Krista (berries674) -
Helpful Score: 2
Adorable, hilarious, light and quirky memior!!! Loved it!! Choi's humor is fresh, sarcastic and totally relatable!!! I liked her humor even more than Jen Lancaster. Her mother is a riot!! I love how she writes her broken English-Korean into the dialogue. Highly recommended!
Sarah B. (Pixie328) reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 391 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
HYSTERICAL Love the way she writes Her mom is a trip
Franchesca M. (short-angry14) -
This book is completely hilarious! I could totally hear Annie Choi's mom in my head for days after reading this book. Highly recommended for a great laugh.
Susie G. (boygirlparty) -
I really love Annie's writing style; she feels like someone I know. And her mom feels like someone I *want* to know.
I loved how Annie's constant eye rolling at her parents' behavior was palpable in the mere retelling of events! At the same time, her parents are so awesomely confident and self-assured, each of her mom's quick retorts had me laughing as hard as Annie's "can-you-believe-this" set ups.
I really related to a lot of the author's embarrassment about her family (which comes from a place of love, obviously, not ridicule!) I went through the exact same thing with my mom when I wanted to wear thrift store clothes, became vegetarian, etc. and I really appreciate that Annie doesn't try to put vaseline on the lens regarding her own behavior -- at times she sounds whiny and intolerant (ie, on the Korean hiking trip) but that just makes a funny situation sound funnier. Favorite line of the book: "No pants, I have no pants." I also really admired how Annie found a way to talk about her culture (and write in her parent's broken dialect) without resorting to reinforcing cultural stereotypes.
A great read!
I loved how Annie's constant eye rolling at her parents' behavior was palpable in the mere retelling of events! At the same time, her parents are so awesomely confident and self-assured, each of her mom's quick retorts had me laughing as hard as Annie's "can-you-believe-this" set ups.
I really related to a lot of the author's embarrassment about her family (which comes from a place of love, obviously, not ridicule!) I went through the exact same thing with my mom when I wanted to wear thrift store clothes, became vegetarian, etc. and I really appreciate that Annie doesn't try to put vaseline on the lens regarding her own behavior -- at times she sounds whiny and intolerant (ie, on the Korean hiking trip) but that just makes a funny situation sound funnier. Favorite line of the book: "No pants, I have no pants." I also really admired how Annie found a way to talk about her culture (and write in her parent's broken dialect) without resorting to reinforcing cultural stereotypes.
A great read!
Candy B. (candieb) reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 239 more book reviews
This was so funny and I kept waiting for the big ending that, sadly, didn't seem to come. Worth a read, Annie reminds me of a Korean friend I had while living in Hawaii - she and her mother had many of the same challenges. Super funny, but the ending fell flat for me.
John S. (Seajack) reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 347 more book reviews
Very funny anecdotes - made me want to run out and buy copies as gifts!
Jacky K. (Jacky) reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 174 more book reviews
Very fast read and enjoyable even though I began to wonder if there was anything this author liked.
