FINDING JUNIE KIM

Narrator Greta Jung fills her voice with the intense anger and anguish of Junie Kim. Junie feels like she's drowning in the racist environment of her suburban Maryland middle school. As if the bully on her bus weren't enough, the school is repeatedly vandalized with slurs that anger and frighten her diverse group of friends, especially when their concerns are met with shouts of "fake news" by fellow students. Jung crafts distinct voices for Junie's friends and family as Junie slips into clinical depression. For a school assignment, Junie interviews her grandparents about their childhood during the Korean War, and their grisly, heartbreaking stories compose half of the audiobook. Jung and the author pull no punches on the terrors of racism, depression, and war. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2021]