Book Review: New From Here by Kelly Yang

New From Here

by Kelly Yang (j Yang)

 

Nothing seems to go right for 10-year-old Knox. It’s the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and his parents decide to move from Hong Kong to San Francisco so they can be safe from the virus. His mom loses her job as a respected banker and she moves with the kids. Knox’s dad stays behind with the family dog to work to support the family until he is able to move and get a new job. They think it will take no time for his mom to find something new, for the kids to get settled in a new school, and for everyone to stay safe in America.

 

The Wei-Evans family quickly learns that things aren’t as wonderful in the United States as they imagined. Because of a mounting anxiety about the coronavirus and its origins, the family has trouble finding jobs, making friends, and fitting into their new life. It’s so bad that Knox’s family decides to keep their home country a secret, telling everyone that they are “new from here.” (It’s technically true because Knox’s parents once lived in California and met at Berkeley.) Without a job, his mom has no healthcare in America, so they must stay well.

 

Making matters more difficult, Knox is struggling with ADHD and it seems to play havoc with any progress the family makes. His hasty actions ruin his moms job interviews, cause costly disasters in stores, and lose irreplaceable family heirlooms.

 

His family just can’t seem to catch a break. The family faces more financial hardship when his dad’s hours at his job back in Hong Kong get cut, and he has to give up their home and move into a small apartment there.

But Knox and his family discover that no one is immune to each other’s problems, especially during a pandemic. That’s why they have to care about one another. And when it comes to facing racism, Knox discovers a technique online that he can help his family and friends called ICEE: interrupt, correct, educate and echo statements of support. Knox employs this technique when he witnesses cruelty to his brother at track practice and when faced with racism in the grocery store. Knox is often reminded of his mother’s words that “the vaccine to racism is love.”

 

Although New From Here is fiction, Kelly Yang — also the author of Front Desk — wrote the book after moving her own family in 2020 from Hong Kong to the United States, leaving her husband behind. She says her family experienced similar instances of racism. They were verbally assaulted in the park, told to go back to where they came from, and her children always were forced to be “It” during coronavirus tag. The book is well written and a very honest story about family conflicts, the challenges of ADHD, and perseverance in tough times.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Front Desk by Kelly Yang, Just Roll With It by Lee Durfey-Lavoie, or Sunny Days Inside by Caroline Adderson.)

 

( official New From Here page on the official Kelly Yang web site )

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

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