When My name Was Keoko Novel Review- TWU LS 5623-20 - SU2012

Park, Linda Sue. When My Name Was Keoko. New York, Yearling, 2002. Print. ISBN 0-440-41944-1, 192p. The Japanese had been in Korea so long that Sun-hee didn’t even know how to read her own language. As the war dragged on Sun-hee, her brother, mother, father and Uncle each maintained their pride and defied the Japanese in their own way. From the small musings of a girl’s diary to acts of defiance so large they could result in death. What happens to her family during the time Sun-hee’s name was Keoko? And will they ever be the same after the occupation? “If the Japanese lost the war, Uncle could come home. If they lost, Abuji could be the principal of his own school. We could learn Korean history. We could use our real names again! And Abuji could teach me the Korean alphabet. How could an alphabet - letters that didn’t even mean anything by themselves - be important?” (pg. 107). The attempted erasure of the Korean identity from the peninsula during the Japanese occupation of the early 20th century appears in stark reality in Linda Sue Park’s historic novel. While the humanity of the characters rings true the verisimilitude of the historic elements is accurate and helps connect readers to the time and place. With an accompanying bibliography and an Author’s Note that explains the many connections to real people and events that the novel has, the accuracy of the information is without question. These two elements, the highly tangible human element of the characters and the accuracy of the historic elements make this book an excellent example of historical fiction. One element that was a bit confusing at the beginning was the shifting perspective between Sun-hee’s telling of the story and her brother Tae-yul’s telling. It was a bit jarring at first. After the first few changes, though, the flow became more established and it helped to fully realize the story. While this was a bit distracting in the beginning it did not adversely affect the overall appreciation I had for the story. This is one to recommend to all young people and would go especially well with a social studies class working through this particular time period or for additional reading to learn more about an element of history not often covered in the classroom. Park, Linda Sue. When My Name Was Keoko. New York, Yearling, 2002. Print.