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A funny and incisive Korean family coming-of-age novel in stories about a 12-year-old boy who moves with his mother and sister from Korea to work at their father's Asian gift shop in a New Jersey strip mall-and the growing pains that ensue
You're twelve years old. A month has passed since your Korean Air flight landed at lovely Newark Airport. Your fifteen-year-old sister is miserable. Your mother isn't exactly happy, either. You're seeing your father for the first time in five years, and although he's nice enough, he might be, well-how can you put this delicately?-a loser. You can't speak English, but that doesn't stop you from working at East Meets West, your father's gift shop in a strip mall, where everything is new.
You're twelve years old. A month has passed since your Korean Air flight landed at lovely Newark Airport. Your fifteen-year-old sister is miserable. Your mother isn't exactly happy, either. You're seeing your father for the first time in five years, and although he's nice enough, he might be, well-how can you put this delicately?-a loser. You can't speak English, but that doesn't stop you from working at East Meets West, your father's gift shop in a strip mall, where everything is new.
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Reviews
"Cleverly concatenated...recounts with both humor and pathos growing up and gradual Americanization. A novel that both delights and instructs."
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In its clear-eyed take on family and community, Everything Asian is Everything American. The proprietors of this roadside New Jersey shopper's village are by turns dreamy and despairing as their fortunes--like the local economy--change. Sung J. Woo has crafted a debut rich in character and event."
Stewart O'Nan, author of Songs for the Missing
"A tender, funny, beautifully written novel-in-stories, each a sparkling step in the coming-of-age journey of a boy straddling two cultures with remarkable humor and grace. First-time author Sung Woo has created both lasting characters and a timeless portrait of a community."
A. Manette Ansay, author of Vinegar Hill and Blue Water