Topic 1: A Step From Heaven By An Na

A Step From Heaven

Na, An. A Step From Heaven. Asheville, North Carolina: Front Street, 2001. ISBN: 1886910588.

A STEP FROM HEAVEN by An Na, is a story of dashed dreams and redeeming hope. The main character is only four years old when the story begins, and ages fourteen years. Young Ju Park is girl of dreams when she moved to Mi Gook with her Uhmma and Apa. Once in America (Mi Gook) Young’s mother gives birth to Joon Ho, her brother. As Young grows she contends with the traditional roles from Korea as they collide with her new American dream. Though she wants desperately for her father to love her, he sinks further into disillusionment and drunken despair and violence. Her mother tries to help shield the children from the beatings, but she, too, is trapped. Young learns to be strong and to never let go of her family and of hope.

A STEP FROM HEAVEN is a story that begins with the short choppy dialogue of a young child to the opinions and words of a teenager. Korean words are sprinkled into the story along with the “sounded-out” words of an immigrant. The effect of Na’s storytelling creates vignettes with the “intimacy of snapshots.”(Brabander, 2001). As Young Ju grows up, her dreams change, but she discovers that strength comes in surprising ways. “Throughout the novel, images of reaching and dreaming poignantly convey the young narrator's desire to survive her father's brutality and its devastating effect on her family.” (Brabander, 2001). An Na’s touching story earned the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature.

Reference List:
Brabander, Jennifer M. Review of A Step From Heaven, by An Na. Horn Book
Magazine Vol. 77, Issue 4 (July/Aug 2001): 458.