This book about friendship is full of all the feels and hits hard, but it's like a car wreck where you can't look away - I couldn't stop reading it! I love that it's set in Korea and focuses on teenagers and the problems not only teenagers face, but teenagers in Korea.

This YA book certainly showed that being a teen is rough all over the world, not just in the US. I am glad these kids had each other, but hate what they had to go through in school. It is a nice coming of age story. Personally, I didn’t really connect as I had hoped, but I am out of the demographic for this book. Enjoyable but I was looking at it more through a parent’s eyes.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection on preorder and will recommend it to students.

My thoughts:
I wanted to "tag" this as a minority lit YA book, but it is not. This YA book is translated into English from its original Korean. The south Korean culture, the lived experience of its youth, the environment that these teens are growing up in seems contemporary, however, I am not sure if my shock is just part of my "Americanness." In other words, I felt that this story was so foreign to me and I found that I could not fully "translate" the story. That did not make it bad, just confusing.
This is the story of poverty and coming of age, bullying and relationships that cannot be judged by American perspectives. I believe that it is my own ignorance that explains why it took so long to finish this.

From the publisher:
Best friends b and Rang are all each other have. Their parents are absent, their teachers avert their eyes when they walk by. Everyone else in town acts like they live in Seoul even though it's painfully obvious they don’t. When Rang begins to be bullied horribly by the boys in baseball hats, b fends them off. But one day Rang unintentionally tells the whole class about b’s dying sister and how her family is poor, and each of them finds herself desperately alone. The only place they can reclaim themselves, and perhaps each other, is beyond the part of town where lunatics live―the End.

In a piercing, heartbreaking, and astonishingly honest voice, Kim Sagwa’s b, Book, and Me walks the precipice between youth and adulthood, reminding us how perilous the edge can be.

Slow and uncomfortable, in a deep-rooted and unsettling way that helps to draw you in, this story does make you feel the most agonising points of childhood as you're turning the pages.

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

An artsy, thoughtful, coming-of-age story set in a no-name town in South Korea. This book has a lot of cultural touchstones that I wouldn't have picked up on if I hadn't lived in a similar town far from Seoul. These kids want to escape but don't know how, making this a relatable book for any precocious teenager.

I received an #ebook copy of this book via #netgalley. I did not finish this book I found myself not wanting to continue with the story. I will attempt this book again in the near future.

This book was sadly not my cup of tea. I often struggle with child narrators because once a shadow of doubt creeps in if a child would behave/think/talk that way, then the book is just gone for me.

Strong flawless plot with characters that will linger long after the last page. Raw and emotional it's a story you won't want to end. Absolutely breath taking. Happy reading!

This book confused me a bit because of the unconventional storytelling structure. The prose was poetic and evocative in places, but the story itself just felt mostly incoherent. Overall, it was just a ton of existential angst and super depressing with little catharsis. The characters were also hard for me to relate to. b in particular was not really that sympathetic despite her experiences with poverty, sexual harassment, and her parents' neglect, due to the way she stands by and watches her former friend get bullied and abused endlessly without doing anything and even mistreats her own chronically ill sister out of resentment which would be more aptly directed toward her parents, who are the ones responsible for neglecting her. The climax/ending was felt hollow to me. All in all, I guess this book just wasn't for me.

I wanted to enjoy this much more than I actually did. This was more chaotic prose than anything else and that’s completely fine it just didn’t work for me and that’s also fine. Not everything is meant for the person consuming the work.

It’s a dark read about sickness, bullying, and death and the characters are definitely interesting. Kim Sagwa is a talented writer as well. I’m sorry this didn’t captivate me.

Thanks very much to Edelweiss and Netgalley for this copy of my ARC.

Living in a South Korean town, b and Rang are both isolated. b’s parents are consumed with her ill sister while Rang’s parents ignore her. The girls find solace in their friendship, but when Rang writes an essay about b and reads it to the class, revealing that b is poor and her sister is sick, b rejects her. Rang turns to Book, a strange character who lives on the outskirts of the city, while b falls in with a group of bullies led by Washington Hat.

