Scan barcode
oldandnewbooksmell's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Trigger Warnings: Racism, classism, disabled slurs and bullying
Georgia is a Korean-American high school junior who just moved to a new town in the suburbs so that her brother, Leo, who has significant developmental disabilities, can get better assistance. At her new school, she makes friends with members of the hagwon that runs in the back of the Korean barber shop. Her parents have a rough relationship due to the strain of raising Leo and Georgie does everything she can to help be a caretaker of her brother.
I slightly remember reading Of Mice and Men in high school - not every detail, but I remember the ending, so I was very curious to see how this book would go.
This book definitely deals with a lot that I honestly wasn’t expecting. Georgia takes on a lot of responsibilities in the caretaking for Leo and I was always forgetting he was the older brother - even though she talks about how he’s a big, strong young man. I’m glad her parents were aware of the situation though and had brought it up to her a few times in the novel because it does take a toll on her for sure.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I was rooting for Georgia and Leo and even though in the back of my mind, I kind of knew what would happen, I was still shocked at how the ending played out. It did come a little quickly for me, but I still liked the open-ending of it too.
This won’t be a book for everyone, but I still think it’s an important book that covers a lot of topics you don’t read about often.
*Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for a digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Racism and Ableism
More...