Reviews

Krista Kim-Bap by Angela Ahn

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If you are looking for books representing modern Korean families this is a good option. It's a classic friendship story updated to deal with issues of culture as well as changes in generational thinking, body image, and school politics. There are some weak points, like a repeated sentiment of "I'm just a kid" at the beginning that just sounded like a jarring adult view mid narrative and some characters could do with more developing, but it is still a solid choice that talks about issues that are not seen as often in middle grade books.

jules_not_dead's review

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funny lighthearted fast-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

4.5

miszjeanie's review

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5.0

Krista Kim-Bap is an endearing middle-grade book with a strong resemblance to [b:The Great Wall of Lucy Wu|8521055|The Great Wall of Lucy Wu|Wendy Wan-Long Shang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328837382l/8521055._SY75_.jpg|13387853]. It was interesting to read a Canadian middle-grade book with cultural diversity. This book features a sweet sister relationship, a loving Korean grandma, healthy school friendships, and lots of food! If you’re looking for a feel-good middle-grade book with a dash of humor, you will absolutely enjoy this one. I look forward to Ahn’s forthcoming title, [b:Peter Lee's Notes From the Field|54357261|Peter Lee's Notes From the Field|Angela Ahn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593651783l/54357261._SX50_.jpg|84822142].

Read my full review on my blog.

josie_addison's review

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emotional informative lighthearted medium-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

5.0

brittburkard's review

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

3.0

theshenners's review

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4.0

This was a quick read that transported me back to my days as a tween. The story deals with the awkwardness and complexity of changing social circles at school as well as connecting with one's family and heritage across generational divides. I enjoyed the balance between the friendship and family arcs and the appreciated the explicit discussion of narrow beauty standards in Korea (which are similar to in Taiwan). Krista reminded me of myself at the same age–unfashionable, not very popular, and breaking from the typical gendered segregation among peers by having a best friend who was a boy. Her struggles were super relatable to me.

jess_segraves's review

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4.0

Cute and semi-realistic.

ljrinaldi's review

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4.0

When I was in the grade school, we studied our heritage, just as Krista does in this middle-school book. And like Krista, we were encouraged to study our cultural history through food. We were all supposed to bring in recipes from our family that were part of our heritage. My heritage was half Italian and have British. But, my father, like the parents in this book, who are first generation born in their country, do not speak to the language of their parents. Thus, like Krista, I did not know Italian, in her case Korean, and so felt closer to my British heritage. So, while all the other kids were brining in strange and exotic recipies, I brought in one for fruit cake. My teacher though I had misunderstood the assignment. She kept saying, bring in something from my heriatage, and I'd tried to explain to her that I had.

She sent me back to try again.

I told my mother, the British side of my family, what had happened, and she realized the teacher wanted something Italian, despite the fact that none of us ate anything more Italian than pizza, and so gave me a receipt for eels in wine sauce.

The teacher approved.

Krista, in this book, does not have this problem, because her grandmother is still alive, and actually wants to help her learn to cook Korean.

But this book is not just about Krista learning how to cook Korean food. This is a fish-out-of-water story. A girl whose best friend is a boy, and how doesn't understand the girls in her class, not because she is Korean-Canadian, but because she doesn't understand girls in general.

And it takes her grandmother to help her with the assignment, and with the understanding.

It really is a sweet story, and I am so glad that Krista showed how eating Korean was important to her heritage and who she was.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

tiffani_reads's review

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3.0

This book is about self discovery and figuring out who you are. Krista is the only Korean in her school, and when she has to do a project for heritage month on what that means to her, she discovers a whole new side of herself.

This book is really well written and I enjoyed it for the most part, but a few things bugged me. The authors constant need to remind the reader about how the book was based in Vancouver. It’s raining, because it’s Vancouver. The hair salon looked like it could have been Seoul, but nope just Vancouver. Also, the way Krista was so judgmental of everyone struck me as a bit off, it could have been because she was so inwardly judgemental but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

I think it is great that this book exists and that Korean-Canadian kids will be able to see themselves represented in books. I hope this author writes me and her style continues to develop. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.