This is one of my favorite middle grades picks EVER.
The blending of real issues as a middle schooler, bullying, racism, fitting in, friendships...with the historical retelling of the Korean War through the eyes of her grandparents is amazing. Highly recommended. Grab tissues.

This incredible book packs a big punch because it sensitively and truthfully addresses depression, racism, family relationships, friendship, and strength to stand up against injustice as well as recounts the Korean War from the perspectives of two children, Junie's grandparents. In the present day, Junie faces bullying and microaggressions, then her friends drop her for being too negative. Her sadness and fatigue lead to suicidal thoughts then medication and therapy. Even more helpful are Junie's interviews with her grandparents, immigrants from South Korea who faced their war-filled childhood hardships with determination and courage. Her grandpa's story helps Junie find her strength, helping her see that silence against injustice is complicity and that being a good friend is important. Moving, important, and beautiful.

While this is a good book (and an important one), the first 5 chapters are difficult to get through. Junie is bullied for being a Korean American student, gets in a fight with her friends, and considers takin a bottle of pills. I know this is advertised for students age 8+ , but I would struggle to have this in my classroom library. It's the kind of book I would need to talk to parents first.

Later in the plot Junie learns about her grandparents during the Korean War, and it's fascinating. It was just a little bit of a struggle to get that far.

The structure of this novel presents us with three distinct stories. Junie is facing obvious racism at school and doesn't know how to respond to it, or if she even should. Her grandparents each tell their childhood stories in big blocks. These stories guide Junie in her decision making. I can understand that structure cut they aren't melded together very well. There is far more attention given to the grandparents. Junie's story is thin, lacking in nuance. The three sections are awkwardly pasted together. I like the idea here and given how it addresses an oft forgotten part of history I wish I liked the book itself better.

An #OwnVoices middle grade book by co-founder of We Need Diverse Books, Ellen Oh, and a must read for middle grade readers. Junie's middle school gets vandalized in the beginning of the book with hateful and racist messages. Junie faces a bully everyday on her bus in addition to her feeling like the target of racist hate. When a class assignment to interview someone who has lived through war, Junie's grandparents share stories of the Korean War making Junie discover things about her family that she never imagined.

Junie is also going through depression and her thoughts spiral into dark places. Middle grade readers need this book for so many reasons.

I am so grateful for having the opportunity to read the book, Finding Junie Kim, by Ellen Oh. I thought the story was a beautiful story of how a family's history is intertwining with its present day. I think this book is incredibly timely and one everyone should take the time to read.

I have to admit that on some levels I am torn with this book. Really, there are two stories going on in this book - current racism and the Korean War. The parts about the war were absolutely fascinating and educational. It was great to hear what it was like for Junie's grandparents to go through the war in Korea and how it shaped who they are today. It was important for Junie to hear both of their stories, especially as making her grandmother tell her story helped both of them get through another tragedy.

The part that I struggled with was how heavy handed the beginning of the book was in terms of racism. Not that I argue with anything Oh was saying, but it was blatantly political and I fear that it would turn of the very kids who should be reading it to understand what it is like for others. The heavy handedness faded over time, but I found myself exceptionally frustrated until Junie started to talk to her grandfather. I appreciated not only his story, but his encouragement to listen to her friends and to stand up for what she believes in in any way that makes her comfortable, but to stand up.

The story is important and needs to be told, it just might take some encouragement to get readers past the beginning.

Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; realistic fiction, historical fiction

Brief Review:

Seventh grade is off to a rough start for Korean American Junie Kim. Between bullying, racist graffiti at school, and a fight with her friends about how best to address racism, Junie becomes severely depressed. When she opens up to her grandfather about her struggles, he tells her about his own experiences growing up during the Korean War. Much of the book is historical fiction, describing the atrocities of the war from the perspective of Grandpa first and Grandma later in the book. Meanwhile, the frame narrative describes Junie’s reconciliation with her friends, their efforts to combat racism at school, and how Junie and her family cope with grief when sudden tragedy strikes. Although the book is relatively interesting and contains valuable messages about racism as well as a lot of cultural and historical information about Korea and the Korean War, it falls a little short on a couple counts. Much of the racist rhetoric directed at Junie includes terms like “commie” and “chink”, which is unrealistic coming from modern middle tweens, and the implied parallels between racial slurs and the brutality of the Korean War seems to undermine the atrocities of actual, literal war. More concerning, the book glazes over Junie’s depression and suicidal thoughts, implying that they are a natural response to racism and can be cured via activism. Recommended as an informative work of historical fiction, but look elsewhere for believable and helpful discussions of social activism or mental health.

