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Book Cover for: When My Name Was Keoko, Linda Sue Park

When My Name Was Keoko

Linda Sue Park

Sun-hee and her older brother, Tae-yul, live in Korea with their parents. Because Korea is under Japanese occupation, the children study Japanese and speak it at school. Their own language, their flag, the folktales Uncle tells them--even their names--are all part of the Korean culture that is now forbidden. When World War II comes to Korea, Sun-hee is surprised that the Japanese expect their Korean subjects to fight on their side. But the greatest shock of all comes when Tae-yul enlists in the Japanese army in an attempt to protect Uncle, who is suspected of aiding the Korean resistance. Sun-hee stays behind, entrusted with the life-and-death secrets of a family at war.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Turtleback Books
  • Publish Date: Apr 17th, 2012
  • Pages: 199
  • Language: English
  • Edition: Bound for Schoo - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.40in - 5.00in - 0.80in - 0.65lb
  • EAN: 9780606247160
  • Recommended age: 10-13
  • Categories: Customs & Traditions

Praise for this book

"This powerful and riveting tale of one close-knit, proud Korean family movingly addresses life-and-death issues of courage and collaboration, injustice, and death-defying determination in the face of totalitarian oppression."
"Kirkus Reviews" with Pointers
"A brother and sister alternate as narrators in Newbery Medalist Park's (A Single Shard) well-contructed novel, which takes place from 1940-1945 in Japanese-occupied Korea. . . .Through the use of shifting narrators, Park subtly points up the differences between male and female roles in Korean society; and the father's process of choosing the family's Japanese name speaks volumes about his strength and intelligence. . . . Readers will come away with an appreciation of this period of history and likely a greater interest in learning more about it."
--"Publishers Weekly," Starred
"Park is a masterful prose stylist, and her characters are developed beautifully. She excels at making traditional Korean culture acc