Good Enough

Good Enough
By Paula Yoo
HarperTeen, 2008. 322 pgs. Young Adult

Patti is supposed to be the Perfect Korean Daughter: her parents expect her to graduate at the top of her class, ace her SATs and be accepted to all the Ivy League schools. In addition, she has to be a perfect violinist--until she graduates, at which point music will be frivolous and not something that will guarantee her a successful career. Patti has always wanted to the same thing, but as senior year progresses, she realizes that maybe she doesn't want to give up her music, and that she's good enough even if she isn't perfect.

The Asian American parents with high expectations is a pretty typical stereotype, but I really enjoyed the way Yoo handled it in this book. Patti's parents do have pretty rigid ideas of what's best for Patti, but they also clearly love her. The book also has a lot of humor in it, with Patti's comments about Korean church and how to make Korean parents happy, and Korean recipes all involving SPAM. An entertaining coming of age story.

AE