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lainey_sherman3's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
The Painter household has been waiting for a new Mike Jung book since we first read Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities when it first came out. Unidentified Suburban Object did not disappoint.
Chloe Cho is the only Asian girl in her school. When people aren't confusing her with being Chinese or Japanese (she's Korean), they are busy thinking she is first chair violin and the smartest kid in school simply because she's Asian. She is interested in her Korean identity, but her parents refuse to discuss their history or culture with her. When she starts 7th grade and has a new Korean teacher, she couldn't be more excited. Ms. Lee assigns her students a project that means Chloe HAS to learn about her family history. Finally Chloe will get some answers, but they are not anywhere close to the answers she was looking for.
This is the second MG book I've read this year that has a heroine with sharp edges who isn't "nice" all the time. If this is the start of a new trend, I'm 100% on board! Chloe is magnificent. She is smart, talented, and ambitious. She works hard, but she has a lot of natural talents as well. This has made her more than a little sure of herself. She has always been on top and she expects to stay there. Chloe is snarky in the perfect way middle schoolers are. Her longing to know who she is and how she fits into the world strike exactly the right note. That is a universal story that all middle schoolers understand, but her story is also a specific one that children of immigrants will especially connect with. Chloe's best friend Shelly is a good foil for her: more shy, more sensitive, just as smart but not as showy. They make a good team.
For the most part, this is a basic MG novel about identity and friendship that takes place at school. But it has a pretty spectacular twist. One that is going to have its target audience gasping. Again they will be able to identify. Jung excels at taking the feelings all tweens have and focusing them perfectly in a very particular direction. The friendship aspect is well done too. In her anger, confusion, and temper, Chloe does not treat Shelly the way she should. Watching her grow in this area is significant to both the plot and her character development. I appreciated how there are very realistic consequences for all of Chloe's actions too. Unlike many MG novels, the adults are present and realistic. Chloe's parents love and support her. They are sometimes a little clueless to her emotions and what she needs to deal with the things she's learned, but as a parent of a tween myself, I could relate. The teachers are well done as well. Some of them are excellent, some of them are clearly picking up a paycheck, but they behave and respond as actual teachers do.
I loved this book and would recommend it to everyone. I know my daughter will love it too, and I can't wait for our official copy to arrive.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher, Arthur A. Levine Books, via Edelweiss. Unidentified Suburban Object is available April 26th.
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
The Painter household has been waiting for a new Mike Jung book since we first read Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities when it first came out. Unidentified Suburban Object did not disappoint.
Chloe Cho is the only Asian girl in her school. When people aren't confusing her with being Chinese or Japanese (she's Korean), they are busy thinking she is first chair violin and the smartest kid in school simply because she's Asian. She is interested in her Korean identity, but her parents refuse to discuss their history or culture with her. When she starts 7th grade and has a new Korean teacher, she couldn't be more excited. Ms. Lee assigns her students a project that means Chloe HAS to learn about her family history. Finally Chloe will get some answers, but they are not anywhere close to the answers she was looking for.
This is the second MG book I've read this year that has a heroine with sharp edges who isn't "nice" all the time. If this is the start of a new trend, I'm 100% on board! Chloe is magnificent. She is smart, talented, and ambitious. She works hard, but she has a lot of natural talents as well. This has made her more than a little sure of herself. She has always been on top and she expects to stay there. Chloe is snarky in the perfect way middle schoolers are. Her longing to know who she is and how she fits into the world strike exactly the right note. That is a universal story that all middle schoolers understand, but her story is also a specific one that children of immigrants will especially connect with. Chloe's best friend Shelly is a good foil for her: more shy, more sensitive, just as smart but not as showy. They make a good team.
For the most part, this is a basic MG novel about identity and friendship that takes place at school. But it has a pretty spectacular twist. One that is going to have its target audience gasping. Again they will be able to identify. Jung excels at taking the feelings all tweens have and focusing them perfectly in a very particular direction. The friendship aspect is well done too. In her anger, confusion, and temper, Chloe does not treat Shelly the way she should. Watching her grow in this area is significant to both the plot and her character development. I appreciated how there are very realistic consequences for all of Chloe's actions too. Unlike many MG novels, the adults are present and realistic. Chloe's parents love and support her. They are sometimes a little clueless to her emotions and what she needs to deal with the things she's learned, but as a parent of a tween myself, I could relate. The teachers are well done as well. Some of them are excellent, some of them are clearly picking up a paycheck, but they behave and respond as actual teachers do.
