Rating: WARTY!
This was on clearance and I can see why! I picked it up because it looked like an interesting way to teach children about cultural differences and acceptance, but it turned out o be exactly the opposite - it was a classic example of American imperialism at its worst, assimilating and subduing cultures, and being patronizing and condescending towards people who aren't "lucky enough" to be born American, and I refuse to recommend this or the series it begins. I had no idea that it was really a religious tract disguised as a children's story.
Abby and Cary Hunter are expecting new sisters - but their mom isn't pregnant. These sisters are coming from "Korea". Why Korea, I have no idea. Were this story written in the late fifties I could see some sort of logic to that, but it was written in the mid-nineties. I would have thought there were other nations which had more of a problem with parentless children than "Korea". And why "Korea" - as opposed to North Korea or South Korea? It's like the author didn't know the nation was split, or didn't care.
There's evidently been a mix-up, and instead of two girls showing up, two boys show up. For me this would have called into question the competence of this entire adoption operation, but Abby and Carly's parents take the boys in anyway, fully expecting to kick then out in three days when the girls arrive! Never once is any consideration given to what the boys are going through, Indeed, the boys seem neither tired nor dejected, neither sad nor nervous, and they speak pretty much fluent English. No problems here!
Except that the girls don't take to the boys, who are named Sung Jin and Joon Koo. They wanted sisters. Seong would have sounded more realistic than Sung and Joon rather than Choo, but let's not get into pronunciations - they're rather flexible anyway to we in the west. This isn't even the problem (not yet). The problem is that these boys are suddenly expected to abandon their entire heritage and become generic Americans, with no regard whatsoever for the religion they were raised in, or for their culture. Mom starts cooking barrels of rice every meal, like Koreans eat nothing but, and the boys are immediately assimilated. This struck me as odd at best, and insulting at worst.
Seriously, why even try to emulate their traditional foods, if you're going to trample all over the rest of their heritage? Their own religion never is even considered. They're immediately assimilated into sentimental Christianity and prayed over as they're preyed on. It's automatically assumed that they must be given western names. Joon Koo is shown to be fully in favor of ditching the name he's had for years, like it's a disease which can only be cured with a good dose of Americanism! He wants to be called "Jimmy".
Later the girls discuss Sung Jin, asking if he will always have two names, and Abby settles it by saying, "Only until he gets an American name" - not even a western name, but an American one! It's like their real names are an embarrassment - something only an orphan would have. When someone asks how the boys are doing, they're told that the boys are learning to pray for their food - not to thank farmers, but to thank the girls' invisible, non-interactive god for it - and that one of the boys is reminding this god that he's eating American rice now - yes, italicized American! - because "Korean" rice evidently sucks!
I couldn't believe I was reading this crap in a novel written in the mid-nineties. To me it illustrated the very worst that organized, blinkered religion has to offer, and it was nauseating to read. I flatly refuse to recommend any book like this.
