In January, I read the book New From Here By Kelly Yang. This novel is about a ten-year-old boy named Knox who never expected to move countries in two days! Suddenly, out of the blue moon, a virus named COVID-19 hits Hong Kong; With a struggle, his mom makes a last-minute decision to move most of their family to California San Francisco, where they think they will be safe. Knox’s dad has to be left behind in Hong Kong because of his work. He has two siblings: one older brother in middle school named Bowen and a Younger sister named Lea. Knox and Bowen do not have a really good relationship, and in the story, it states Bowen, his older brother would “rather share a room with mosquitos over him.”Since he is new to California, he begs his mom to do homeschooling because he is scared to start over. Even after lots of begging, his mom rejects his request. At his new school in California, Knox struggles with being a new kid. During COVID-19, racism skyrockets to a whole new level. This makes Knox a huge target for two bullies since he is Chinese. Throughout the story, Knox encounters many hardships in his life in California. Can Knox stand up for himself or will the virus defeat him? After all, It turns out that escaping a virus is a lot harder than you think. 

I recommend reading this book because the story has lots of realistic elements, like how the characters in the book feel real as they all struggle in their very own ways. It is also intriguing to see how they resolve their problems. This story is written from a one-point perspective of a person from China who moved to California and their struggles dealing with racism. Also, it is really interesting to see the struggles they had dealing with COVID-19 racism and compare them to the struggles we had when we were dealing with COVID-19. In conclusion, this is why I deeply recommend this book.

Knox’s Mom was my favorite character and I say this because she is determined, understanding and was willing to sacrifice everything for her children’s sake and safety. Knox’s Mom grew as a character in many ways. At the start of the story she began to give up on her self because of worrying too much if she would get a job or not. Once, her first application gets declined, she saw her self as a disappointment to her family which is not true. But through her experience she grew to try harder, be determined and to never ever in a million years give up, even during challenging and difficult situations. Knox’s Mom is a caring character, and I can prove this by a quote that she shows on page 155-156 it states “Did you miss ur interview?” I asked in a tiny voice sneaking a peak at her Mom doesn’t even have an answer. I can just tell by her eyes. “Never mind about my interview- you put urself in danger!” She gives me a once over, checking for any bruises. This shows she deeply cares and sacrifices for her children even though she missed her interview she made sure her son was not hurt or in danger.

My favorite quote from the book is on page 346, it states Of course you can! We’re already reinvesting you, Dad! We’re doing it!!! “You won’t know until you try” Mom says gently. She reminds Dad that before we came, none of us knew how to do this. And now look at us learning on Zoom and closing deals in our fuzzy bedroom slippers. “The only thing that is stopping you is your fear, Dad,” I absolutely love this quote because it shows after all the struggles Knox’s family had encountered, they have accomplished managing living in a new country. Also, I love this quote because from their experience of success it tells us with a bit of patience and determination you can learn anything. Lastly this is an amazing way to end the story with a bang!

“We must all choose between what is right and what is easy.” This is one of my favorite quotes from Dumbledore. I enjoy this quote because it is significant. It advised me that even though one path of a choice may be simpler and quick, the proper option is always the best answer, no matter how long it takes to accomplish. In addition, the quote reminds us to never be lazy, aka “cut corners,” and always make ends meet in the best way possible. One example of a situation showing the decision of paths is when you are doing a homework assignment. You can either cut corners and ask your friends to give you the answers because you are lazy or do the right thing by asking your friend to help you understand the problem so you can now do it by yourself. Also, wouldn’t it feel much better to get a good grade on your homework and know you did it yourself? Another example is when I am at volleyball practice, our coach tells us to practice overhand serving, but many people struggle doing this, so they take the easy way and do underhand serve. This may help in the short term to get over the net and score points, but in the long term, if you want to pursue volleyball, high school coaches expect you to be able to serve overhand. Lastly, this quote by Albus Dumbledore relates to me since, sometimes in the morning, when I’m making my bed, I feel lazy and take the easy way by not laying down all my sheets and instead doing 2/3 of them. I think to myself that this is just temporary and it won’t happen again, but to my surprise, I’ve constantly seen that I have created a bad habit for myself. 

