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Mina is the perfect daughter. Bound for Harvard, president of the honor society, straight A student, all while she works at her family’s dry cleaners and helps care for her hearing-impaired younger sister. On the outside, Mina does everything right. On the inside, Mina knows the truth. Her life is a lie.At the height of a heat wave, the summer before her senior year, Mina meets the one person to whom she cannot lie. Ysrale, a young migrant worker who dreams of becoming a musician, comes to work at the dry cleaners and asks Mina the one question that scares her most. What does she want? Mina finds herself torn between living her mother’s dreams, caring for her younger sister, grasping the love that Ysrael offers, and the most difficult of all, living a life that is true.With sensitivity and grace, An Na weaves an intriguing story of a young woman caught in the threads of secrets and lies, struggling for love and finding a voice of her own.
She walks alone in the rain. The faded pink pajama bottoms and oversized T-shirt clinging to her small frame, heavy with the weight of water. Her breath breaks inside her chest in an upward heave that strangles a cry escaping from her throat. Gulps of air. Her shoulders rising and falling. How much time has passed? She presses the heel of her hand against the tears that blur her vision. Though her chest still throbs, demanding air, she begins to run again. Looks down at her feet and urges them to fly faster, skim across the pavement.
The city, a dusty camouflage of grays punctuated with dots of colors from traffic lights and swirling neon signs, stretches awake in the early-morning drizzle. In the distance there is the slam of metal gates being pushed aside, revealing cluttered storefronts and display windows. The heartbeat of the city thickens with the heat of summer rising as steam from the streets, with the noise of cars speeding across the freeway, with the multitude of voices and languages rising up to greet each other. The day begins, yet all Suna can see is the memory of a face framed by night. A face so familiar, so loved, she can name each imperfection, each mark as though they are her own.
Suna runs forward without a glance, without a thought. To the car rounding the curve of the freeway off-ramp. The road slick with oil and rain. She pumps her arms and wills herself into the light.
I started thinking about writing for children after I had finished college and was teaching full time. However, it wasn't until I entered my MFA program that the real writing began.
What made you decide to write this book?
It started with a very visual image of Mina and Ysrael on the hood of the car looking out over the sunset. While the image of the two lovers was familiar what caught my attention was the thought of the younger sister, Suna, inside the car watching her older sister fall in love.
What would you like young readers to learn from Mina?
To know and believe in yourself.
Are any of the characters in Wait for Me? based on anyone in your "real" life?
Some of the characters are composites from many different people, both real and fictional.
What adjectives would you use to describe Wait for Me?
Tender, loving.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Ian McEwan, Sylvia Plath, Jacqueline Woodson, Kazuo Ishiguro, Lorrie Moore, Lois Lowry
Have you started working on your next book? Can you give us a sneak peak?
I'm currently at work on my third novel, but I don't like to talk about it until it's completely done.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell readers?
Thank you for listening to my stories.
Anonymous
Posted May 21, 2008
I picked up this book warily. I've read too many fluffy teenage romances that are both unrealistic and uninteresting. But I was surprised and pleased with my reading. This book really tells the life of two very different girls, sisters Mina and Suna. An Na writes Mina in such a believable way that you come to believe that this girl is a real teenager: lost, moody, unaware of herself and unsure where to go. The relationship between Mina and Ysrael is very sweet and deep, too deep for the average teenager to be involved in. I think that Suna's story is the most captivating part of this story. She's young and imaginative. She goes where she likes in her mind, and her hearing there is just as good as everyone else's. I highly recommend this book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 30, 2008
I bought this book because it was on the shelf, without really reading what it was about. I was horribly disappointed that I wasted my money on this book. Wait for Me has a very shallow plot which lacks depth or intellect. Also, sweat was mentioned a little too much for my liking. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a way to fall asleep at night, or a way to pass time without thinking or learning anything.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 10, 2008
Wait For Me The author AN NA won a Printz Award from her book, A Step from Heaven and was a National Award Winner Finalist too. In her wonderful novel, Wait for me, AN NA wrote about a girl named Mina, a Korean-American. She is known to be a good student, in after school activities, and still manages to help out in her parent¿s dry cleaners business. She is going to enter her senior year in high school. Suna is Mina¿s younger sister that needs her a lot, their bond is so strong, but when Mina meets Ysrael, a new worker at her parent¿s dry cleaners, and a musician. She finally found someone who she cannot lie to. He teaches her to think for herself and really find what she really wants in life. She has to face so many decisions and find a way to stop living a lie should she live the dreams that her mother would love for her to have, take care of her little sister, or accept the love that Ysrael is giving to her. I would recommend the book Wait for me for teenagers that are trying to find themselves and decide how you would want to live your life, solve any conflicts that are in your home, and outside the real wild world The message of the book is telling the readers to make good decisions in life and don¿t let others always decide for you. This book will have the reader wanting more after each chapter there are a lot of emotions running through the book that it will just have you stuck until the end comes.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 8, 2008
Mina is ending her senior year with a lot to look forward to after graduation. With straight A¿s and president of the Honor Society, her mom thinks she is Harvard material. Mina has a lot more going on then just high school and applying to colleges. Her parents own a dry cleaning business where her whole family works. Suna, Mina¿s little sister, is hearing impaired and has to wear hearing aids. Mina finds herself taking more care of Suna than their mother does. Uhmma, their mother, is easily frustrated with Suna because she is different and does not live up to Mina¿s accomplishments. Mina knows the truth about her life and realizes she can not keep it a secret for much longer. She works at the dry cleaners taking in clothing from the customers, running the cash register, and balancing the receipts. When her mother is not looking Mina takes money from the register and safely packs it away. She knows she is not going to Harvard, and she will need money to pay for an apartment until she can tell her parents the truth. Jonathan, a Church friend, is helping Mina alter her grades to make them Harvard material. Mina knows she will never be accepted with the grades she has earned. She does not want to let her mother down because it is her dream to see her daughter go to Harvard. As far as Uhmma knows, Mina is getting extra college help from Jonathan. Suna is like she is on a different planet than everyone else. She often lets her mind carry her off into her imagination. When she is at the dry cleaners, she sometimes likes to hide in with the clothes so her mother can not find her. Her mother does not understand her because she is different from Mina. When Uhmma highers Ysrael, a new man to work at the dry cleaners, Mina finds herself wanting to know more about him. She likes the way he is gentle and friendly. He even knows how to make Suna happy. When Mina and Ysrael start dating, she finds herself facing the truth about her future. She does not want to live the life her mother has planned for her because it is one big lie. Mina needs to be true to herself and her family. When Ysrael asks Mina to move to California with him, Mina is ready to go. She has the money she has been saving from the dry cleaners, what else does she need? Then she thinks of Suna. Now Mina has to make the hardest decision of her life. Does she decide to run away with Ysrael or does she stay and take care of her sister Suna and live the life her mother has planned?
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Posted August 5, 2009
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Posted August 12, 2009
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Overview
Mina is the perfect daughter. Bound for Harvard, president of the honor society, straight A student, all while she works at her family’s dry cleaners and helps care for her hearing-impaired younger sister. On the outside, Mina does everything right. On the inside, Mina knows the truth. Her life is a lie.At the height of a heat wave, the summer before her senior year, Mina meets the one person to whom she cannot lie. Ysrale, a young migrant worker who dreams of becoming a musician, comes to work at the dry cleaners and asks Mina the one question that scares her most. What does she want? Mina finds herself torn between living her mother’s dreams, caring for her younger sister, grasping the ...