Author: P.J. CONVERSE
Genre: YA CONTEMPORARY
Published: March 2011, HARPERTEEN
I received this book through Good Golly Miss Holly Book Tours for free, in exchange for an honest reviewFrom Good Reads:
From the moment he sees Amy on a Hong Kong subway, Simon wants to talk to her. But when he finally works up the courage, he finds out he can’t. Because Amy doesn’t speak Chinese, and Simon is failing English. But despite their language barrier, Amy and Simon connect, and they discover they understand each other.
My Review:
SUBWAY GIRL is one of the most unique books that I have read this year, and it is coming in at the very end. I like the concept of Simon and Amy, and how their relationship evolves from a shaky first meeting, to a tentative friendship, then to something much more intimate, that approaches love.
Though they are both Asian, Simon is a native of Hong Kong, while Amy moved there from America with her family. He speaks almost no English, while she speaks very little Chinese. However, mostly through Simon's persistence, they manage to transcend the language barrier.
Simon's character undergoes much development, and the reader spends much of the time seeing things from his perspective. There are times that the prose and dialog seems disjointed, but it never put me off of the story. In fact, I think it contributed to the underlying plotline of Simon learning to speak English.
Converse has written an engaging novel of cultural differences, overcoming language barriers, friendship, love, and acceptance. SUBWAY GIRL is a quick read; this ARC edition is just over 200 pages. I especially like that this is a great addition to books that expand diversity in publishing, while not being exclusive. It's easily a book that many people can relate to, no matter their ethnicity.
4/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4/5 for language
My Rating: 12/15 Highly Recommend (3.5 stars)
Links for the book:
HarperTeen Book Page
I'm pretty sure I'll like this one given the chance to read it. I too am Chinese (Hong Kong) and yet speak little of my "native tongue", so I'd be able to relate to the whole language barriers thing. Thanks for the review.
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