Susie G. (boygirlparty) - , reviewed on 7/14/2011 + 3 more book reviews

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!

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