Land of Broken Promises (In the Beautiful Country)

by Jane Kuo (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Taiwanese immigrant Anna and her family make a shocking discovery that puts their American dreams at risk in this searing companion to In the Beautiful Country, which Gene Luen Yang called "vivid and hopeful."

After a rocky first year, Anna's family have settled into life in California--their small restaurant is even turning a profit. Then her parents make a shattering discovery: their visas have expired.

Anna's world is quickly overwhelmed by unfamiliar words like "undocumented" and "inequality." She longs to share with a friend the towering secret that looms over every aspect of her life, but her parents strictly forbid her from telling anyone. As Anna grapples with the complexities of being undocumented, the strain that it places on her family, and the loneliness of keeping it all to herself, she has to wonder--if America is the promised land, why does everything she's hoped for feel like a lie?

Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang, Reem Faruqi, and Jasmine Warga, this middle grade novel in verse, inspired by the author's own experiences, focuses on themes of legal documentation, identity, and language's ability to divide and unite.

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Hardcover
$18.99

More books in the series - See All

Hornbook

Despite their difficult circumstances, Ai Shi and her parents navigate their world with relentless optimism, perseverance, and an earnest belief in their dreams.

Kirkus

Kuo's verse is artfully balanced in tone, never sugarcoating the struggles of the immigration experience but acknowledging the good times as well.

Review quotes




Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780063119048
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Quill Tree Books
Publication date
June 06, 2023
Series
In The Beautiful Country
BISAC categories
JUV057000 - Juvenile Fiction | Stories in Verse (see also Poetry)
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
JUV074000 - Juvenile Fiction | Diversity & Multicultural
Library of Congress categories
Immigrants
Families
Novels in verse
Domestic fiction
Taiwanese Americans
A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices List Selection

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