Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha is a lovely memoir of becoming not just Korean or not just becoming American but becoming both at the same time and through that, finding yourself.
This graphic novel reads as a fiction story, though based on Ha’s life. What was supposed to be a vacation to Alabama to visit a friend of her mothers, turns into a permanent situation. Ha’s mother has decided that marriage to this friend is the right choice for them. Even though Ha’s mother made a successful hairdressing business for herself in Korea and Robin has friends and good at school, they must deal with the fact that Ha’s mother was never married, is a single mother and deal with the prejudices of what that means in their culture. Ha’s mother hopes to start fresh and leave that in the past.
Ha, in typical 14-year-old mode, resents her mother forcing her into not only a new family, but a new school where she knows no one, does not speak the language and has none of the comforts of home (her comics mostly). But like all coming-of-age novels, Ha learns that sometimes it takes time to find your voice and sometimes that does not mean only speaking but non-verbally as with drawing comics.
There are several stereotypical coming-of-age/not fitting in issues as well as the added ones of Ha being Korean. And the cultural issues that Ha’s mother was hoping to escape come back with her new in-laws. The details of the story itself help give it a freshness to it and the graphic novel aspect helps bring the characters to life.