When I first read the title “A Step from Heaven” by An Na, I thought this book was going to be a boring book. I did not think I was going to like it. However, after I read it, my mind changed. The author of this book, An Na, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the winner of the Michael J. Printz award. This book is about one Korean family who immigrated to the United States of America in searching of better lives but they failed at it. This book is the most excellent, wonderful and amusing book I’ve ever read.

The main character is Young Ju who is a smart Korean girl. When she is 4 years old, she immigrates to America because her family thinks America is a good place to live in. Young Ju also wonders if America will be like a heaven. However, as she grows up, she realizes that their life in America is totally opposite of what they first imagine. When Joon Ho, Young Ju’s brother is born, things changes a bit. She often feels jealous of her brother. As the time goes on, her family faces with a lot of problems such as her father’s drinking and his domestic violence. They also struggle with American culture and Korean culture as well. However, Young Ju tries to turns into a strong woman who makes her mother proud.

This book is about an immigrant family and Young Ju’s struggle with two cultures and her family. Reading this book was very interesting experience for me because I have actually never known anything about the Korean culture and I am also an immigrant. In addition, An Na’s writing style is also so unique that she includes many imagery that could help you to imagine the scene. For example, “hair jumping out” or “her voice deep as night asks”. If you are interested in Korean culture or imagery sentence, you’ll have to read it. I also highly recommend this book to people who are immigrants and people who have abusive family issue. I would say this book teaches you to think about your family more.