New from Here

By: Kelly Yang

Narrated by: Justin Chien

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

This “timely and compelling” (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade novel about courage, hope, and resilience follows an Asian American boy fighting to keep his family together and stand up to racism during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.

When the coronavirus hits Hong Kong, ten-year-old Knox Wei-Evans’s mom makes the last-minute decision to move him and his siblings back to California, where they think they will be safe. Suddenly, Knox has two days to prepare for an international move—and for leaving his dad, who has to stay for work.

At his new school in California, Knox struggles with being the new kid. His classmates think that because he’s from Asia, he must have brought over the virus. At home, Mom just got fired and is panicking over the loss of health insurance, and Dad doesn’t even know when he’ll see them again, since the flights have been cancelled. And everyone struggles with Knox’s blurting-things-out problem.

As racism skyrockets during COVID-19, Knox tries to stand up to hate, while finding his place in his new country. Can you belong if you’re feared; can you protect if you’re new? And how do you keep a family together when you’re oceans apart? Sometimes when the world is spinning out of control, the best way to get through it is to embrace our own lovable uniqueness.

Courageous and deeply moving story

Likes the family’s journal through a terribly challenging time. The character development and the family bond and the community love.
Informational and so heartwarming

The reading

His voice is calming and relaxing and his voice is very soft and his voice is so calm

Pretty good😊

I like this Book because I like the characters Bowen, Lea and know it’s good OK yeah that’s pretty good 👍 and I like it I like it I like it. No, I actually love it but yeah.

Great

I loved this book I would recommend this to middle schoolers but over all it was a great book

Great O.B.O.B(Oregon Battle of the Books) for 2023

I loved it,
After I read the book (IRL), I listened to New From Here I liked it better beacause of the nice narorator. This is my second year of OBOB and thiis is my 2nd favorite OBOB book so far. (My first is Letters From Cuba by Ruth Behar.)