June 10, 2024
Looking for belonging in his mother's country, away from the microaggressions of a California upbringing, biracial Min takes a job in Seoul after college. The work, teaching American culture to Samsung's sales team, serves as a reminder of his perceived otherness even here, but a new relationship with college senior Yu-jin might have been the local connection he needed--if she had not killed herself shortly after they started dating. Narrator Daniel K. Isaac portrays Min as a brooding, gravel-voiced outsider who investigates Yu-jin's death with noir-like persistence despite their brief acquaintance, blind to his cultural biases and suspicious of all in her orbit. In alternating chapters, co-narrator Shannon Tyo lets Yu-jin tell her own version of events: the expectations placed on her and the liberating joy she found in defiance of them. Tyo's youthful voice captures the wonder and terror Yu-jin feels as she grows creatively while keeping secrets from her parents, and from Min, emphasizing the avoidable tragedy of her early death. VERDICT Wiley's debut novel parallels the ways West and East enforce conformity and lavishly describes Seoul, but loses thrust as Min's and Yu-jin's stories converge. Recommended for large libraries, but an optional purchase for smaller collections.--Lauren Kage
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