F is for Fabuloso

After two years living in Minnesota, Jin-Ha feels American, but the rest of her is definitely still Korean. Her father, a scholar in Korea, must work in an auto repair shop; while her mother stays at home, not wanting to be embarrassed by her poor English skills. Jin-Ha is starting to run into problems at school - teasing from several big hockey players, and poor grades in math. Things start to improve when one of the hockey players becomes her personal math tutor, and Jin-Ha and her parents reveal several secrets they had been keeping at Christmas that year. The author of this story is Marie G. Lee, a second generation Korean American, born and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota. It might be used for a supplemental reading list in a social studies unit about other cultures in the United States.