𝘣, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 & 𝘔𝘦, a short volume translated from the Korean, is dream-like and lyrical. I found the prose lovely, and at times amusing, but sometimes it was dense and ambiguous.

Both girls have reasons to be angry—b because of her fallen socioeconomic status and her sister’s health, Rang because of her parent’s apathy and the daily bullying she experiences at the hands of Washington Hat. Neither know how to process their rage nor do they have adult figures who can help them work through it. Without the scaffolding of their friendship, they become desperate, and a final confrontation at the End—the place where “abandoned people” live—brings things to an uneasy conclusion.

Although the cover image, a pair of scissors covered in blood, should have altered me, the book was much darker than I expected, and it included what felt to me like unrelenting cruelty. At the same time, it was so interesting and singular, I was very glad to have read it. I do think, though, that this is novel that would benefit from multiple readings.

I would recommend 𝘣, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 & 𝘔𝘦 to those who enjoy books in translation, coming-of-age stories, and non-traditional narratives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book - for such a short read it covered a lot of ground. I definitely felt like I got to know the characters, even in such short bursts, which is the hallmark of a good writer. It reminded me a lot of Angela Carter, where the writing is grounded in real social issues but through a fantastical lens. I'll definitely look out for more by Sagwa.

I feel completely mixed about this book. Some parts were so gripping, I couldn't put it down until I knew what was going on. These were few and far between though and I found I spent quite a lot of time reading and watching and waiting for the percentage read icon to creep up. I wanted to know so much more about the characters and why they were in the situations they were in, but often found it difficult to work out who was telling the story. That said, I am very glad I read this book and am still thinking about the characters a while after finishing. The poetic language used, especially in the passages about the ocean, are very cleverly written and as I think another reviewer said, I would like to be able to read the original text.

I don’t know where to start with a review of this incredible novel. Immersive, with scary bits, beautiful bits, unbearably sad bits; I began reading unsure that I would keep on with it because on first glance it felt so simple. Reading on, I was drawn into the book, and it was as if I was walking a trail and finding tiny familiar touchstones.

The language - at least in translation - is spare and clear, and at times sparks and wavers like caustics. I wish I could read it in the original because it’s so interesting & I wonder what I am missing.

The story itself is one of coming of age, but it is atypically told. We get a very straightforward telling of what is happening, something less ponderous than stream-of-consciousness, very linear.

I wanted backstory only because Sagwa made me care for b and for Rang.

This is a fantastic piece of writing I finished reading in a single sitting. It continues to conjure images now: reflections in windows, shadows on pavement, steam, red berries, bright nylon ball caps.

Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC.


Okay so I'm going to keep this review a bit short because I really do not have much to say.

I wanted to fall in love with this book but It just wasn't possible- most likely a combo of both faults of my own and faults in the book.

I was expecting a straight to the point (but with oomph) coming of age story about two teens finding themselves in the world- but honestly I just felt like I could get into the plot or even begin to resonate with the characters. Perhaps my disappointment would not be as strong if I hadn't been also reading very lush and character driven books recently- which in comparison to 'B, Book and Me.'

For the right reader I think this book would be a 3.5/5 stars, but for myself I have to give it a 2.

At less than 200 pages, this rather quiet novella packs in a number of important issues including bullying and death. However, I could not get invested in any of the characters and was not able to piece the different parts of the story together. The author's poetic style was a little over my head. I ended up skimming through the book. I really wanted to like this book but it was not for me. Nonetheless, I would like to explore more Korean literature because I am curious about Asian vs Western literature.

P.S. I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could definitely see this book resonating with readers who need something different and sort of esoteric, especially teenagers who are struggling to find their place in the world.

I personally found the book a little difficult to relate to, and I'm still contemplating what it's really about. I'm not completely sure, to be honest.

The author is obviously very creative and has experimented with formatting, point of view, style, and storytelling. I'm just not sure that all the experimenting worked together in this book for me. I'm left with far more questions than I started with--perhaps that was the intent. It definitely could be.

I wanted to like this so much, but I just couldn’t connect at all. It just felt like it was just trying to hard to be clever, but felt overthought and good writing doesn’t save a story if you cannot connect with the characters or the story
Sorry not for me


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion