Tag Archives: Korean American

YA – Forget Me Not

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Derrick, Alyson. Forget Me Not. Simon and Schuster, 2023. 978-1-665-90237-3. 308 p. $19.99. Grades 9-12.

Set in western Pennsylvania, this LGBTQ+ romance takes an unusual turn. A senior at the local Catholic high school, Stevie is biracial with a Korean-American mother; Nora attends public school and helps out on her family’s cattle farm, although she herself strives to be vegan. Madly in love, the pair plan to escape their conservative town and parents once they graduate. Stevie has been accepted at a California college, and Nora has secured an apartment where they can begin their new lives, free of the judgment of their homophobic families and neighbors. Unlike Nora, Stevie seems to come from a close-knit, albeit conservative, family. She lies to be able to see Nora; and during one of those outings, Stevie falls off an embankment, hits her head, and suffers amnesia. Though her parents are understandably grateful to this girl who saved their daughter’s life, they have no clue of their relationship. And when she eventually awakens, neither does Stevie. This non-recognition pains Nora, so she takes to writing–but not delivering–letters to Stevie describing their romance. Derrick meets well the challenge of Stevie’s reckoning with her life as it is laid out before her when she comes to and her gradual realization that Nora is her true love. The two lovers fulfill their dream and Stevie has the added comfort of her parents’ unconditional love.

THOUGHTS: Long listed for the National Book Award, Forget Me Not reads like a fluent movie script where the reader is privy to thoughts, conversations, and feelings. Stevie’s insistence on hiding her sexuality and her relationship from her parents is understood when the reader discovers she did come out to her mother who was dismissive. Her parents’ rejection of Stevie’s revelation is blamed on their Catholic religious views; though, Pope Francis isn’t homophobic. Stevie and Nora engage in heavy kissing and one scene where they (almost) have sex until Nora’s mother catches them and beats Nora. Stevie and her (boy)friend, Ryan, are Asian, but most other characters seem white. Alyson Derrick lives in Pennsylvania; and, yes, Greenville, Pennsylvania, exists in Mercer County.

Realistic Fiction

Elem. – The Name Jar

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Choi, Yangsook. The Name Jar. Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. Reprint of 2001 copyrighted book. Unpaged. $17.99. 978-0-375-80613-1. Grades K-5. 

Unhei is new to America from Korea, and she’s worried, mostly about kids mispronouncing her name. When her teacher introduces her to the class, she decides to wait and possibly choose a different name. “I haven’t picked one yet, but I’ll let you know by next week.” That night, her mother tells her how they chose her name, and that it means Grace. Unhei tries new names at home, but none of them sound right for her. At school the next day, she finds a jar on her desk with pieces of paper in it. Each piece of paper has a name suggested by her classmates: Daisy, Tamela, etc.  When classmate Joey presses her, “Don’t you have any name?” Unhei decides to show him her name using the wooden block ink stamp given to her by her grandmother. Joey thinks it’s beautiful, and they walk to the school bus together. That night, Unhei receives a letter from her Grandma, and she sees Joey at the Korean grocery. The next day at school, the name jar is missing. Unhei and her classmates search but do not find it. Then Joey approaches her at the end of the day to say he took the name jar because he wanted her to keep her own name. Also, the grocery store owner, Mr. Kim, has given Joey a name stamp like Unhei’s; this stamp spells, “friend,” and Unhei and Joey realize that they are friends.   

THOUGHTS: This is a very kind way to show friendship arising from self-acceptance and acceptance of others. Unhei learns courage in herself and her cultural background.  

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD

YA – Super Fake Love Song

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Yoon, David. Super Fake Love Song. G.P. Putnam & Sons, 2020. 978-1-984-81223-0. $18.99. Grades 9-12.

Asian-American Sunny Dae is a nerd, into Dungeons and Dragons with his best buddies, Jamal and Milo and anticipating multiple followers when they broadcast an interview with the much admired Lady Lashblade. Then he meets Cirrus Soh, the daughter of a Japanese couple who do business with his own workaholic parents. To impress Cirrus, he takes on the persona of his rocker-brother, Gray. His older brother has returned from his Hollywood pursuit for fame with his tail between his legs. Depressed and disillusioned, Gray succumbs himself to his basement room only to be drawn out to mentor the fledgling band Sunny and his pals have formed as they rehearse for the annual high school talent show. As Sunny’s feelings for Cirrus deepen, he becomes more conflicted about his duplicity: he is pretending to be a rocker and gaining Cirrus’s admiration and the longer he pretends, the more he likes the confidence and attention he is getting from others, including Gunner, his former bully.  When the day for the show comes, the Immortals pull it off, until a drunk Gray interferes. Author David Yoon has a knack for clever dialogue. His narrator, Sunny, weaves DnD references with contemporary situations that are fun for teens. Sunny is wealthy and lives in a posh area of Rancho Ruby in California. Though he is intelligent and good-looking, he still deals with insecurities and feelings of being a loser. However, the charmed life he leads refutes that claim. For those looking for a light romance enhanced by good writing, Super Fake Love Song may be just the thing.

