Girl in Translation | Holly Furtick Book Club

In 2018, I had this great idea to start a book club, mostly because I love books. I particularly love audiobooks, and I love forcing them on other people and then talking about them. And so I started this book club and I just put it out there on Instagram. I said, hey, read this book and. And then let's come together and chat about it. And I wanted to share those chats with you here on my YouTube channel. So I hope you enjoy this video we're discussing Girl in Translation, if you're just joining us, and I'm about to call in my friend ld.

Hello.

How are you?

Good.

How are you?

Good. Where are you?

Well, I'm on vacation on 30A in.

Florida with my family this week.

And you read the book, all the Palm trees?

I like 38. I like the sand there.

Yes, the sand is the best. I'm from Florida, so I'm a little. I'm a little bougie about my sand, so I love the white sand down here.

Yes, it is very nice. Okay, so you like the mug?

Yes, loved it. I'm a paper. I'm a paperback person. I know that you love Audible, but I'm a personal. I got my post its in it. I'm that person.

Okay, so do you always. Wait a minute. Do you always put post it notes in a book when you read it?

I mean, I got some notes. I have some feelings.

Just a book club. I want to hear all of your feelings. I want to hear about all of your post it notes. So do you always read a paperback? Do you ever do like, Kindle or anything like that?

No.

So funny, because we're such a digital age and so much of what I do is digital, but I always read paperback or I mean, listen, there's no paperback. I'm not opposed to hardcover because, you know, sometimes you have to sell a certain amount before it comes paperback. So I'm not, you know.

But if the hardcover and the. The paperback are side by side, you always pick the paperback.

Oh, always.

Yeah, me too.

Because I think it's weird people to.

Bend that back, you know?

Well, and like, if you're laying down.

Yeah, for sure. Or like on a beach, it's really heavy to try to hold that up.

So.

Okay. I also have to say before I ask you any questions, so last. Last month when we had our book club, I did not know that you only have an hour on Instagram Live.

You did? Yeah.

I also didn't think I was gonna go over an hour and so. But I did and I got Cut off. And so Ashley Tucker got me this nice little clock right here. So I am watching.

Ashley's the best.

She's the best watching the clock. Everybody. We are not going to go over one hour tonight. Hopefully it'll be less than an hour. But I mean, if it's good, if we're still talking. We're still talking, right?

Listen, do what you got to do. You can't just put a time limit on this sometimes.

So true. Leighton is laughing at me.

Always. He's probably laughing at me, too. He's good like that.

Okay, so I want to know from you, what. What was your. What was your favorite part of the book? Let's just do like something like really broad and generic. What was your favorite part of the book?

Okay, well, I have a post it for that.

I don't know.

I think, honestly.

Well, first of all, I love very visual references where I feel like I can in it. And on page. Let's see, 278, when she says the line, kind of what she's talking about her and Matt, you know, and. Okay, and. And, you know, throughout the book where she kind of has a bit of foreshadowing, the way she writes, like, you know, that different things are happening with her that in the future you'll realize.

Have come to pass.

But it's like she just does really subtle notes of it. And you're like, all right, where's this going? And I love that. So strategic is my top strength. And so I'm always trying to put together. And I'm a. I'm a seven, so I'm in the head quadrant. So I'm always thinking, like, okay, what's the. What's the future? And so I love it. On page 278, she says she's talking about their love in the early days, her and Matt. She says this line about she wanted to believe our love was something tangible and permanent, like a good luck charm I could always wear around my nec. And then this line is. I mean, it's beautiful. Now I know that it was more like a wisp of smoke trailing off a stick of incense. Most of what I could hold onto was the memory of the burning, the aftermath of it since. And I thought you could just feel it, like just the impact of her words and just how she writes. Like just the emotion. Like you could sense that it was just so visual for me. And I'm a visual person. So I love that line. That's my favorite.

So great. So you didn't do favorite part. You did favorite line.

Yeah, I'll say favorite line. Because if you want to say favorite part, I would say the very end because I appreciated that. It kind of threw me. I didn't quite see it in that way.

Great. Okay, don't. Don't spoil it yet. Okay, so if we're talking about favorite line, I really loved, I found this quote. Again, like, I did audible on this one. I don't always do audible, but I usually do. I did audible on this one. So then I googled like, great, and I found this one. I thought this was really cool. I don't know what page it came from because again, I googled it and it didn't happen.