Long Review:

It’s the first day of seventh grade and things are already not going well for Junie Kim. Now that her brother is in high school, she has to face Tobias, the bus stop bully, all by herself every single day, and perhaps even worse, someone has just spray-painted racial slurs on the gym walls. School officials and police won’t let the students see the graffiti, but Junie hears that the graffiti “was targeting Blacks, Jews, and Asians”. That includes Junie, whose family is Korean, and her two best friends Patrice and Amy, who are African American and Jewish respectively. Junie also has friends whose ancestries are Pakistani, Peruvian, and Cuban. Many of the non-white kids at school, including all of Junie’s closest friends, are determined to take action. It’s not just the graffiti; there’s been a lot of verbal racism within the student body. At first, their ideas are vague, and Junie is skeptical that they can make a difference, but Patrice berates her for being “negative”. The next thing Junie knows, she’s in a fight with her best friends.

Between the bullying at the bus stop, the racism at school, and the severed friendship, Junie quickly falls into depression. When her parents realize that she is experiencing suicidal thoughts, they immediately take action by putting her on antidepressants, taking her to therapy, and letting her take a few days off from school. They leave it up to her whether or not she wants to “share [her] private business” with her grandparents. Junie is very close to her grandfather, and she ends up telling him more than she intends, especially about the racism at school and how helpless she feels about it. In response, Grandpa tells her about his own experiences with harmful ideologies and political extremism.

The next several chapters are set in 1950 and told from the perspective of Doha, that is, Junie’s Grandpa. He was the son of a doctor in a rural part of South Korea. For longer than Doha has been alive, life has been tough in Korea; over the past couple generations, the people have endured an oppressive Japanese government followed by World War II and its immediate aftermath. But now that Koreans are theoretically in control of their own country, there is violence and hostility between the communist government of North Korea and the more democratic Republic of Korea in the south. Although Doha’s family and most of his friends and neighbors support the South Korean government, they are aware that both regimes are corrupt and extremist. When the war reaches Doha’s village, he personally witnesses much violence and brutality. He’s even beaten by a soldier at one point when he tries to bring food to a friend who’s in prison because his family is suspected of communist sympathies. 

Earlier in the book, Junie’s class had been assigned an oral history project, and she now realizes that her grandfather’s life story is the ideal topic. She begins regularly interviewing him and recording their conversations. Instead of re-telling his war stories, Grandpa tells Junie more about how he and Grandma met, got married, and moved to America. He also suggests that Junie ask Grandma about her own experiences during the Korean War, but Grandma doesn’t want to be interviewed on camera. Meanwhile, Junie has made up with her friends and gotten involved in their movement to combat racism at school. Even her depression is significantly improved. Just when it seems that everything is going well, Grandpa has a stroke. After a few days in the hospital, he has a second stroke and passes away.

After Grandpa’s death, Junie spends a lot of time with Grandma, partly because she promised her grandfather that she would look after Grandma, but also because it helps her to cope with her own grief. At this point, Grandma finally tells Junie her own story from the war. Ten-year-old Jinjoo was the second of four children in a moderately wealthy family just south of the border between North Korea and South Korea. After Jinjoo’s adult cousin and his wife and unborn child are brutally executed by communist soldiers, Jinjoo’s father accompanies her aunt to Suwon, a city that will presumably be safer for her. But he doesn’t return, so Jinjoo’s mother goes to find him, leaving the children under the care of the irresponsible maid, who doesn’t stick around for long. Jinjoo and her siblings try begging for food, but after getting picked up by police, they decide that they have to go off in search of their parents on their own. Unlike Grandpa’s story, Grandma’s ends happily; the parents and children were eventually reunited.

The book concludes with a return to the frame narrative about Junie’s oral history project and anti-racism efforts. Junie and her friends put together a video about the effects of racism at their school, which is shown to the student body as part of a diversity assembly. The assembly motivates another student to report the perpetrator of some of the racist graffiti, who is promptly expelled, and Junie finds the courage to stand up to the bully at the bus stop.

This middle grade novel is relatively interesting and contains valuable messages about the harmful effects of racism and political extremism, as well as a lot of historical information about the Korean War, which is often overlooked when it comes to children’s literature. However, the book falls a little short on a couple counts. First, much of the racist rhetoric used by the kids at Junie’s school isn’t really believable for modern middle-schoolers. The implication is that this book was set in the very recent past; references to “the election” seem to refer to the 2016 presidential election. But the bullies at Junie’s school use old-fashioned racial slurs like “chink” and accuse her of being a “commie”. Moreover, the implied parallels between these slurs and the brutality of the Korean War seems to undermine the messages about the sheer horrors of the war. While the negative experiences of Junie and real-life kids in her situation should not be ignored, they aren’t actually equivalent to the traumas of living through a literal war. 

