Since You Asked

A humorous, debut novel about a Korean-American teenager who accidentally lands her own column in her high school newspaper, and proceeds to rant her way through the school year while struggling to reconcile the traditional Korean values of her parents with contemporary American culture.

I picked this book up from the library at just the right time. I was very stressed out and worried about work and my health and all sort of things, and needed to read something light and funny that would let me escape for a bit.

This book was hilarious. I loved Holly’s voice! She was sarcastic and snarky and funny and she and her friends seemed so fun. I would love to hang out with them!

The story basically follows a year in the life of Holly as she deals with school and family stuff. I particularly enjoyed reading about Holly’s family and their traditions. I always like reading about different cultural experiences and things like Holly’s large extended family having regular dinners together and their holiday traditions were really interesting to see.

I loved that Holly and her friends weren’t the popular kids but they weren’t the outcasts either. They were somewhere in between, which is where I think a lot of us were in high school (or maybe I’m just saying that because that’s where I think I was in school). They were into their own stuff, not embarrassed or ashamed or trying to hide who they were.

Really, my only issue with this book was the ending. It just seemed to end, abruptly, or without wrapping up certain aspects that I wanted to read about more. I guess that just means that I wasn’t ready for the book to end because I was enjoying it so much!

If you’re liking for a fun book that will make you laugh out loud, I totally recommend this one! I’m really looking forward to seeing what Maurene Goo writes next.