Tag Archives: Korean Americans

MG – The Last Rhee Witch

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Lee-Yun, Jenna. The Last Rhee Witch. Disney Hyperion, 2024. 978-1-368-09907-3. 342 p. $17.99. Grades 4-7.

As soon as Veronica (Ronnie) Miller turned 12, she mysteriously started speaking in rhymes. She can’t help it, even though she is deeply mortified whenever it happens. Ronnie believes it’s a symptom of her insecurities and fears. She is constantly thinking about her limited grasp of Korean language and culture, growing up without her mother, and her dad’s insistence that Ronnie not bring up any memories of her mom. To take her mind off of her rhyming, she reluctantly agrees to try summer camp, especially since her best friend, Jack, will be there with her. On the day of her arrival at camp, Ronnie swears she sees a Korean ghost called a gwishin with hollow eyes, tangled black hair, and a red scarf lurking at the forest’s edge. One evening around the campfire, a counselor shares a ghost story: the camp was built on the grounds of the former Rhee family estate where six family members were murdered. It’s said that the nearby woods are haunted by Min-Young, the last Rhee heir. Ronnie suddenly realizes what she saw was no figment of her imagination. For some reason, she feels drawn to the gwishin and regularly ventures into the woods to find her. Eventually she befriends the gwishin and finds out that Min-Young was killed by a witching-hunting goblin called a dokkaebi who, according to Min-Young, is still nearby and hunting for its next victim. Ronnie makes it her mission to rid the camp of this pesky dokkaebi, and along the way, she discovers the camp’s secrets are deeply connected to her own past and the mother she never had the chance to know.

THOUGHTS: In her debut novel, author Jenna Lee-Yun masterfully weaves Korean folklore and culture into a classic coming-of-age story. It is both heartfelt and suspenseful with enough twists and turns to keep middle grade readers engaged.

Mystery (Horror/Suspense)
Fantasy

YA – What’s Eating Jackie Oh

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Park, Patricia. What’s Eating Jackie Oh. Crown, 2024. 978-0-593-56341-0. $19.99. 327 p. Grades 9-12.

(Jackie Oh is) not your model minority. From the first words on page one, readers will get to know Jackie’s desire to be anything other than what her workaholic, Ivy League parents want her to be. She just hasn’t had the heart to tell them that she has zero desire to “Study hard, get into an Ivy, land a corporate job, make babies. Repeat.” Instead, Jackie is “flunking” Global History and secretly sabotaging their dreams for her. And the pressure is on, especially since her brother ended up in prison (but we don’t talk about him). Jackie lives for spending time with Halmoni (her grandmother) and Haraboji (her grandfather) at Melty’s, their Midtown deli. The daily hard work of a line cook is nothing compared to the academics she couldn’t care less about. At Melty’s Jackie feels like herself; has the freedom to experiment with cooking; and, though a deli has pressures of its own, can enjoy life away from the pressure of her mom and dad (Umma and Appa). Jackie bonds with her grandparents and loves the time they spend cooking together and watching their favorite reality cooking show “Burn Off.” When Jackie has the opportunity to apply for a season of “Burn Off” for teen chefs, she has to figure out if she can win over her parents. At a diverging path in her life, Jackie must decide how she can achieve her American dream, despite the very stringent Oh Family Core Values.

THOUGHTS: Foodie fiction fans will rejoice with this Korean American family drama that gives reality television show vibes like those on Chopped or MasterChef Junior with a little bit of Hell’s Kitchen. I adored this audiobook and was rooting (and cringing) for Jackie Oh throughout. Get your food tasting (pun intended) display ready, and hand this one to fans of other family foodie fiction like With or Without You by Eric Smith, Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee, or Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck.

Realistic Fiction

MG – Last Fallen Star

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Kim, Grace. Last Fallen Star. Disney-Hyperion, 2021. 978-1-368-05963-3. 336 p. $16.99. Grades 3-7.