So.

Okay, it says this. There's a Chinese saying that the fates are winds that blow through our lives from every angle, urging us along the paths of time. Those who are strong, those who are strong willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown. I say I have not been so much pushed by the winds as pulled forward by the force of my decisions. I thought that was really cool. And I really, like, I really loved the Chinese culture that was like woven throughout the book.

Yeah.

I thought like, even the reference that you read was about incense.

Yeah.

And I just, I thought it was. I love one of the things that I love about fiction. I know you love fiction too. One of the things that I love about fiction is how you can learn. But it's fun. It's like, it's like, it's like a mom that hides vegetables in her. In her kids brownies or whatever. Yeah, it's like that. It's like you're. It's this story, but you're learning about Chinese culture, you're learning about poverty, you're learning about history, you're. I mean, I just, I love that. And so I love how they wove that through the book.

Can you.

Do you have any sayings marked? Because I forgot to go back and do this. But you know how they had all these like Chinese sayings and she would, would. And she would say like, like you have dragon speak right now. And it meant like that you were being really proud or whatever.

I mean, I think, I think for sure was. What I like is kind of. It's not that exactly the exact thing they said, but it was more of like how they, how she wrote it in the book of like kind of a Cantonese, like how they would say.

Right, like the literal translation.

Yeah, yeah. Or I love. I don't have it straight out but how it was kind of like.

Oh, man.

What was it with, like. I don't know why I go always to the love stories. But her and Matt, where he said, like, I can't remember the phrase rapes. Like, basically, it was like she was above him. Like, she was gonna be, like, too good or elevated for him.

Yes.

And it was like. But it was like, all the ways. It was like, I think kind of not totally, then I'm not gonna give it away, but between the aunt and the mom at the end, when they kind of go back and forth and have that interchange in the office, and they go back and forth, basically with a lot of, like, Chinese sayings the whole time was just fascinating to me. Where it was kind of like, near. I don't know the exact. The exact sayings, but I even think it was interesting how she brought in even with a best friend when Annette finally saw her apartment. And it kind of Even the way Annette speaks of it when they talked about how a soy sauce had iced over and there was no drinking from it.

Yes.

Even in that. I just thought was so powerful, like, writing style and even, like, evoke the emotion and showed very much the culture that was, like, so prevalent throughout the whole book.

Yeah, I totally agree. Okay, I want to know if anybody watching has remembers, like, a Chinese phrase that, like, stuck out to them that they thought was really cool. So comment below if you did. And then I'm gonna let LD go, and I'm gonna take a break, and I'm gonna tell you a little bit about the author and ld. You're gonna love this. The stuff that I learned about this authority. And then I'm going to, like, roll the dice, and I'm going to call in somebody who I don't know. So not a friend of mine. So if you want to call in and I want you to talk about a character that you hated, I want to hear about a character that you hated. And you have to have read the book. Okay. So please do not request for me to call you in if you have not read the book, because that would be really annoying. So. Okay. Goodbye. Ld. Thank you. We love you. Beth, I'm calling you in. Oh, hey. Hi. Did you love the book?

I liked it. I didn't love it. It didn't go the way I wanted it to.

Oh, so you liked the book until the ending, right?

Well, even in the middle, because I kind of wanted Annette's family to adopt them.

Okay. So do you read a lot?

I have been since I joined your book club. I just read where the Crawdads Sing.

Yeah.

Along with this one. So it's kind of on the same lines of a young girl kind of coming into her own. It was a lot of reading.

That's awesome. Okay, so let me ask you one question, because I do want to ask people if they like the ending, but what I want to ask you was, tell me about a character that you hated, because I think we all hated the same character.

I think Aunt Paula.

Yes.

She was the worst. She was harsh. Like, do you really think. Are people really that terrible? Do you think a person could be that awful and, like, knowingly let people live in a situation like that?

She was so jealous of her, of her sister, you know what I'm saying? So she wanted to keep her in peril, I think. Yeah.

It's sad, but I thought that the author, like, did a really great job making you hate her, because.

Oh, absolutely.

