This book kept telling me that I was Umma approved, but you know what – this book is Unnie approved too! Since I am the same age as the main characters it is a bit hard to determine what exactly I would be called but this works.
I loved this book for so many reasons:
1) It was written in a very easy to read manner. Don’t knock books for being easy to digest – I love when I can just power through chapter after chapter of a book without any regard for how much time is passing.
2) I LOVE female empowerment being shown in books, and this book has it in abundance. Oh, you want to show a woman who is happy and thriving in a cutthroat male dominated field? Alice. You want to prove that you can also be happy and thriving while raising 3 kids? Celeste. Did I hear someone say PhD in ECON?! Flora. And these are just the supporting characters to Jessie as she reinvents herself.
3) This isn’t marketed as #OwnVoices, but if you want a look at Korean-American culture, especially at the cross-section that is female and Southern, this book has all of that! Suzanne Park lived these experiences (not all of them – she does discuss some of her inspiration in the author’s note at the end of the book, they are from friends), and so there is a realism to this book that is authentic and not forced. I love slice-of-life type books about cultures that are not my own as I feel it is one of the best ways to learn more about people.
4) CALLING OUT ALL OF THE SEXISM/RACISM!
5) Food. That’s it. Just food. So much good food.
6) Ok, Daniel isn’t too bad himself, so I guess having a HEA/HFN with a cutie isn’t a terrible thing either.
Things I didn’t like about this book:
1) I am CRAVING Korean food now and the Korean supermarket & restaurants I love are a solid 10+ hour drive away since I moved. So now I am just sad and desperately wishing I had some tteokbokki and soondubu as they are two of my favorite comfort foods.
2) There is no 2. That’s it. Only thing I didn’t like is that I am now craving Korean food. Well, I guess I am also sad it is over? I read the whole thing in a few hours so I wish I had more to the story.
Overall, 5/5 easily – I really liked this book a lot, and I can’t wait to read the other books that Suzanne wrote (that I have sitting waiting for me).
지현아, 나랑 친구할래?