THOUGHTS: Dungeons and Dragons fans will appreciate Sunny’s obsession. Romance fans will like the different male perspective. Though the genre is realistic fiction, the circumstances and events that occur in this book are fantasy to many of the teens who may pick up this book. In one section Sunny gives his take on the extravagant party Cirrus throws when her parents leave her home alone: “Such phenomena occurred solely on insipid television shows written by middle-aged hacks eager to cash in on the young adult demographic” (224). This comment may be a prediction for Super Fake Love Song.

Realistic Fiction/Romance          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia

YA – Almost American Girl

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Ha, Robin. Almost American Girl. Balzar and Bray, 2020. 978-0-062-68509-4. 228 p. $12.99. Grades 7 – 12.

Almost American Girl is a graphic memoir that follows the author’s real life journey from Seoul, South Korea to America when she is fourteen years old. At the beginning of the book, you learn that Robin is moving with her mother to Alabama, with Robins’ mother not really telling her all the details about the move. Throughout the graphic memoir, you learn more about Robin’s life when she was living in Seoul, her family and friends who still live in Seoul, as well as how she found a way to fit into this new life that her mother basically dropped her into. On the surface, the book feels like it’s just recounting Robin’s life; however, there are moments of racial slurs that Robin deals with at school which were difficult to read about. The illustrations throughout are beautifully done and add the right touch of emotions to the different scenes through the use of color.

THOUGHTS: This graphic memoir is a must have book for any high school library. The themes that are woven throughout are extremely relevant for a wide audience. I loved the ending of this book, and the glossary found at the end was extremely helpful for terms with which I was unfamiliar.

Graphic Memoir          Mary Hyson, Lehigh Valley Charter Academy 

MG – When You Trap a Tiger

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Keller, Tae. When You Trap a Tiger. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2020. 978-1-524-71570-0. 287 p. $16.99. Grades 5-8.

Lily, known as Lily Bean to her mom, and Eggi in her Halmoni’s stories, and her family suddenly pack up and move to Washington one rain soaked evening. They are moving in with her Halmoni, a storyteller, and the story she shares with Lily from many years ago is about how she stole the stars from the sky and bottled up the bad stories which angered a tiger. Lily is intrigued by her story, and when a tiger suddenly appears in the middle of the road one rainy night, Lily is convinced everything is real. But time is of the essence, as Halmoni is showing signs of illness – could it be a consequence of her stealing the stars? With the help of Ricky, a boy Lily meets at the library across the street, the two devise a “hypothetical” tiger trap. Little did Lily know that the Tiger would make her an offer that can help her Halmoni, but with consequences. Lily wants answers and to find a way to help her Halmoni before it’s too late. But can a QAG, short for quiet Asian girl, really find the truth? Can she rescue her family before it’s too late?

THOUGHTS: Readers will not be disappointed with the characters in this book – they are full of heart, determination, love, and curiosity, even if one of them is a tiger. This title is perfect to add to your collection of diverse books, as it shows the struggle of an Asian family and how their history and heritage affect their lives today. I truly enjoyed reading this story and believe it is the perfect story to capture how storytelling and reading books can truly be art.

Fantasy          Jillian Gasper, Northwestern Lehigh SD

Change is happening in Lily’s life. With little notice, her mother has uprooted her daughters from their California home to their halmoni’s (grandmother’s) home in Sunbeam, Washington. Lily does her best to be the invisible, accommodating, “QAG” (quiet Asian girl) while her older sister, Sam, finds every reason to voice her displeasure to their mother and often rebukes Lily. Lily both chafes under and finds comfort in her invisibility. Lily’s many worries worsen when she (and only she) sees a tiger in the road as they approach their halmoni’s home. Her grandmother has shared countless Korean folktales with Lily and Sam, often with a dangerous tiger involved. When Lily discovers that her grandmother is ill and facing death, she’s determined to convince the tiger to use its magic to cure her grandmother, despite admonitions from her mother and sister that dissuade her from believing the “silly” stories have any power in their lives. The library across the street provides hope and friendship for Lily, who teams up with Ricky to build a tiger trap in her grandmother’s basement. Can she convince the tiger to help, and can she convince her family that the stories are real and useful?  Will the stories save her grandmother and her family?

THOUGHTS: This is a tale of a young girl growing up and deciding who she will be, while she comes to terms with death. The targeted age level seems to increase through the story as Lily matures, and this may not quite work for readers. The grief, anger at moving, and the sister difficulties between Lily and Sam smooth a bit too perfectly by the story’s end. I found myself wishing for more scenes with the interesting, enigmatic tiger.

Magical Realism          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD
Korean Folktales