Spelling Bee by Laure Chambers Chinn

Traditional.... shy

"No harm being Chinese," Mama said.

"Intense," Miss Kinsman said. If Mama had learned to speak English, maybe she wouldn't be so intensely shy. Mama had wrapped herself in her black sateen Chinese coat and trousers, wrapped herself also in her cloak of language, and refused to leave her kitchen even to buy groceries or a hat.