Language: R (23 swears, 1 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (underage marijuana use); Violence: PG (arguing)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Melody, Korean American, is caught by a police officer smoking her first joint with her friend Sophie. The next day she discovers that her parents have decided that they all need to be together so she’s moving with her mom to Korea and away from New York City. Melody and her mom have a close relationship but everything in Melody’s life changes once they’re in Korea. Her father is strict and gruff, her grandparents seem cold, distant and uncaring. She does make some friends and her Dad encourages socializing, which helps ease the family tensions and the homework stress. Her relationship with Sophie is strained too and Melody wants to figure out how to pursue her dream of becoming an interior designer while mending relationships with the people she cares about and navigating two countries as her home.
I love the descriptions of each setting the main character is in. I also like the relevance of family contention and teen angst that takes place as Melody’s father tries to completely control her and she discovers her mother keeping secrets. She sees her grandfather treat her father the same way her father treats her and she wonders why he does that to her when he seems to dislike being treated like that. Great insight into Korean culture through Melody’s experiences as she visits places and tries new foods. I also liked the mix of ethnicities.
LynnDell Watson
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