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Na, An. Wait for me, a novel.


NA, An. Wait for me, a novel. Penguin, Putnam. 172p. c2006.0-399-24275-9. $15.99. JS

An Na's first novel A Step from Heaven won a great deal of acclaim, including being an ALA Best Book for YAs and a finalist for the National Book Award. In Wait for Me, she writes about a difficult family situation, perhaps a typical immigrant experience, when parents put all of their own hopes and dreams on the shoulders of their children, who resent re·sent  
tr.v. re·sent·ed, re·sent·ing, re·sents
To feel indignantly aggrieved at.



[French ressentir, to be angry, from Old French resentir,
 the pressure.

Two Korean American Korean Americans (Korean: 한국계 미국인, Hanja: 韓國系美國人, hangukgye migugin) are Americans of Korean descent.  sisters are narrators, in alternating chapters. Mina is the oldest, soon to finish high school, smart and beautiful; she tries to please her exacting mother, hating her at the same time for being so mean to the aging father, and to the younger, needier sister Suna. The family owns a dry cleaner shop and employs a young Mexican immigrant named Ysrael. Mina has been surreptitiously sur·rep·ti·tious  
adj.
1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means.

2. Acting with or marked by stealth. See Synonyms at secret.
 taking money from the till to finance her getaway once she graduates from high school. This is just part of the web of lies that has trapped Mina into behavior she is ashamed of. Hiding from the mother, Mina and Ysrael fall in love, sharing their love of music--Ysrael is a composer/singer who plans to go to San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden  to music school, and he wants Mina to come with him. When Mina's mother accuses Ysrael of stealing the money (that Mina actually has taken) from the shop, the crisis erupts. Mina has to decide whether to leave her family behind and go with Ysrael ... but what about little Suma SUMA Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (Canada)
SUMA Humanitarian Supply Management System (WHO) 
? Who will love and care for her if Mina leaves, since the parents are not capable of loving and caring for Suma? "Wait for me" is Suma's cry too.

This is a poignant story of sisters. The mother is about as difficult as a mother could be--making impossible, unrealistic demands. And the father is weak, unable to stand up to his wife and nurture his daughters. A family secret emerges, which sheds some light on why the mother is so miserable, why she favors Mina and rejects Suma. An Na is a skillful skill·ful  
adj.
1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient.

2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill.
, dramatic writer who brings the family agony into clarity, building suspense SUSPENSE. When a rent, profit a prendre, and the like, are, in consequence of the unity of possession of the rent, &c., of the land out of which they issue, not in esse for a time, they are said to be in suspense, tunc dormiunt, but they may be revived or awakened. Co, Litt. 313 a.  throughout. And, she has the ability to relate the poetry of Mina and Ysrael's love for one another. Claire Rosser, KLIATT

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Kliatt
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Title Annotation:young adult book
Author:Rosser, Claire
Publication:Kliatt
Article Type:Book review
Date:May 1, 2006
Words:407
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