By Jenny Heifun Wills. Toronto: Penguin Random House, 2019.
Next time, try giving it a beginning, middle and end.
I'll never understand why some things are so popular.
This book from a few years back is the memoir of a Korean adoptee re-connecting (or not) with her birth family. While I appreciated the perspective she brings and that she clearly showed the fact these type of reunions aren't always the pleasant things many would like them to be, there was not much else to like about this book.
For one thing, the narrative jumped around too much. The book starts with Wills arriving in Korea as an adult for the first time at the beginning of her quest, talks about her early life in chapter two and continues the story through the adoption of her own Korean child in the third and final chapter. Don't be totally linear but at least relate things somewhat chronologically.
For another thing, the author comes off at least as blaming all her problems and past mishaps and misdeeds on being adopted by white parents. While I agree all adoptions should be open unless there's an extremely valid reason for one not to be, you can't use the tactic of one factor explains everything to account for you're life being real screwed up in so many ways.
Along with woke language of course comes a lack of actual solutions to the problems discussed. What, if anything, is being done regarding adoption of Korean children and the alienation that causes. How about perhaps even proposing a few solutions and maybe putting them at the end of your next, properly structured book.
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