good friends is half Japanese

Growing up an only child of a single mother in Korea in the 1990s, Robin and her mom have always been very close. But that bond is tested when Robin’s mother uproots them from Seoul and moves them to Alabama, US, giving Robin a new stepfather and step sister she’d never met before (or really even heard of). And once Robin learns a bit of English and makes a friend, her mother suddenly moves them again to Virginia. Through it all, Robin’s constant is her anger towards her mother, until she grows up enough to visit Korea and understand her mother’s choices. And realize who she is, and who she’s not.

As always, I feel like I can’t really judge memoirs on the story itself because that would seem rather rude. But I always look at how the story is presented, the writing, and in this case where it’s a graphic novel, the art style’s presentation too.

The art style is very soft and lovely, with each chapter beginning with a full-color illustration. Though there are some clumsy panels, the overall art is well done. It’s the presentation and writing where it falls a little short for me. This really could/should be a middle grade novel, especially since most of it takes place when Robin Ha is a middle schooler, and her high school years are just breezed upon. Years where Robin apparently found her stride; I wish we could have seen more of them. The writing is very simplistic as well, sometimes feeling as if it's talking down to the YA audience (again, something that would’ve worked better as a MA graphic novel).

But what I really can’t enjoy is the fatphobia. It really killed a lot of what I did like, because showing this kind of attitude to a vulnerable YA audience seems particularly cruel. I hate the US as much as the next American with a brain cell, but it’s not because there are fat people here. I get that someone’s first impression moving here from East Asia might be that there’s a different culture surrounding weight (which Robin Ha later remarks on when she visits Korea later - “Is there a large?”, “We don’t make anything over a medium.”), but it would still hurt to see yourself being treated like an animal in a zoo (again, and again, and again) in a book that’s nominated in a best graphic novel category. The examples in the book: Robin Ha comes through the airport in the US, and exclaims how everything is big, and the people to! The people, all of which are drawn very large and eating hamburgers. Because that’s what all fat people do, apparently. The hamburgers make a return as the only thing her step aunt packs for her lunches (who does this? For a packed lunch), further emphasizing the whole Americans - fat - burgers-point-of-view that we really don't need. Especially our young adult readers.

But I really loved the portrayal of Robin Ha’s relationship with her mother. It was probably the best thing about this memoir -- and apparently the hardest thing to write, according to the author’s note at the back. I could tell how much care went into that, and it really shows. All of the parts showing how single mothers in Korea are treated, too, were some of my favorites. So while I didn’t enjoy some things, there are a lot of lovely moments here.

It just depends on what you’re looking for/what you enjoy, perhaps.