All-ages graphic novels are hotter than ever. With so much great content out there and more arriving every week, sifting through it all can be a daunting task. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, teacher, librarian or young reader, Multiversity’s Bookshelf Basics is here to help. By highlighting a combination of newly released and classic all-ages books, we’ll help you build your collection, even as your tastes and interests change. In today’s installment we look at “Almost American Girl” by Robin Ha, a graphic memoir that explores immigration, single parenting and what it feels like to be caught between two different cultures.
Written and Illustrated by Robin Ha For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.Cover by Robin HaSo when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated.
Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.
Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.
Okay, Let’s Start with the Basics
“Almost American Girl” is written, illustrated, colored and lettered by Robin Ha, who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration. Ha lived in Seoul, South Korea, until the age of fourteen when she and her mother moved to Huntsville, Alabama. Not coincidentally, adjusting to her new surroundings—not to mention her new family—is the book’s central theme. Ha’s first published book is the New York Times bestseller, “Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes.” This is her second full length book.
What’s It All About?
The story begins with Robin trying to decide which of her many comic books she will take on her trip to America. From the start it’s abundantly clear that Robin and her single mother have a close relationship and a strong mother-daughter bond. Robin seems happy and chatty and everything is chill. By the end of the first chapter, however, our protagonist has learned she’s not on a simple two week trip. In fact, her mother has made plans to relocate permanently. Oh, and she’s also agreed to marry her formerly long-distance “friend,” Mr. Kim.
With a new home and a new instant family, Robin is justifiably outraged but doesn’t have any recourse. What follows is the carefully crafted, emotional inner journey of a South Korean teenage girl trying to make the best of things even as she pines for the sights, sounds and tastes of her home country and mourns the loss of her friends.
With very little knowledge of English, it largely falls on Robin alone to navigate her new school, her new family structure and her strange new surroundings. Her stepsister and step-cousins rarely speak Korean, the food is fatty and weird, she’s tormented by a bully at school and her new family’s traditional values mean that the men run the show, unswervingly supported by their doting wives. Robin floats in limbo, disconnected from the country she loves, baffled and disappointed by her mother’s choices.
What Makes It Essential?
Robin’s character and her emotions are rich and multifaceted. Her feelings are often intense, but never trite or simplistic. She feels angry and betrayed by her mother, sad about the loss of her friends, anxious about her new school, perplexed by her new classmates and we’re right there with her every step of the way.
Ha punctuates the real-time narrative with occasional flashbacks that give us an intimate—sometimes brutally honest—look at Robin’s immigrant experience. The dialogue sounds highly authentic and Ha’s command of visual storytelling supports the script beautifully. There’s nothing superfluous here. If something is on the page, it’s there for a reason.
Continued belowHa’s compositions are dynamic and her inks are as good as it gets. They’re also frequently bolstered by simple Korean manhwa techniques, especially motion and focus lines. Most of the chapters end with a powerful, eye-catching image that both ends the final scene on a high note and propels the narrative forward. Robin stands alone in a spotlight, lies face down on the forest floor, angrily berates her mother or screams on a roller coaster. These images guide the shape of the story and give it a palpable rhythm.
All of that aside, Ha’s color work is truly exceptional. Flashbacks are drawn in a rich sepia tone, which both differentiates these scenes and ages them beautifully. In the real time scenes, Ha uses a combination of muted, low-key tones or sudden explosions of color. Vivid memories of Korea are bursting with light and color, but so are some current scenes. When Robin feels bored and deflated, the colors drain away and become almost monochromatic. Fantasy scenes, of course, are the most colorful of all and truly feel like a different world. We also get to see several of character Robin’s drawings, which adds a whole other dimension.
How Can You Read It?
“Almost American Girl” is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins. You should be able to find it wherever books are sold, especially your local comic shop. There are also ebook editions for all major readers and tablets and numerous indie online retailers who’d love to help you out.
In Conclusion
Robin Ha started working on “Almost American Girl” a full five years before it was published. The attention to detail and care found on virtually every page make it clear the wait was worth it. Ha grew up loving comics and it absolutely shows. Ha’s craft and the story she tells make the book an instant classic. Add it to your collection and you’re sure to come back to it for years to come.