To me, a good book makes you really love some of the characters and really hate some of the characters. And you need both for a really great story. And so I thought the author, like, really made her a great villain, but still kept her, like, realistic enough for you to, like, really hate this woman and really pull for Kim and her mom and really think, like, okay, are they ever going to stand up to this woman?

Yeah, absolutely. I was waiting, but they were so timid, you and proud that they couldn't be, you know, standing up for themselves. It was like, we can't do this.

We will.

Just how her mom felt indebted to the aunts, how she. Like, they brought us over here. They paid for us. They paid for my medical treatment when we were in Hong Kong. So you get almost like your love for the mom made you hate the aunt that much. More like the reason why they didn't stand up to them. Somebody is saying, gray, mama, how could you treat your own family like that? I mean, I totally agree.

I mean, they could have put her in a different apartment or something. They didn't. I mean, she knew darn well that apartment was full of all those rodents and cockroaches and stuff. No, he.

I mean, it was rude. She was rude. I mean, and just to know how, like. Like, it's one thing for the apartment to be, you know, rodent infested, but then for it to not have heat, too, and to think of how. How cold they were. Do you remember the scene of them finding the green fabric and the trash blankets with the green fabric? I mean, you just were pulling for these girls. I just loved It. Well, hey, nice to meet you, Beth. Thanks for.

Nice to meet you, Holly.

Thank you.

I think you're gonna like next month's book, so.

Okay.

I'm looking forward to it.

Okay. Bye. Bye. What did this book make you think about? So, like, we've already talked about how it makes you think about poverty and people who live in poverty. And one of the things that really struck me, and I thought the author did such a great job with the juxtaposition of this girl who is like, living in poverty with cockroaches and how they, you know, the mom had to make. They made this skirts. And does anybody remember how the girl calculated how much something cost based on how many skirts they would have to make to pay for this tube of toothpaste or ice cream or whatever? I thought that was like, brilliant writing. So then you take this girl who's living in poverty and then she's in a private school with all of these crazy rich kids and the scene with her underwear and just what did you think about? What did the book make you think about? So that was one of the things that I wrote down. I want to know what did the book make you think about? And I am going to read some of these comments. So this one person says it made me think about how blind I am to other people's hurting. If it's not in front of me, if I don't see it, so I don't ask. And how. And how awful is that? I want to seek out hurting people. Yeah. And like with her friend Annette, who was her best friend, who never really clued in to the, like, why she never. Why she never invited her to her house and how when she came into her apartment for the first time, she was just shocked at how the girl was living. Somebody else said, I connected with the family immigrating to America and all the situations surrounding it, along with how Kim was innocent and. And having to learn the culture. I totally agree. Ashley said, I think I kept thinking about how oblivious I can be to what other people are going through. Let's see, what did somebody else say? I worry about stuff that doesn't even matter sometimes. Ashley says it's always easy to think about things like I would never or I would have. And this just opens your eyes to thinking about, you don't really know what you would do if you were going through situation. I totally agree. So let me skip because I really want to keep reading some of your comments, but to the end where you thought that she had an abortion. And honestly, when I was reading this book, I totally thought the girl had an abortion. And I was like, oh my gosh, are they really ending the book with her making this decision? But then at the same time, it really made you think, like, like Ashley, like you're saying, I don't know what I would have done in this girl's situation. I'm not necessarily going to judge her decisions because this girl has worked so hard. I'm not saying that makes it right or wrong. I'm just saying it makes you take a second thought about how the choices somebody makes. Okay. Becca says, it made me think about how quick we can be to judge people, but we never know where they come from or what they're going through. It's so true. Sarah says, it made me think about how strong people are and the power from within to get through unimaginable situations. Totally agree. And that's actually one of my favorite kinds of books to read. It's not like I know some people like romance and some people like suspense, and some people like, like a psychological thriller or whatever. I'm really hot on our my porch here in the summertime. But to think, like, I love a book about somebody who has to overcome a difficult situation, whether it's this girl or the Holocaust or I just love watching somebody overcome a situation that you think I. Makes me wonder, like, could I make it through this same situation? All right. Christy says, it made me think about how often people myself try to save face or hide the iniquities or my iniquities for fear of what others will think or respond. It's so true. Like what we hide from other people. I love that. Christy Jess Watson says, I don't think people knew how to speak to them and that they didn't understand their culture and how important communication is. Yes. So true. Ld who called in earlier, said she's thinking about Kurt and what would he talk about and not really having any idea of her actual situation. Totally agree. Just even the.

