Kimberly Chang and her mother move from Hong Kong to New York. A new life awaits them in a foreign country. But they can only afford a shabby Brooklyn apartment, broken windows and crawling with vermin. The only heat comes from an unreliable furnace. They are deeply in debt and don't speak a word of English. Yet, there is hope. Eleven-year-old Kim goes to school. Although isolated by the foreign language and culture and forced to work in a sweatshop at night due to their poverty, she finds the challenges of the classroom liberating. She finds salvation in books and education. But can Kim transform the lost girl from Hong Kong into a happy American woman? And should she even want to? Jean Kwok writes a powerful and moving story of struggles and triumphs, heartbreak and love, and all that can be lost in translation.