A Reading Group Guide to New from Here By Kelly Yang About the Book Ten-year-old Knox Wei-Evans doesn''t want to move to California without his dad and dog, but his parents decide that leaving Hong Kong will keep him and his siblings safe from the new virus that is spreading like wildfire across China and Europe. Almost overnight, Knox, his mom, and his two siblings are living in a small house in San Francisco. At school, he feels the impact of being the new kid. In addition to worrying about his dad and learning he has ADHD, Knox experiences the hostility directed toward Asians and Asian Americans that is skyrocketing during the pandemic. Can Knox keep his family together during a pandemic and find the sense of belonging in his new country? Discussion Questions 1. The first line of New from Here by Kelly Yang reads: My name is Knox and sometimes I just blurt words out . Knox has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), a common condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. When he hears his mother tell the school assistant that he has ADHD, Knox is shocked.
How does the knowledge of his condition help him to better understand himself? How does learning that Christopher also has ADHD help Knox feel less alone? Knox''s father suggests that Knox think of his ADHD as a "superpower." How does his condition work in positive ways? 2. At the start of the story, cases of the coronavirus have begun to appear in Hong Kong, and Knox, his siblings, and his mother prepare to relocate temporarily to San Francisco, in an attempt to escape the virus. The family lived through the SARS epidemic and they are afraid that this new virus could be worse. Discuss specific examples of how fear is one of the story''s dominant themes. When the family arrives in the US, their Uber driver makes the family get out of the car because he assumes, as Asians, they could be infected with the virus. How is this a fear-based example of discrimination? Discuss other examples of how fear drives people''s decisions. When Knox notices a homeless woman pushing a shopping cart, he asks Bowen, "You think that''s ever going to happen to us? If Mom doesn''t get a job .
''" Afterward he compares the thought to a "big and terrifying boa constrictor." How is this simile a powerful one to describe Knox''s fear, given his mother''s struggle with finding work? 3. Describe the siblings'' relationship in the book. How are their tensions and bonds common among siblings? How does each sibling cope with the pandemic and the experience of being "the new kid"? Why do you think that no one invited Lea to play while she was sitting on the friendship bench at school? Why is Knox so thrilled when Ms. Turner gives him a Trader Joe''s bag of valentines? How do you think Bowen was feeling when he saw the bag after school that day? Bowen confesses to Knox that he misses "''not being the only Asian kid''" in his class. In what ways were the siblings there for each other? Identify and discuss a scene in the book where you wished they''d said something to one another to help ease the pain? Why do you think it''s so difficult sometimes for siblings to say they''re thinking of each other? 4. Almost immediately after Knox, his siblings, and their mom leave Hong Kong for the United States, they confront the anti-Asian discrimination and racism that would quickly grow and spread alongside the virus. How did you feel as the family approached the customs agent at the airport? How did you feel after they were allowed entry into the country? Discuss why Bowen wonders if the family should tell people they are from Asia, and his mother''s response: If you want, you can tell them you''re new from here.
I mean we sort of are . Do you think this was an appropriate thing for her to say? Why might she worry about her children just saying they come from Hong Kong? Some of the kids at Knox''s school have created a game called coronavirus tag, and they make Knox and Christopher be "it" because they are Asian. How is this game basically comparing the boys to a disease? If you could, what would you say to those kids if you saw this happening during recess? Discuss some of the most extreme examples of anti-Asian hate that appear in the story. Also, discuss some of the examples that reflect the best in people who stand up for those being targeted because of their race. After the scene in the grocery store, Knox is left with the feeling that they are "not alone." In your own words, describe what you think Knox is feeling. What does Knox''s mother mean by: You know what the vaccine for racism is? Love . 5.
Above all else, New from Here is the story of a family that loves and supports one another even when faced with serious challenges: discrimination, separation, loss, and financial, food, and health insecurity. Even though Bowen is tough on Knox at times, Knox does small acts of kindness for his big brother. Discuss ways in which Knox is there for Bowen. Discuss ways the family bonds. How did your family bond during the pandemic? Discuss examples from the story that illustrate Bowen''s reply to Knox: "''Family beats virus, any day.''" 6. Knox has never been great at making friends, and as he begins his new school in America, he hopes that he can make at least one. Discuss how Knox and Christopher bond after the coronavirus tag game.
Knox worries that Christopher won''t want to be his friend once he learns that Knox came from Hong Kong. "Instead, he walks over, takes a seat, and squeezes my green apple squishy toy. His eyes smile back at me." If Christopher''s eyes could talk, what do you think they would say to Knox? How does the knowledge that Knox and Christopher both have ADHD further bond their friendship? Discuss examples from the story that illustrate how these two friends truly care for and support each other. 7. What is an assumption ? [An assumption is a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen without proof - source: Oxford Languages.] People make all kinds of assumptions about Asians and Asian Americans in the story, most of them ethnicity-based. Discuss an assumption that you can recall from the book that felt particularly unfair or mean.
In chapter 13, Knox and his mom discover some family photographs from the period of the 1918 flu pandemic. Knox points out that it killed 50 million people, to which his mother replies, "''It''s okay. This time it''s different. We''ve evolved. We learned. And now we take these things very, very seriously. You''ll see, this virus is going to be over superfast.''" How is this statement an example of an assumption? Why do you think that early in the pandemic so many people assumed that the virus wouldn''t affect the United States as much as it did Asian and European countries? Why does Bowen assume that the homeless lady will want all the money if offered only a part of it in chapter 49? Why are so many people in the book willing to assume that Asians or Asian Americans either caused or have COVID-19? Imagine if you were targeted and blamed for being the cause of an infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths.
How do you think it would affect your life and sense of well-being? How can assumptions be dangerous? 8. Knox worries about a lot of things, and for good reason: he is starting a new school, his family has just moved to the United States at the start of a pandemic, his father and dog are back in Hong Kong and he doesn''t know when or if they will be reunited, his mother has lost her job and is having a difficult time finding a new one, and Bowen seems to hate him. As the cases of COVID-19 rise across the world, so does Knox''s anxiety. How does his mom withholding information from Knox and his siblings make him more tense? What aspects of Knox''s experience relate to your own worries over the pandemic and the future? 9. There are many examples in the story of people behaving in horrible, ugly ways as the pandemic begins to take root: from the Taradippin brothers taking advantage of a desperate situation for profit to people selfishly overbuying items like toilet paper, to implicit and explicit hostility against Asian Americans and other people of color. But the opposite is also evident in the story. Discuss examples of how Knox and his siblings bring kindness and generosity into the community, despite experiencing discrimination and scapegoating. What does Knox mean when he realizes: "If we''ve learned one thing this year, it''s that we''re all connected to each other.
We all breathe the same air into our lungs. None of us is immune to each other''s problems" (chapter 92)? 10. All three siblings demonstrate empathy, kindness, and compassion to their parents, their friends, their neighbors, and to each other. Discuss examples of how Knox, Bowen, and Lea show their capacity for caring. How does Knox''s reaction to the hateful man in the dog park show empathy for his brother''s pain? Reread chapter 31. How do the siblings show compassion and kindness for their lonely neighbor, Mr. Brady? Share examples of compassion, kindness, and empathy that you have given or experienced during the pandemic. 11.
Throughout the book, you probably made connections to Knox, Bowen, and Lea as children who are living through a pandemic. How does the decision to move to San Francisco without Dad bring about unforeseen changes to the Evans family? In chapter 68, Knox and his classmates help Mrs. Turner move the classroom desks to create social distancing, losing areas of the room that Knox loved, such as the Calm Down corner. How is this scene symbolic of the changes you''ve had to make at home and at.