The.

A lot of people are talking about immigrants. Beth, who we just brought in, said how immigrants are so lowly, but just even the. You just don't think about. In our world today, there's so much criticism of immigrants and there's so much criticism of just how we should handle and how many people we should let in. But you don't think about when somebody immigrates to our country, the obstacles that they face that go far beyond just learning the language. Lisa Hughes is a really great friend of mine. Lisa, it would really help me out if you request, because then I could find you really easily. But Lisa and I have a secret book club, and I want. I'm going to call Lisa in, and Lisa, I want you to tell me something that the book made you think about. And then also maybe we can. We can maybe talk about the ending.

Just a little bit.

Fun fact about me and Lisa. We've been friends for a really long time. Bethany got a shirt. Ashley got a shirt. We've been friends for over 10 years.

Yep.

Right. And. Yeah, 10, right?

11. Yep. No, we've had our. We've had our decade.

Okay. I think we're friends for a decade. I was pregnant. We recently. I was pregnant.

I was with Zen.

You were pregnant.

And he's over 10 years.

Okay, so we've been friends for over 10 years, and we a couple of years ago, figured out that we both really like to read, and Lisa likes to read. Like, not smart. They're not not smart books. That's not true. They're just. They're just not riveting stories.

Correct.

You just like. Like a beet read.

I like the Chiclet.

Like beetroots.

That's all I knew.

Which. Those are great. And people really like that kind of thing, too, so. But then I started getting Lisa to read some of the books that I like to read. And so Lisa sent me this shirt for my birthday. This is book club. And it's because we have a secret book club. It's secret, just the two of us. And no, you cannot join. But what's fun about. And most people wouldn't be able to join our book club because we read, like, probably at least two books a month, but sometimes three.

So I, I.

Most of the times three.

And so we love to read, and that's where our book club came from. And then we like to talk about it. And actually, Lisa and I just like Little Rabbit Trail. Oh, look at Abby.

I was just about to say. I want to say hi to Abby.

Can you see her in the background?

I see her. Wave it.

Everybody, do you want to come say hi? Abby wants to come say hi. Okay, Abby, what are we reading? Girl in Translation. Did you read it? No, I can't read it. Oh, there's Victoria.

I cast her out of the room because she was making fun of me. So she's in another room, but she can't make.

She didn't read the book.

She's about to read it. We're about to take a trip, and she's going to read it on the trip.

Okay, Victoria you're really gonna like it. I highly recommend this book for, like, young girls. Wouldn't you?

100%. I love it.

I mean, it does have a little bit of sex in it, but I don't think, like, any more than, like, a TV show.

Or a TV show or any other book. I totally agree.

A PG, would you call it PG 13?

Yeah, PG 13. Just because of sexual stuff, but.

Exactly. I wouldn't call it rated R. I wouldn't either. So if you have a girl, a daughter, who's, like, between the ages of, like, 16 and 21, like, college age, I highly recommend this book. I thought it was great and very eye opening, and I thought it would be. I was just thinking how. What would my kids do if there was a person in there? Because my kids go to a Christian. A private Christian school. And how would they. What if there was a child that was on scholarship at their school and they didn't know what their situation was? Hi, Joe. Okay, Abby, you're stealing the show, and everybody is. Let a couple people ask Abby some questions. Okay, so some people want to know, how old are you? I am eight. Eight years old. What grade are you going into?

Third.

Okay. And Brittany Sullivan is saying hi. So say, hi, Brit. Hi. Okay. Lots of people are telling you hi. What's your favorite book? My favorite book is A Little Princess. A Little Princess. That's a good book. We loved that book. It was so good. And what's your favorite book series that you've read? Ramona. Really? More than, like, Torque Diaries? More than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Really? You got to get in the picture. Somebody wants to know. Who's your favorite brother? Grand. You're really funny. What's your favorite color? Purple. Purple. And who is putting you to bed tonight? Daddy. And what time did I say you have to go to bed? Four, nine o'.

Clock.

