Scan barcode
A review by alenka
Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A very emotional story about Junie Kim, a seventh grader, who spirals into depression after facing racist bullying at school. Junie finds solace and strength in her family, and begins to record her grandparents' stories about the atrocities and traumas they witnessed during the Korean war.
Oh makes very clear points with this story. I read an ARC of this book so there was not yet an an author's note at the end, but it's dedicated to Oh's parents and all the survivors of the Korean war. There is a great emphasis on the importance of learning and recording Junie's grandparents' stories, even though they are difficult and traumatic to hear. Junie learns that if she doesn't talk to her grandparents their stories will be lost - her own family history will be lost. Both her parents worked to protect their families and friends in different ways, and Junie also learns to draw strength and inspiration from those acts. While the racism she faces in the modern era has a different shape, her grandparents experienced and suffered from racism as well, and this propels Junie to want to work to support her own friends and try to change the culture of her middle school. I appreciated that Oh lets Junie do so in her own way. She's not the kind of kid who can stand up to a bully immediately, and she isn't going to jump in front of a crowd giving a speech. Junie's also working on managing her depression - no easy task for a seventh grader. She learns to do anti-racist work in her own way, which is essentially film-making, and finds strength and power in doing so.
My only gripe with this book is that the prose is kind of flat, and sometimes the middle schoolers speak in a kind of proper tone that doesn't feel authentic for their age. However, this is an important and clearly very personal story, and I'm glad Oh has written it.
Oh makes very clear points with this story. I read an ARC of this book so there was not yet an an author's note at the end, but it's dedicated to Oh's parents and all the survivors of the Korean war. There is a great emphasis on the importance of learning and recording Junie's grandparents' stories, even though they are difficult and traumatic to hear. Junie learns that if she doesn't talk to her grandparents their stories will be lost - her own family history will be lost. Both her parents worked to protect their families and friends in different ways, and Junie also learns to draw strength and inspiration from those acts. While the racism she faces in the modern era has a different shape, her grandparents experienced and suffered from racism as well, and this propels Junie to want to work to support her own friends and try to change the culture of her middle school. I appreciated that Oh lets Junie do so in her own way. She's not the kind of kid who can stand up to a bully immediately, and she isn't going to jump in front of a crowd giving a speech. Junie's also working on managing her depression - no easy task for a seventh grader. She learns to do anti-racist work in her own way, which is essentially film-making, and finds strength and power in doing so.
My only gripe with this book is that the prose is kind of flat, and sometimes the middle schoolers speak in a kind of proper tone that doesn't feel authentic for their age. However, this is an important and clearly very personal story, and I'm glad Oh has written it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Hate crime