Some Kind of Girl - Paperback

Some Kind of Girl recounts the story of Caroline, a Malawian girl, who, after facing the impossibility of following both African and Western roles and standards for women in her adolescent years, finally moves to America to escape the Malawian traditions she still struggles inwardly to understand. Upon arriving in America, Caroline discovers that the America she saw on television was not an accurate representation of the life she lives in Boston. Caroline’s process of self-discovery awakens her to different kinds of insecurities about gender, race, class, language and sexuality. As Caroline grapples with the tension between maintaining her well-cultured Malawian persona and fitting into an American society, she discovers her desire to become a film actress shifting to a professional life she never saw coming: teaching and writing. Meanwhile, Caroline must face the complexities of the American immigration system as she struggles to maintain legal status as a working student. With the guidance of mentors and, sometimes, with misdirection from wild friends, Caroline takes risks to earn money and respect in America in order to be the kind of girl who successfully seizes the American dream, abandoning her home country, Malawi.