But the biggest problem I have with this book is the way it glazes over Junie’s depression and suicidal thoughts. While Junie’s parents respond quickly and appropriately, thereby giving Junie a good start on her recovery, Junie’s own narrative voice seems to imply that severe depression and even suicide are normal, natural responses to racism rather than serious mental health problems that should never be taken lightly. There’s no mention of the fact that depression can affect anyone and is generally caused by a variety of factors, nor is there any hint of how childhood depression should be addressed if the child isn’t lucky enough to have supportive and concerned parents. Junie’s therapy appointments are mentioned periodically and the word “depression” is used occasionally, but other than that, the rest of the book deemphasizes Junie’s mental health, instead focusing on her relationship with her grandparents and her efforts to combat racism, essentially implying that she should be able to fix her depression by making her classmates less racist. While this seems to work for Junie, it sends an inaccurate message to readers who may be experiencing similar depressive symptoms themselves.

WOW WOW WOW WOW!

I was already a huge Ellen Oh fan because of "Spirit Hunters" -- and holy cow, did she deliver with "Finding Junie Kim."

This book covers some heavy topics -- racism, microaggression, activism, depression, anxiety, trauma, suicidal ideation, war, PTSD, grief -- and does it beautifully.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and think it is perfect for 6th grade/age 12 and up. It's an emotional read, and I think it would lead to some excellent discussions.

reat story for middle grade students. So many things will connect them to Junie and make them feel immersed in her story. Learning about Korea from the grandparents point of view is a wonderful way to introduce this history to this generation of students. The writing felt a little disjointed with so many topics touched on (depression, therapy, death, racism, bullying)

This middle grade tackles tough topics in a manner that allows for openness and understanding while not brushing over the heaviness. The book starts with instances of racism within the middle school which leads to deep discussion with the characters. Then, you deal with mental health concerns with our main character, Junie Kim. While we are invested in these stories and connecting with the characters, you are also taken back to the Korean War and learning history while understanding the strength of family bonds through the sharing of our stories. This book is an intricately woven tale of family, traditions, and above all tolerance and understanding.

With thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an early copy in return for an honest review.

After reading Brother's Keeper I have been looking for other MG books related to the Korean War. This book almost felt like two books and the part set in 1950's Korea was a very compelling read. I also think it is a great reminder to kids, and adults, that we should be having conversations with the older people in our lives while we still have the opportunity to do so. For the part of the book set in the present day it felt like there were so many topics put into the story that it was difficult to really delve into any of them...bullying, racism, depression, suicidal thoughts, death and grieving. All of these are incredibly important topics for middle grade readers, but it was difficult to really address any of them by addressing all of them.

Content warnings: There is a sexual joke in the book that I think would prevent many of my elementary teacher friends from using the book with their students. Additionally, it should be noted that some of the war content is graphic and so the book may not be suited for all middle grade readers.

Junie is starting 7th grade, but her first day is tarnished by bullying on the bus and racist graffiti in the middle school gym. Thus begins her journey on learning to stand up for herself. It isn't easy as Junie continues to repress her feelings and thinks that standing up and speaking out won't change the people around her, which causes tension within herself and her friend group. When a school assignment tasks her with interviewing her grandparents, who survived the Korean war, Junie learns that she can access her inner strength for doing what's right.

Written in 1st person from Junie's POV, this story is definitely for an upper-middle-grade audience as it tackles issues of racism, discrimination, mental health, suicidal ideation, and the hardships of war. Junie's parents are loving but wrapped in work. When they notice something wrong with Junie, however, they are quick to step, be supportive, and do whatever they can to get her the help she needs. Her grandparents are kind and aware of social justice issues, which helps Junie put her own life and experiences into perspective. Junie's grandfather is endearing and lovable. The book includes Junie's POV for the first half, then moves to her grandfather's experience in Korea, then her grandmother's experience. This was a wonderful way Ellen Oh uses to share Junie's grandparents' story and immerse readers fully into the narrative. A lovely, sad, yet hopeful book that definitely had me tearing up at work.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

This was the first book I read by Ellen Oh. Now I have to go read everything she has written. I loved this book so much! I loved the way she discussed racism and the impact it has on all people of color, including young people. I loved the discussion of mental health issues, specifically depression and suicidal ideation, and the ways they can be triggered by stress and racism. My favorite aspect of this book, however, is the education on the Korean War. I know very little about this period in history and I am thankful that Oh made this such an important and impactful aspect of Junie's story. Oh wove Korean history into a contemporary American story and gave the reader such a gift. Knowing more about the past is an important way to understand the present and teach compassion and understanding. This book should be read by everyone.

