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roseblackout's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
gensrra_'s review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
tammys_take's review
4.0
A brief look into the world of dynastic Korea, in the life of a noble girl. Her world is so limited and she yearns for adventure. This was a quick, interesting read.
sadiecatherine's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
bookslovejenna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Five things about Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park 📚📚📚📚📚
1. So much emotion and history and relatability packed into less than 90 pages. Park is truly a master storyteller.
2. This is the story of Jade who lives cloistered in the inner yard of her paternal home. Her best friend and aunt (15 years old to Jade’s 13 years old) enters into an arranged marriage and is sent to live within the inner courtyard of her husband’s home. Jade realized she will never see Willow again and devised a plan to visit her.
3. While out in the marketplace she sees women and girls walking about freely. She also sees strange looking prisoners (Dutch sailors being taken to the king after their boat crashed off the coast of Jeju) who dared to enter the interior of closed off Korea. She looks strange and different in the marketplace. They look strange and different in the country. What will be her fate when it’s discovered she’s ventured beyond her prescribed territory? What will be theirs?
4. Eventually, a middle way is determined for the foreigners and for Jade. One that’s not quite satisfactory but better than some alternatives. This is historically accurate, somewhat hopefully when looking with an eye to the future, but also heartbreaking for their present moments and the lives they will live…stealing glimpses of worlds and possibilities beyond their confines by brief leaps into the proverbial air.
5. The author’s note at the end provides insight into the history and the bibliography provides further more robust reading for an older audience.
1. So much emotion and history and relatability packed into less than 90 pages. Park is truly a master storyteller.
2. This is the story of Jade who lives cloistered in the inner yard of her paternal home. Her best friend and aunt (15 years old to Jade’s 13 years old) enters into an arranged marriage and is sent to live within the inner courtyard of her husband’s home. Jade realized she will never see Willow again and devised a plan to visit her.
3. While out in the marketplace she sees women and girls walking about freely. She also sees strange looking prisoners (Dutch sailors being taken to the king after their boat crashed off the coast of Jeju) who dared to enter the interior of closed off Korea. She looks strange and different in the marketplace. They look strange and different in the country. What will be her fate when it’s discovered she’s ventured beyond her prescribed territory? What will be theirs?
4. Eventually, a middle way is determined for the foreigners and for Jade. One that’s not quite satisfactory but better than some alternatives. This is historically accurate, somewhat hopefully when looking with an eye to the future, but also heartbreaking for their present moments and the lives they will live…stealing glimpses of worlds and possibilities beyond their confines by brief leaps into the proverbial air.
5. The author’s note at the end provides insight into the history and the bibliography provides further more robust reading for an older audience.
enbybooklove's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
librarianinthewoods's review
3.0
Eleanor read this book to me after choosing it from a list of titles for required summer reading from her school. A historical fiction book set in Korea in the 1600s. Feminist themes set in a time when aristocratic girls were not allowed to leave their walled family home and then later basically imprisoned the same in their husband’s family’s home. It’s a very sad theme of isolation - which we also see in Korea’s isolationism international policy during this time according to the author’s note. We liked the book and definitely got something from it. I can see why it’s on the school reading list. Would have been nice to have been a bit more developed.
jennybeastie's review
4.0
On the one hand, I enjoyed the depiction of women's lives in medieval Korea very much (fascinating!), and I was extremely pleased that there weren't more serious consequences for Jade's misdemeanors. On the other hand, her discovery of art seemed almost like an afterthought, tacked on at the end, and it didn't quite gel for me. I am fascinated by the Korean seesaw -- sounds tricky, dangerous and invigorating. Great short read.