Gathering of Pearls - Hardcover

From the days of her childhood, Sook Nyul Choi wanted to be a writer. The first stories, poems, and articles she wrote were in Korean, her first language. Later, after teaching for many years in New York City schools, she began to write in English. Sook Nyul Choi writes both for children and for young adults. Her own experiences in Korea help to shape her books. One of her main goals is to help young Americans learn about the culture and history of Korea. Today, Sook Nyul Choi is a full-time writer. She also visits schools to speak to students. Once, when a student wanted to know which of her books the author liked best, she said, "All of my books are very important to me. They are like fingers on a hand. I don't like one more than another." Sook Nyul Choi’s books have received numerous honors including an ALA Notable Book, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the Judy Lopez Book Award of the National Women’s Book Association.

Grade 7-12-This novel completes the autobiographical trilogy begun in Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Dell, 1993) and continued in Echoes of the White Giraffe (Houghton, 1993). Here the story begins with Sookan's arrival in White Plains, New York, in 1954 to start college, where she is the only Korean student at a small Catholic school for women. She confronts all the problems of adjustment normal to freshmen, plus the added burdens of absorbing a foreign culture and earning extra money. It is easy to fall in love with this gentle girl. She combines a delicate sweetness with a fierce determination to fulfill her dreams. She works hard to produce her own blend of cultures and values-she delights in the new, and tempers it with the traditional. She also attempts to maintain a correspondence with family members struggling to rebuild their lives in post-war Korea, but they see her as a deserter. Only her mother understands her yearnings and conflicts. The soul-searching quality of Choi's prose is at least as important to this beautiful novel as the plot line. It is not essential to have read the previous books to appreciate this one, but its full impact will be diminished for those unfamiliar with Sookan's experiences growing up in her war-torn homeland. On the other hand, those who responded to the suspense, hardship, and emotional tensions of the first two novels may be disappointed by the quiet, introspective mood of this intimately rendered narrative. However, readers who share in this emotional journey with Sookan will grow along with her in wisdom.
Margaret Cole, Oceanside Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.