What if to find out who you are you have to first find out what you come from? Ellen Oh's leads us to ponder just this question in her new book Finding Junie Kim.

Junie is a middle schooler in Maryland who for several years has been the target of a bully. Rather than upset her mother by telling her what goes on, (Mom would make a big deal out of it), she silently endures it. When someone vandalizes the school with racial slurs, her friends are rightly upset and plan to do something about it. Junie though, remains passive. Because of a school assignment, Junie begins to interview her grandfather about his life before coming to America and she learns that passivity might not be the answer to solve her problems.

I flippin LOVE this book. I consumed it over the course of 24 hours. Intergenerational stories are my weakness. I love the relationship Junie has with Grandpa and later Grandma. I will be thinking of Junie and her family for a long time to come.

I absolutely loved this book, and can’t wait to buy a copy to share with my students when it’s published. I don’t recall reading a book that’s written in these unique parts. From present day Junie, struggling with depression-which was written so beautifully. To the school project which turned out to be such a labor of love. Love between grandparent and grandchild, and between grandparents who’ve been through such trauma in their early lives. Ellen did a phenomenal job weaving the atrocities of war into the persistence of true love.

Finding Junie Kim is a moving and particularly relevant because it directly addresses racial hate and bullying. But I also enjoyed reading about Junie and her family. Junie is an introvert. Her older brother has moved to high school and her parents are very busy at work. Her grandparents live nearby and play a big role in her life. Junie's able to talk to her grandfather which helps her manage the worst days at school.

Junie already dreads the new school year since she'll have to manage a large loudmouth bully and his race baiting on the school bus - this time without her big brother. She's found that the other students don't do anything and she tries to sit near the bus driver and ignore the name calling but she's developing acid reflux and nightmares.

On the first day of back to middle school, the gym is closed off because someone had painted racist graffiti all over. The repeated racial slurs target African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish members of the community. Junie and her best friends are the exact groups targeted, and this scares them more than the verbal comments that they'd previously dealt with. For Junie, these repeated interactions up her anxiety. Her friends have a different reaction to the bullying and want to organize and fight back. Junie is the only one in her friend group who is overwhelmed and unwilling to speak out. Her denial isolates from her friends and Junie becomes depressed. Her parents are busy with work and they don't see what is happening to her until a drastic event occurs. Throughout, Junie is helped by her the support of her grandparents. Junie and her grandfather have a special relationship that helps Junie manage the worst days.

Junie's undertakes to interview her grandfather for school. Her school assignment just opens the door to learning about her family's history and the experience of the Korean War. This portion was intense - I had no knowledge of the details of the Korean War and Ellen Oh makes the difficulties and losses come alive. I think that it is critically important that Finding Junie Kim tells these stories and that we all learn more about Korean history as well as about America's involvement in the Asia.

Ellen Oh tackles difficult topics like conflict among girl friends, depression, bullying, racism, suicide, death, and seeking help/counseling. She also shows us what happens when Junie is able to stand up for herself and when bystanders are willing to step up. Finding Junie Kim is an important addition to a home and school library.

#FindingJunieKim #NetGalley #WeNeedDIverseBooks #Hollaback #StopAsianHate #Solidarity #BLM

Junie is a compelling and believable character, but the pacing of the novel was off. Additionally, it's always difficult to pull off narratives within narratives, and although both the grandfather's and grandmother's stories were fascinating, the overall novel felt unbalanced. I honestly would have preferred three separate novels, as truly Junie and each of her grandparent's stories felt rushed and sometimes the didacticism was too forced and obvious. Still, the book has merits, and especially considering the lack of books for children that feature any information about the Korean war (especially from the point of view of Koreans), this is a worthwhile purchase for school and public libraries.

This was such a beautiful upper middle grade story that perfectly blended realistic present-day fiction with historical fiction, as the narrator asked her grandparents for stories of their childhoods. This book touched on so many important topics in a way that felt authentic and relatable. This is a wonderful story and would make a great addition to any middle school bookshelf.l

"Finding Junie Kim" is a book that should be added to every middle school library. It is personal, timely, well-written, and provides windows, mirrors, AND sliding glass doors for readers. The format of the book was one of my favorite aspects. I loved being able to see the world through Junie's middle school eyes as she faces racism in her school, bullying, depression, as well as realizing how important the stories of Korean grandparents are to both her and the world. I also loved the multiple perspectives shared as Junie records both her grandparent's experiences of living through difficult times in Korea through their eyes for her oral history project.