And what time is it right now? 8:35. Okay, somebody. All right, let's. What is. This is a microphone. You're gonna answer this question and then you're going to bed. Okay, look, stop, Stop. It says, tell us something. But you and Daddy take forever. No, I promise we won't. Okay. Anyway, answer this question. Tell us something about your mom that no one knows. Something that you love about her that unless you were super good friends with her, you would not know. You think of anything. Camera's on you.

Hi. Duh.

Okay, let me think of something. Or that most people wouldn't know, like the person said, unless they were my really good friend, was something people don't know about me. You're killing me. We're running out of time. Did you see I got a clock? Because last week I went over time and I got cut off. So this week we have a clock. Okay. I don't know.

Okay.

Okay. Just one thing you love about me. I love that she can do my hair so well. Oh, that's a good thing that people don't know.

Holly's like a cosmetologist. She can do hair and nails.

Amateur. I'm an amateur cosmetologist. I like to do Abby's hair. Okay. My nails. All right, bye. Okay, Goodbye, Abby. Go to bed. Brush your teeth. Okay.

Oh, good.

Okay. Shut the door behind you. All right, Lisa, I have. So. I have so many questions on my notes. Do you have a favorite part of the book or, like, just something that you remember? Something that stuck out that you really love?

I actually went back and started to look over today and made some notes. I. When you were talking about the conditions they live in, I. I guess because I'm from Florida, I'm used to cockroaches. But I kept feeling the cold when they would talk about the cold. Like, I could literally feel how cold they must have felt in there. And then I thought of the mattresses. Just how gross the mattresses were. So that part probably. When she.

In the interview. In the interview that I watched. Yeah. She said that they literally did not have. You know how she described, like, the back windows. There were no windows, and they covered them with plastic.

Yes, with the plastic.

That was her apartment growing up. And how the ice would form on the plastic. She said. I mean, she said that that was actually true.

Yeah. And I can't even imagine, like, those conditions. I would say, also when she was going to school, I think.

Yeah, I was just trying to report an ugly comment, but I didn't know it was gonna take me off the screen. Okay, so take me back.

The one. The one scene when they were all. They all, like, the inspectors came through the factory and they all had to run into the closet, like, and all the kids had to cram in there. I don't know why that was so visual for me, because I thought, you know, I've been in that area of New York City. Like, you don't even think about all these underage kids, you know, working and not getting paid and how scared they must have been. And I liked all the scenes with the brother. Park. Was his name Park?

Yeah.

How sweet she was to Matt's brother.

Like, I like that.

I thought that Was just a nice, unique thing that she added into the book. I love this book.

I. I totally agree. Okay, how about. Did you, like. Did you. Did you like the part where they calculated the price of things by how many skirts it would cost?

Totally. And then she would do it with everything. Like, she would think through, like, I think, like, even pins. Remember when they had to go shopping, I think, for her underwear or bra?

Yes.

How many skirts.

How many bra cost?

I thought. I've never had to think that way. And I know my kids have never thought that. That way.

I know. I. I just. I don't know. I could not forget that part. Okay, so this person, Jennifer James hall, she says when the oven broke and.

Oh, that was horrible.

That was so. Like, I was. I was devastated for them because I thought, like, how are they gonna have heat now? And then the guy came and he was gonna fix it.

He tried to scam them. Right. How did that.

How did that part end, though? I don't remember. Somebody else came and fixed it.

I thought. Wasn't it that. That Kim, the daughter, or did the mom catch on? One of them caught on. Who came to fix it? It wasn't that homeless guy that lived across the street, was it? Somebody came and fixed it.

But I. I don't.

All I remember is when their oven broke, how devastated I was.

Like, Nathan felt it.

Chrissy says she was so proud of Kim for standing up to the oven guy. Yeah, because they're like, oh, the older black man.

That's right. The guy that had the thing across.

The street, he came and fixed it. Everybody's saying they were so proud of her for standing up to him. What about the part where she was accused of cheating? Did you like that part?

I was terrified for her inside because I thought, this poor girl who works so hard, she did all this, and then she's accused of cheating. And they really thought she may have cheated. And she took such pride in her studies.

And it was like, this poor girl, she cannot catch a break. Here she is.

I wanted her to tell on Tammy. Wasn't that girl's name Tammy?

I wanted her to tell on her.

I did, too, but then she didn't. And again, like, these are the things that make you. To me, this is what makes a good book. When you really love a character and then you really hate the other characters, and they make the character, like, the way that the one that you love responds to the people who are mistreating her. It just makes sense.

