If you loved

Books like I hate English!

A gentle, empathetic exploration of the frustration and eventual triumph of finding your voice in a brand-new world. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with I hate English!.

overwhelming
hopeful
tender
relatable

01
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Bette Bao Lord
A warm, nostalgic journey of finding a new home and identity through the universal language of play.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
02
My Name is Yoon
Helen Recorvits · 2003
A tender, quiet exploration of holding onto who you are while figuring out where you fit.
Shares:
- hopeful
- tender
- earnest
- empathetic
03
Name Jar
Yangsook Choi · 2001
A tender and affirming exploration of holding onto who you are when everything around you is new.
Shares:
- earnest
- empathetic
- encouraging
- gentle
04
American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang
A clever, intertwining graphic journey through the awkwardness of adolescence, the weight of heritage, and the struggle to accept who you are.
Shares:
- earnest
- empathetic
05
Dear Canada
Gillian Chan
An intimate, urgent diary of a young girl's frantic race against systemic exclusion to reunite her fractured family.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
- immigrant experience
06
Hating Alison Ashley
Robin Klein · 2004
A lively, competitive dive into the fierce and familiar world of classroom rivalry.
Shares:
- relatable
07
Dreams In The Golden Country
Kathryn Lasky · 1998
An intimate, diary-style window into the hopes, growing pains, and bustling reality of a young immigrant's new life.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
- immigrant experience
08
I stink!
Kate McMullan
A loud, proud, and delightfully gross celebration of the messy work that keeps a city running.
Feels:
- joyfully gross
- exuberant
- playful
09
Front Desk
Kelly Yang
A big-hearted, bustling story about a determined girl who uses her voice and her community to fight back against an unfair world.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
- empathetic
- finding one's voice
10
Amina's voice
Hena Khan
A tender and earnest journey of balancing cultural heritage with the everyday desire to belong.
Shares:
- tender
- earnest
- empathetic
- gentle
11
Ruby's Wish
Shirin Yim Bridges
An earnest and uplifting historical tale about a young girl's quiet rebellion to secure her right to learn.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
12
Ties that bind, ties that break
Lensey Namioka
A quiet but fiercely defiant coming-of-age story about the painful, liberating choice to walk your own path.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest

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