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HapaMama

Asian Fusion Family and Food

A blog by Grace Hwang Lynch

Girl in Translation Book Review

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Why do so many Asian Americans get admitted into elite universities? Well, if Jean Kwok’s debut novel “Girl in Translation” is any indication, a micro-managing mother is not necessary. Check out my review and tell me what you think.

Do As I Say

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Can an ugly interaction in traffic turn into a teachable moment?

He approached my minivan as we were sitting at a red light, watching construction trucks cross the intersection .

I rolled the window down, assuming he was a foreman directing traffic.

“You don’t have to leave twenty feet! If you’d pull up I could get around!” he shouted and then stomped off.

“YOU CAN BE NICE ABOUT IT!” I yelled back, as I let my foot off the brake — just a little.

In the rear-view window, I watched his white van squeeze by me and cut through the dry cleaner’s parking lot to make a right turn.

“Did you really say that?” a little voice from the backseat asked.

YES I DID.

Paper Cranes for Japan

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In Japanese culture, origami paper cranes symbolize hope and wishes granted. Legend has it that if a person folds one thousand cranes, their wishes would be fulfilled.

Maxine Hong Kingston in Menlo Park

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Maxine Hong Kingston only writes one book each decade. So when she was at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, reading from her new poetry memoir “I Love a Broad Margin to My Life”, I made sure to be there.