A+Step+from+Heaven

__**CHAPTERS "Making Sure," "Reaching," & "My Best Is Not Always Enough" (pp. 82-97)**__


 * Vocabulary**

//"Ever since Apa had to go four times to clear up some mistake with Joon's Social Security number, he has become __paranoid__ that people are trying to trick him" (p. 87).//
 * paranoid** (adj.) characterized by extreme distrust of others

//"They float above me in this, solid folds of __billowy__ white sheets" (p. 90).//
 * billowy** (adj.) characterized by great swelling waves or surges

//"I pick up a broken picture frame, the photo of our family at the airport in Korea slightly __skewed__, and set it on the couch" (p. 97).// (Ms. Reid, 11/29/10)
 * skewed** (adj.) having a slanted direction or position

Young Ju plays the role of translator for her father when they go to Immigration Services to get the paperwork to renew her green card, as she is about to turn 13. Her father is paranoid because he had to return several times to the office to deal with Joon's social security number. His struggle with the English language is obvious, as Young Ju must constantly reassure him of what the people who work at the office are saying. Young Ju's family receives a phone call in the middle of the night that her Halmoni has died. After being encouraged by her mother, Young Ju plays the role of comforter for her father, who feels ashamed that he cannot travel back to Korea to attend her funeral. Young Ju reassures him that he does not have to travel back to Korea; she believes Halmoni is in heaven and is watching over her father. This seems to comfort him. Finally, after going out drinking and returning home drunk one evening, Apa beats Uhmma for questioning him, mentioning his grief about his mother's death before going back out again. Young Ju tries to comfort her mother, who asks her not to tell anyone about the abuse. Young Ju sees her mother take over the family finances at her father's card table desk, signifying that her father is losing control. (Ms. Reid, 11/29/10)
 * Summary**


 * Significant Quotes**

//"Please," I whisper, stepping closer to the tall counter. "Please, just look through the paperwork one more time" (p. 88).// This quote is important because it shows how hard Young Ju is working to ensure that her father does not need to return to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization services again. She obviously does not want to anger him, but this also gives the impression that she has to work hard to get an American to take time to explain things to her father, someone whose English is not very strong.

//"Who is this man crying like an abandoned child? This is not my Apa who growls instead of talks" (p. 94).// This quote is important because it shows a sensitive side of Young Ju's father has he mourns the loss of his mother. Young Ju is surprised by his emotional response to her death, and she even surprises herself in her ability to comfort him.

//"While she checks the numbers on the calculator against the numbers in the checkbook, Uhmma absent-mindedly rubs her thumb back and forth. Back and forth over the unfamiliar nakedness of her ring finger" (p. 97).// This quote is important because it not only shows that Uhmma is now in charge of the family's finances, but it also hints that she is no longer wearing her wedding ring. Perhaps it was sold to earn money of the family, or perhaps this is a hint that her relationship with Young Ju's father is so awful at this point, she simply is not wearing it. (Ms. Reid, 11/29/10)

//This image is of a United States Green Card. In the chapter "Making Sure", Young Ju and her father go to Immigration Services to get the paperwork to renew her Green Card. This card allows her to continue living in the United States. (Ms. Reid, 11/26/10)//
 * Illustrator**

//The song "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. connects to the emotions that Young Ju and her mother have after being abused by Apa. In the chapter "My Best Is Not Always Enough", Apa hurts Uhmma after coming home drunk one evening, then leaves to go out again. Young Ju tries to comfort her mother but is pushed away. Her mother asks her not to "speak of this to anyone." This song is about understanding that experiencing pain is not something one should have to endure alone.// //(Ms. Reid, 11/26/10)//
 * Soundtracker: "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.**

When the day is long and the night The night is yours alone When you're sure you've had enough Of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries And everybody hurts sometimes...

If you're on your own in this life The days and nights are long When you think you've had too much Of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes, everybody cries And everybody hurts sometimes

And everybody hurts sometimes so, hold on, hold on Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on  Everybody hurts No, no, no, no, you are not alone

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