I loved this book and would recommend it to everyone. I know my daughter will love it too, and I can't wait for our official copy to arrive.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher, Arthur A. Levine Books, via Edelweiss. Unidentified Suburban Object is available April 26th.
listen_learn's review against another edition
4.0
I was wavering between a 3.5 and 4 on this, but I think I'm going to give it a solid 4. The reason for the wavering is I wasn't sure why Chole's very concerned teacher backs away from a topic that I would have been all over as a concerned teacher and because certain elements of Chole's parents journey were left unclear . However, in the end I think it makes a solid 4 because the plot twist was so unexpected and it wrapped up fairly nicely and good endings are hard to stick.
Spoiler
that her dad told her a story about her family that was actually plagarized from a bookSpoiler
I don't know about in South Korea, but in the USA there's a lot of legal documentation having to do with being a citizen. I don't see how her parents could simply resettle in the United States upon will with making a lot of fake documents or pretending to have run away from North Koreasaidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
Chloe's parents have always been cagey about her heritage. Chloe wants to know why.
I read this with my 4-6th grade book club, and it was a really good discussion. I was into the fish name-dropping and like that he was specific about where they came from.
Jung is a pretty solid author for me!
Prolly gonna booktalk this at local elementary school in Spring 2019.
I read this with my 4-6th grade book club, and it was a really good discussion.
Spoiler
I still don't totally buy why, if aliens are real, Chloe's parents feel the need to be secretive about their presence on earth. But whatev.Jung is a pretty solid author for me!
Prolly gonna booktalk this at local elementary school in Spring 2019.
the_pooh's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
so, if a character is asian and feels like she doesn't fit in with her peers, she's an alien ?! such good representation... *inserts eyeroll*
p.s. i marked it with a spoiler but i would suggest reading it instead of reading the book
p.s. i marked it with a spoiler but i would suggest reading it instead of reading the book
lifeoflorac's review against another edition
3.0
Chloe seems to have a quick temper. I can understand her point of frustration when her family casts aside her ancestral questions. I also related to how Chloe felt when she got an F on her assignment she was sure she would get an A on. Then, not only to not get an A, but to be accused of plagiarism? That had to to a gut wrenching blow, but there seems to be some pent up anger beyond the schoolwork. Though I love reading, this book took a little bit to keep my attention. I am the type of person who does not look at what genre a book is, simply because I read everything! With that being said, it is my own fault that I had trouble getting into this book. Mr. Jung, as I have learned, typically writes middle school nonfiction. I found this book listed as young adult and I am 25 so I thought ehh, why not
libraryjen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
4.0
Entertaining and surprising, this is a fun middle grade read
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
Great take on what it means to be an alien. The confusion and frustration that Chloe has when people
confuse her Korean heritage with Chinese or Japanese is so well stated; even better is her questioning why she (and her bff) like K-Pop and other Korean things. I'd love to see a similar book for an older audience!
ARC provided by publisher.
confuse her Korean heritage with Chinese or Japanese is so well stated; even better is her questioning why she (and her bff) like K-Pop and other Korean things. I'd love to see a similar book for an older audience!
ARC provided by publisher.
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
4.0
Not not what I expected
This is, yes, a story of a fish out of water, so to speak. The non-spoiler version is that Chloe is feeling as though she is all alone in an otherwise all white town, in some non-description fly-over state. What she doesn't realize is how important friendship is.
There is more to the story than that, of course, but the feeling of being alien is a common theme in middle-school and YA books, and this book took a different spin on it. In the end, I was ok with that spin, but I think it could have gone a different way. However, since I am not the author, it doesn't really matter how I would have handled it.
This is, yes, a story of a fish out of water, so to speak. The non-spoiler version is that Chloe is feeling as though she is all alone in an otherwise all white town, in some non-description fly-over state. What she doesn't realize is how important friendship is.
There is more to the story than that, of course, but the feeling of being alien is a common theme in middle-school and YA books, and this book took a different spin on it. In the end, I was ok with that spin, but I think it could have gone a different way. However, since I am not the author, it doesn't really matter how I would have handled it.