Secondhand World

Since Salinger -- er, make that since Richardson, maybe -- the woods have been full of precociously perceptive young narrators, enduring the ordinary and extraordinary troubles of adolescence at a time when their capacity for articulation is outpacing their understanding of human character. Creating a distinctive and original voice for a teenage protagonist is fiendishly difficult, even for seasoned novelists. Newcomer Katherine Min has taken on that challenge and succeeded spectacularly. Isa Myung Hee Sohn is alert, troubled, funny, realistic, shrewd, headstrong, confused, generous, capable of outrage, and capable of change: in short, she's a believable and likable young woman, and the reader finishes her story hoping strongly to encounter her again. The fearsome burdens she inherits, both inside and outside her unique family, would have turned a less thoughtfully imagined character into a cartoon (perhaps a tool for polemic, perhaps a cookie-cutter moper or avenger). Instead, Min shows the patience, craft, and wisdom to build her into a human being, complex and usually admirable. Highly recommended.

Seeing the world through the narrator's Korean-American eyes made "normal" suburbia new. I enjoyed the sense of experiencing various teenage challenges and adventures with the narrator, such as dealing with demanding parents, working up friendships, and establishing an identity. I highly recommend this mesmerizing read, which is both unique and universal.

Secondhand World is a novel you will read quickly, but long remember. The short chapters, the intriguing plot, and Katherine Min's lyrical language, will pull you along. You'll find yourself caring deeply for Isa Sohn, the narrator/protagonist, whose story, though dark and tragic, is surprisingly uplifting. The specifics of Isa's plight drive the story: as a first generation Korean-American, she is caught between two cultures; she believes she can never fill the void in her parents' lives left by her brother's tragic death; there are family secrets she must learn. But it is the universality of her struggle that elevates this novel to the unforgettable level. This is ultimately a story of the fundamental task of late adolescence: Isa must discover self, and like the rest of us, she can't fully do that until she discovers and accepts her parents' selves.

I love this book! The author has written a story that is at times funny, at times sad, and in the end hopeful. The main character Isa is a Korean-American girl growing up in New York state in the 1970's. Isa feels alone, separated by her own self, which she feels is different from everyone else, and by her parents' foreignness. Isa becomes friends with a classmate named Rachel and with Rachel's family and gets insight into how this family lives and how different this family's life is from her own family life. Isa also has a boyfriend Hero and learns more about herself and her sexuality from this relationship. The author has put a lot of thought into how judgmental we can be when we are young and lacking in experience of the world. Isa is judgmental, especially of her parents and what is right and wrong, and some of her judgments set into motion actions and events which end up destroying her family and putting her own life in danger. This is a wonderful book, and I hope you will read it. You won't be disappointed!

I finished this book in one day because I was too fascinated to put it down. Its plot is unpredictable and improbable but utterly convincing, due to an unforgettable ensemble of lovable and nuanced characters. Isa is an engaging and interesting heroine, both unique and easy to relate to. The writing is fluid and accessible, the themes explored universal and provocative. I can't believe this is a first novel. It has a permanent home on my "favorite book" shelf and I'm already eager for Min's next work.