Hello, I Love You

Gr 9 Up—When family tragedy strikes, Grace, the daughter of a famous music producer, flees Nashville and escapes to the furthest place she can find, an English high school in South Korea. She goes knowing no one, knowing nothing of the language or culture. Providentially her roommate, Sophie speaks perfect English, having grown up in America. Sophie takes Grace under her wing, introducing her to her famous twin brother, Jason, and the rest of his K-Pop band. Sparks fly and though they start out hating each other, Jason and Grace find themselves unable to escape their mutual attraction. Their relationship is tempestuous and becomes the focus of the story as both Grace and Jason must work through their own family dramas and fame to find the courage to be together. Grace's boy drama and exploration of foreign culture will appeal to some readers, and Fans of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Dutton, 2010) may be attracted to the story. By setting the tale in Korea, Stout has an opportunity to open a window into Korean culture for her readers; sadly, the opportunity is often missed. The book too closely follows Grace's first person cultural ignorance, and an unfortunate a number of stereotypes are perpetuated.