Kurt came in and kind of. That was the beginning of their friendship because he defended her.

How did you like the ending of this book?

You know, I liked the ending. It wasn't a perfect ending, but if you think about it, there were kind of bows, just not like the bow. If you were, like, creating a Hollywood film, you know, I think in that ending, you would have had them have the baby, get married her still be a doctor, him thrive with what he's doing. But she.

But that doesn't happen. Like, when I was reading the book, I knew this girl is going to have to choose love and career. Okay, Lisa, thanks for joining us. We love you. I did kind of. I didn't think about the boy not getting to know his. His father. Ashley says she likes imperfect endings because they feel relatable and real. I totally agree. And Becca agrees with you, too. But I thought it made her character, like, really human that she didn't say that she didn't tell him that she had the son and that she chose the career, that she chose to have the baby. I just thought all of that just made it feel even more real. Sarah Lack says that she always likes a bow. So, yeah, I don't know. I. I liked how everything wasn't wrapped up perfectly, but I did like how she got out of the poverty she got her mom. I loved how her mom took care of the baby at the end. All of these things I thought gave me enough closure, but then still kept the book feeling realistic. And if you're going with what I said, I felt like the genre of this was the genre. I don't know if I made this up or not, but a fictionalized memoir, it did have, like, enough for you to. She came out of her life, but then that she had to make some hard choices, and. Because life is full of hard choices. Okay, so Nora says this book needs a sequel. Incidentally, like, my sister has to read the end of the book. Fun fact about me, I don't like sequels. I don't know why. I just don't like sequels.

Okay.

Sarah Lack says, great perspective. You're right for the genre. You're spot on. Well, thank you, Sarah. Jesse says she loves a bow because life told. Oh, I said I was gonna. I said I was gonna bring somebody else on. Okay, I'm gonna bring somebody else on. Random person, Anna, Lisa, photo. If you're still on, I'm going to accept you. Nice to meet you, too.

Where are you.

Where are you from?

I'm from Southern California. Marietta.

Nice. Thank you. Well, we love you. You read the books?

Yes, I read the book. And what I was thinking is that that's how a lot of immigrants. I mean, that's reality, actually. I connected with the fact that families do come here. Oh, my God. I read families do come here and brought by their family. And then they have this exchange where there is that superior feeling by the family that says that you're going to do what I say because you're ignorant. But then, you know, they learn the culture. Especially in Kim's instance where she is smart. She's totally smart, and that totally saved them. So when she realized, and she learned how the culture was, especially that first part where she gets into Harrison because of Annette, her aunt was like. She got completely jealous and she was angry, and I. I can see that. And I can see how her aunt wanted them to be inferior to her and to not find out, because what she knew what she was doing was completely illegal. So when she twisted that around, I was like, yeah, that's right, because. But on the other hand, I kind of saw where Aunt Paula was. Aunt Paula was coming from. But I. I didn't accept what she was doing to them. On the other. I have seen that, and I have seen immigrants come here, and they work hard. You know, they're not ones that come here and squander. And they're people that do pay their taxes.

They come here for a while.

They do, and they work hard. And when I was reading the book, I was so hooked because she's so smart. She figured things out. She got into that school, and then she was determined to make a better life for her and her mom, and she was completely devoted to it. So I was so hooked to just her strategies and the way that she believed in herself that she didn't doubt herself. And then they made it through, and then all the things that surround it, it was. I thought it was so fun.

The ending was happy enough for you?

No, I didn't like it.

You didn't like the ending?

No, because I, you know, I was rooting for her. I was like, yeah, you're doing everything right. Like, she met Annette. Like, Annette was a godsend. Like, to me, I was like, wow.

That was the angel from heaven for you.

But I was hoping that she would at least let Matt get to know his dad or connect with his dad, knowing that she went to that place and saw him interact with his dad. You would think she'd, like, want something different, to carry on a different legacy for Matt, but.

And she almost did. She almost told him, because, remember, she reaches for the photo and then. I don't remember what made her change her mind, but something that he said or did made her change her mind. Yeah, I thought it was great. Okay. Nice to meet you, Anna. This was so much fun. I hope you enjoyed it, too. See you next time.