Riley loves her Korean family and community. Her parents are healers, part of the Gom clan, and Riley longs for the day she can join them, with her almost-twin sister, Hattie. Unfortunately, Riley, an adopted daughter, has failed to show an affinity with any of the five magical witch clans, let alone an indication she is a Gom. However, an offhand comment shows the girls an option, albeit a dangerous one: once Hattie is initiated into the clan, she can cast a spell to share her magic with Riley. But when the girls attempt the spell, truths are revealed that Riley and Hattie never imagined. An appeal to the clan goddess ends with Hattie’s life in peril and Riley pledged to locate the Last Fallen Star. Only she has no idea what it is, let alone where to find it. Luckily, Riley is blessed with a great friend in Emmett, a non-magical member of the Korean community who undertakes the quest with Riley. Along the way, Riley and Emmett locate the sixth witch clan, long outlawed from the other clans, and uncover the truth of the rift between them. This first book in a new series from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint delves into the fascinating world of Korean mythology. All characters are members of the Korean community in Los Angeles. Readers will love the intricacies of the witch clans, their associated skills, and patron goddesses. Riley is a spunky protagonist whose adventurous spirit and deep love for her sister keep the story moving. Kim writes with wit, and the story is often laugh-out-loud funny (the Gostr app to locate spirits is quite humorous). Riley discovers she has more friends than she realized, which is a comfort when she makes a startling sacrifice to save Hattie.

THOUGHTS: This enjoyable action adventure will please readers who cannot get enough of mythology-based series. Purchase where RRP books are popular. Delightfully, the main characters are thirteen years old, making the book potentially attractive for middle school collections.

Fantasy (Mythology)          Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

MG – Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

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Kim, Jessica. Stand Up, Yumi Chung! Kokila, 2020. 978-0-525-55497-4. 306 p. $14.81. Grades 3-6.

A sleek pixie cut is just the change Yumi Chung needs to start seventh grade. What she gets, instead, is the perm her mother wants. Such is the life of Yumi Chung–overruled by the adults in her life at every turn. So when she hears her family can no longer afford to send her to her private school, Yumi is elated. But her thoughts of freedom are short lived as her mother informs her that she will have to ace the Secondary School Admission Test in two weeks in order to get a scholarship. Instead of the summer Yumi had planned–watching Youtube videos of her favorite comedian, Jasmine Jasper, and writing jokes in her Super-Secret Comedy Notebook–she will now have to attend tutoring sessions in order to pass the test. One afternoon as she is leaving tutoring, she stumbles upon a new comedy club in her neighborhood, and it is offering a comedy camp for teens taught by none other than Jasmine Jasper. A case of mistaken identity finds Yumi attending the camp and having the time of her life. But when she is found out, how will Yumi explain to her parents, her fellow comedy campers, and Jasmine Jasper? Will shy Yumi Chung finally find her voice and stand up for herself?

THOUGHTS: Middle grade students will sympathize with Yumi. She is picked on at school, she has an older sister who is an actual genius who she is always being compared to, and her parents refuse to listen to what Yumi wants. Stand Up, Yumi Chung! is an Own Voices novel about family and friends that stands out in the crowd.

Realistic Fiction          Melissa Johnston, North Allegheny SD

Yumi Chung’s goal in life is to become a stand-up comedian. That vision does not fit with her traditional Korean-American family who value hard work (see their struggles to maintain their Korean barbeque restaurant in a gentrified neighborhood) and education (see their older, more perfect daughter who excelled at school and now is on track to becoming a doctor). Yumi sees her family’s financial difficulties as a way out of attending the posh private school where she has no friends and finally being able to reinvent herself. No such luck! Mrs. Chung persuades the principal of Winston Preparatory Academy to give Yumi a chance at winning a scholarship. She only has to cram for it at a Korean prep class with Mrs. Pak. Turns out the hogwon is right near a comedy class for young people hosted by Yumi’s Youtube  idol, Jasmine Jasper. Yumi inserts herself into the class through a case of mistaken identity. Author Jessica Kim blends just the right amount of pathos and humor to make Stand Up, Yumi Chung! a entertaining read. Drawn by her desire to make people laugh and perform, Yumi gets sucked into a web of lies that are difficult to unravel. While she is busy making a mess and cleaning up after herself, she forms a stronger bond with the sister she used to envy and a clearer understanding and appreciation of her parents’ sacrifices and efforts. She also is able to make her dreams come true by boosting the business at her parents’ failing restaurant with a series of schemes to promote it, including a comedy night. Lots of lessons threaded throughout this story make it endearing to a wide audience: self-identity, problem solving, appreciation of family, and the importance of trying after failing.

THOUGHTS: The hunt for a solid story that infuses humor­­­­­­­ is hard to find (Front Desk by Kelly Yang and It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel! by Firoozeh Dumas comes to mind). Stand Up, Yumi Chung! can be in that category. A reader doesn’t need to be Korean-American to appreciate the pressure to fulfill a parent’s dreams, but the Asian references will resonate with Asian-American students and educate non Asian-American ones. The rabbit hole Yumi falls down is relatable to any middle school student floundering with being impulsive and making decisions.

Realistic Fiction          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia