Finding Junie Kim

By: Ellen Oh

Narrated by: Greta Jung

For fans of Inside Out and Back Again and Amina’s Voice comes a breathtaking own voices story of family, hope, and survival from Ellen Oh, cofounder of We Need Diverse Books. When Junie Kim is faced with middle school racism, she learns of her grandparents’ extraordinary strength and finds her voice. Inspired by her mother’s real-life experiences during the Korean War, Oh’s characters are real and riveting.

“Both unique and universal, timely and timeless.” (Padma Venkatraman, Walter Award-winning author of The Bridge Home)

"A moving story that highlights how to find courage in the face of unspeakable hardship." (Hena Khan, award-winning author of Amina’s Voice)

"Junie discovers where she comes from and gains the courage to make a difference in the future." (Wendy Wan-Long Shang, award-winning author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu)

Junie Kim just wants to fit in. So she keeps her head down and tries not to draw attention to herself. But when racist graffiti appears at her middle school, Junie must decide between staying silent or speaking out.

Then Junie’s history teacher assigns a project and Junie decides to interview her grandparents, learning about their unbelievable experiences as kids during the Korean War. Junie comes to admire her grandma’s fierce determination to overcome impossible odds, and her grandpa’s unwavering compassion during wartime. And as racism becomes more pervasive at school, Junie taps into the strength of her ancestors and finds the courage to do what is right.

Finding Junie Kim is a reminder that within all of us lies the power to overcome hardship and emerge triumphant.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Ellen Oh (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Good but I prefer the historical part

I really like this book I own both paper and audio additions. Very good book. I really preferred the historical part that was my favorite.

I Never Expected To Be So Moved By This Story

This engrossing narrative is a clever combination of how past struggles help to understand and heal present realities.

The author weaves a powerful love story between a young girl tortured by school racism and her gentle and wise grandfather who suffered torment during the Korean War.

Like the Kite Runner, Finding Junie Kim has carved an emotional place in my heart; made deeper by an excellent narration. The audiobook is well produced; particularly considering the pronunciation of many Korean words.

I will remember this story forever. It is a work of fiction with a ring of truth and authenticity. I learned a lot.

Great Story with amazing sad topics

There are a few descriptive parts, since some of the book is about the Korean War. But, I feel they were needed to amplify the story. It kept me entertained and almost made me cry. Would recommend!

Exquisite

Exquisite, moving, important. Humanizes the the dehumanizing experience of war and the destructive power of ideological polarization. Beautiful character depiction, deeply affecting relying of the main character’s grandparents’ experience during the Korean War. A must read!

oddly white

Props to the reader. Many characters she has to read all with different voices. This book/audible is more like a play for teenagers than a book. Lots of "quotes" he said, she said, I said. Stories of the war are fun to listen to since as a Korean, I heard a lot of these growing up and Korean-American stories are very much needed in the West and it is really good to hear. However, this book is odd. There are a lot of holes that don't make sense, especially from a Korean perspective. The grandparents with elitest backgrounds and privileged Koreans speak English and have college degrees but at times feel more like someone born in late 1940's and not 20's. The grandparents in this story are not what old Koreans from 20's or 30's are like at all or have the opportunity to learn English or go to college at that. My grandma also comes from an elite, very very wealthy background from 20's and they did not allow women to have an education during those times. Jr. High was the furthest my grandma went and that was with a lot of privilege, much more than a doctor's kid.
Also, the characters in this book are white. They all live white lives and are completely white just with grandparents telling war stories and some Korean words here and there but this book does not have any Korean culture. it's like the writer was in a white writer's group and got advice from white editors. It was as if the writer just filled a bunch of diversity quota and threw "inclusive phrases" without a full meaning or comprehension of what it really is. The characters are hollow without making the reader invested in any of the characters. It's like a boong too, a plastic bag.

Politically biased book & age inappropriate contents

It has vivid description on suicidal thoughts of a 7th grader. My kids got scared so they had to stop. The author tries to impose their biased political views on the young readers. I have concerns.