The panels and speech bubbles will make this memoir accessible to younger audiences while its themes will continue to translate to those well beyond high school. I also believe that Robin’s experiences of being bullied and stereotyped will likely resonate with many young, adolescent, and even adult readers.
I believe this memoir would lend itself well to whole group conversations about the American Dream, belonging, and racism, among other things. Similarly, I was curious how identity and belonging can translate to more current classroom contexts. As someone with Korean American family members, I was curious about how dual- identities can shape individual perceptions and realities. I chose to read Robin Ha’s memoir because I was interested in exploring what it truly means to belong– in America. It is not until Robin begins to grapple with her new identity, that she realizes she is not entirely Korean or American, but rather, Koran American– which is just fine with her. This struggle is exacerbated by the tumultuous relationship with her step-family and her fractured relationship with her mother.
Once in America, Robin struggles to find a community where she belongs.
Presented in full-color splendor, her energetic style mirrors the constant motion of her adolescent self, navigating the peripatetic turbulence toward adulthood from Seoul to Alabama to Virginia and back to Seoul-just for a visit-before finally arriving home.Notable Recognitions: Nominated for a 2020 Harvey AwardĪlmost American Girl poses an autobiographical account of Robin Ha’s experiences moving from Korea to America, combating prejudice, and forging a new identity. With unblinking honesty and raw vulnerability, Ha’s debut graphic memoir captures her often excruciating journey toward creating, 24 years later, “a new identity that I now love.” Silenced by lack of English, abused by racist students, even manipulated by a step-cousin, Ha spends her first year in the U.S. Kim, returning to Korea is no longer an option. When Ha’s mother shockingly reveals she’s marrying the recently divorced Mr. While past vacations took the pair to touristy destinations like Hawaii and Singapore, this year, Ha’s mother announces they’re flying to Alabama, where they ultimately land in the Kim family home, where three immigrant generations reside. That she lives with just her single working mother occasionally caused clucking gossip and bullying at school, but Ha’s two-person household was exactly right for mother and daughter. As a student in 1995 in Seoul, Korea, Ha was mostly a typical teenager, enjoying close friendships, studying hard, and obsessed with reading-and drawing-comics. “The End of the World as I Know It”-Ha’s first chapter heading-happened when she was 14.
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