How to make your Korean parents happy:
1. Get a perfect score on the SATs.
2. Get into HarvardYalePrinceton.
3. Don’t talk to boys.*
Patti’s parents expect nothing less than the best from their Korean-American daughter. Everything she does affects her chances of getting into an Ivy League school. So winning assistant concertmaster in her All-State violin competition and earning less than 2300 on her SATs is simply not good enough.
But Patti’s discovering that there’s more to life than the Ivy League. To start with, there’s Cute Trumpet Guy. He’s funny, he’s talented, and he looks exactly like the lead singer of Patti’s favorite band. Then, of course, there’s her love of the violin. Not to mention cool rock concerts. And anyway, what if Patti doesn’t want to go to HarvardYalePrinceton after all?
Paula Yoo scores big in her hilarious debut novel about an overachiever who longs to fit in and strives to stand out. The pressure is on!
*Boys will distract you from your studies.
AWARDS
2009 Honor Book of the Youth Literature of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APAAL) for its excellence in the literary quality and the promotion of Asia/Pacific Americans and their heritages
2009 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice 2009 Most Humorous YA Novel List by the New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age
2009-10 Young Adult Book Award nominee by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL)
2010-11 Missouri Gateway Readers Award nominee
2011-12 Nebraska Golden Sower Award nominee
BOOKLIST –
Like the best comic writers, Paula Yoo uses humor to illuminate painful experiences. The frequent lists (“how to Make Your Korean Parents Happy”), SAT questions, and even SPAM recipes are, like main character Patti Yoon’s convincing narration, filled with laugh-out-loud lines, but it’s the deeper questions about growing up with immigrant parents, confronting racism, and how best to find success and happiness that will stay with readers.
KIRKUS REVIEWS –
Teens living through the pressure of college applications and questioning their futures will sympathize with main character Patti Yoon in this enjoyable, funny but not superficial read, which bears many similarities to Alex Flinn’s Diva (2006).
KLIATT –
Caught between cultures, main character Patti Yoon must also learn to navigate her own dreams and aspirations alongside the expectation of others. The author reflects on the hard lessons of adolescence – maneuvering between childhood and adulthood and developing a sense of self – with humor and authenticity.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL –
Short chapters, funny occasional SAT tips, and Top 10 lists make this is a good option for reluctant readers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY –
While main character Patti Yoon is full-out nerdy, she has a great sense of humor, shown through interludes in which she posits her dilemmas as SAT questions or lists “how not to be a P.K.D. (Perfect Korean Daughter).” Paula Yoo writes with particular fluency of Patti’s love of music. Readers will appreciate, too, that the author does not demonize Patti’s high-pressure parents: they may bark “HarvardYalePrinceton” at her but their love is never in doubt. A funny story that will hit home for many readers.