Somebody I greatly admire and look up to is my mom. Some character traits that symbolize my mom are that she is supportive, determined, and affectionate. My mom is always supportive of me as she makes sure to have my back when I need her. For example, whenever I need help anything with school or outside activities, she’s always there to to assist me. Secondly, she is one determined cookie. When mom sets her mind on something, she must achieve it. This has taught me no matter how difficult a situation could be, one should never give up and keep trying until you get there. Additionally, she has taught me it’s good to be determined in order to achieve my goals and not to avoid uncomfortable circumstances. This is important because it has helped me throughout many things in life. Lastly, she is affectionate and nurturing. However, sometimes she can go overboard with this. For example because during the night time, while I’m asleep, she checks on me and my brother Noah. She also also never lets anyone else drive us to places and makes sure we are safe. Furthermore, these actions as a few examples reminds me of her sacrifice to make sure we are always safe and ok shows that she deeply loves and cares about me.

Instead of making a New Year resolution, I’m going to focus on one word, and that word is balance. I picked the word balance because it can be used in all aspects of life. For example, I love to engage in all school activities, such as robotics, volleyball, and CJSF however, I don’t have enough time to do them all. So, I need to practice balancing my time between these activities. My goal this year is also to balance my eating habits. Even though I eat mainly healthy foods such as veggies, meat, and fruits, I have a tendency to eat different kinds of junk food. This causes my diet to become very unbalanced because my body is not on a consistent schedule. In addition, I want to work on my time management skills, which can go to many things, such as getting ready for school. Most of the time, I get to school around 8:10 or sometimes earlier. Although I’m not late to class, I still want to be at school by 8:05 because what if something makes me late? Being there at 8:05 allows me to be more relaxed and not stressed out. The last thing I want to improve on is managing how much money I earn and how much of it I spend. This is important to me because I’m finding out that I’m spending my money on expensive things and items that are a waste. As a result, I need to organize and balance how much I spend per month and ask myself, “If I need this, or is it a waste.”

In December, I read the book called Finally Seen by Kelly Yang. This is a realistic fiction novel about a 10-year-old girl named Lina Gao who lived in Beijing with her grandmother since she was five. The book presents her life experience in America for the first time. Throughout her life, she has been waiting for this moment to arrive. She had a difficult life in Beijing as the kids at school would make fun of her and call her a “left behind girl.” Meanwhile, her parents continued to send  her postcards about their lives in America, so that she is still cared about. After a very long wait, she is finally reunited with her parents and her sister. However, when she arrives, she realizes that life is not exactly like the postcards she received. She has challenges in school,  jealous that her little sister speaks better English, and also her family is financially struggling.

I recommend Finally Seen by Kelly Yang because this novel is exciting, full of twists and turns, making you want to see what happens next. Every moment will surely shock you! Also, the story is very emotional to the point that you feel like you’re in the book. While reading, Lina grows as a character, and it’s fun to see how her personality and learning skills change  from start to end. In addition, I love how Kelly Yang, throughout all of her books, her endings are jaw-dropping, and powerful! This further indicates to me that she is an amazing author. Also, if you love drama , this book is for you.

In the book Finally Seen, Lina is my favorite character, and I say this because she is determined and very courageous. These two traits symbolize her firmly as a character. Most of her young years were raised by her grandmother in Beijing, and starting a new life in America, which can be challenging to adapt to the new culture. One example of her being determined is when she is at school trying to learn English as her second language. Also, she works very hard on this because, a student named Jessica makes fun of her for not being able to pronounce simple words, and Lina wants to prove her wrong. As the story goes on, she starts perfecting her English until one day she shocks everyone. Lina and her class are invited to the school board meeting. Lina surprisingly has volunteered herself to talk in front of parents and teachers. On page 263, it states, “ I stand up and slowly make my way to the mic as my classmates’ jaws drop!” This is significant because she will prove everyone wrong by giving the best speech possible. This indicates how courageous Lina can be.  In addition, she shows that with just some practice, you can do anything possible if you put your mind to it.

My favorite quote from the story is on (page 291) “No more drama?” I ask her. Jessica smiles. “I’d like that.” “We don’t know what the future will bring, what crops or drought await our next chapter, but we kick our legs as high as we can, our hearts brimming with hope, under the glowing moon,” I like this quote because it is a significant way to end a story. It’s telling us that whatever happens next, Lina will be prepared. Also, Jessica and Lina’s situation shows with a touch of forgiveness, your enemy can become your friend. In addition, without her determination and courage  to overcome her fears of confronting situations she wouldn’t be able to achieve and grow. Like they always say, practice makes it perfect.