Book Review: Kimchee and Calamari

No, it's not a cookbook. It's actually a debut novel by Rose Kent geared for preteens ages 8-12. But having the word "kimchee" is what baited me to borrow it from the library.

When I was growing up 20 years old in urban Chicago, there was not many novels by Korean Americans about Korean Americans. But thankfully, that's no longer the case. This novel is a coming-to-age story about Joseph, a Korean boy adopted and raised by Italian family who, after a teacher's assignment to write about his roots, starts to search seriously for his Korean past. There is a slight Korean stereotype of the protagonist's friend's family who own a dry cleaners and are overachievers, but Kent manages to not make it too forced and balances it with typically Italian banter as well. She does a great job weaving a little of Korean history and coloring while developing Joseph's character and digging deep into his personal quest.

The strength of this book is its ability to get into the mind of an adoptee as well as an adolescent in an authentic, humorous, and refreshing way. I think the author was able to achieve this believability because she had four kids of Korean heritage--two stepchildren and two adopted children.

The only sentence that I had trouble with was when one of the characters prompted Joseph to say, "You're welcome" in Korean. I know a sentence like this exists and is in all Korean textbooks, but in my experience, I have never heard adults saying this line to one another. Instead, Korean often deflect compliments with, "Ah nee yoh" which translates to something like "It isn't so." But overall, this was an enjoyable and fast read. I used to be a middle school teacher and I still like to keep abreast with YA (Young Adult) fiction and know that this would be a book that my students would love.