Solo Lisa Reads: Good Enough by Paula Yoo



In high school, a Chinese-Canadian girl I knew proudly brought home a term report card with 98% in French, the highest mark out of anyone in her class. Far from impressed, her father said, "What happened to the other 2 percent?" While my own parents wouldn't have said something so gauche, neither would they have acknowledged my report card full of A's with anything more than a nod and a grimace, implying that this wasn't an extraordinary accomplishment but rather an expected one.

Thus I could definitely relate to the protagonist in Paula Yoo's semi-autobiographical novel, Good Enough. Patti Yoon is an SAT vocabulary-memorizing, homework-doing, violin-playing, standardized test-taking machine enduring the stress of senior year and the incredible pressure put on her by her Korean parents. As if worrying about getting into an Ivy League college and upping her SAT scores weren't enough, Patti finds herself increasingly attracted to a cute trumpet player in the all-state orchestra and questioning the path her parents have laid out for her. Should she pursue what makes her happy or what pleases her family, and can those two options ever intersect? Will she ever be "good enough"?

Yoo breathes life into the story with sharp observations and laugh-out-loud humour. Overachievers and survivors of Asian Parent Syndrome alike will be all too familiar with the minute details of Patti's life, including:
  • the hyper-competitive frenemies who are gunning for or envious of your top grade/band chair/college acceptance letter
  • the pressure to be a lawyer or doctor
  • the pressure to marry a lawyer or doctor
  • the no-partying, no-dating, all-studying lifestyle
  • the mixture of yearning and disdain directed at the pretty popular cheerleader type in high school
Overall, Good Enough is an enjoyable read and, for me at least, a reminder of the ups and downs of my own senior year.

P.S. For more on author Paula Yoo, check out this great interview I stumbled across.

25 comments

  1. I need a new book. I just got Lauren Conrad's and my head is hung in shame...so I need something REAL to read! I will definitely check this out!

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  2. Thanks for posting this! I can indirectly relate to this as I grew up in Hong Kong and many of the kids I knew going to the local schools had this exact problem. It was also shocking how many kids there committed suicide as a result of bad grades, because they couldn't bear facing their parents. It's actually a much more serious issue than many people think. Even those that end up in succesful careers still resent their parents for not allowing them to be just kids or teenagers and have an actual life. I'll definitely check out this book!

    P.S. I'd love to exchange links. I'm going to add your blog right now!

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  3. I may be a bit crazy when it comes to school, but even after nearly five years of almost straight As, my parents are still like, Yay, Good Job.

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  4. Yow, this sounds like a bit of a stressful read to me!

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  5. awww this sounds so relatable! thanks for the info!

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  6. interesting - will add it to my summer reads =)

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  7. awww.. great post.. you know what, my parents are acting the same everytime i got my report card.. it's always been great scores, but never do they feel more than okay.. :(

    xx

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  8. Interesting read, I think I would definitely be able to relate to this. I know if I went to school in Korea my life would have been a lot more stressful - something my mom liked to remind me when I felt myself becoming unmotivated. Even so, there is an incredible amount of pressure for young kids, even as we grow older it moves to different things like marriage, babies, career, etc. I think it just comes down to figuring out where your priorities are in life and what will make you happy.

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  9. sounds a bit like high school for me, though all the pressure was put on by myself! my parents always encouraged me to live a little. needless to say.. that's what college is for!

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  10. This book is our lives!! I used to hide my report cards as a child in my underwear drawer until my mom would go in there digging it out, and then bam, it was under the kitchen spotlight and the grilling about the missing percentages began. It's not all bad though, it teaches us to have high expectations for ourselves and to have a strong work ethic!

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  11. Sal, despite the serious content it's actually a really lighthearted read. Patti is smart, sassy, and funny, and if nothing else, the book has its share of creative recipes for Spam.

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  12. i must check out this book! thankfully, my parents weren't the "tyical asian parents". they were pretty blasé about grades and sat's and stuff (i know, so WEIRD) BUT i was the one that put so much pressure on myself. yeah, i'm a freak like that. anyway, i need to read this. haha and thank you for reviewing and sharing!

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  13. Hi, Lisa! Thank you so much for the link love. :o) I love GOOD ENOUGH. And Paula Yoo is my favorite young adult book writer. Woot woot!

    And yes, I could definitely relate to the character of Patti Yoon!!

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  14. Excellent review, darling! Will definitely check out this author!

    xoxox,
    CC

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  15. Oh Cath and I can also relate to this - even though we are only half asian! Our Mom (the cajun) got caught up in this mentality with my dad and their certainly was a lot of pressure in high school- college felt like a breeze afterwards. I definitely check that book out!

    ps- Cath's duo-tone top is from a local boutique called "Evolve." All the clothing is made at least partially from recycled clothing. Pretty sweet, huh?

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  16. Very interesting...I've actually heard a similar story from my college professor , who also comes from Asian background. No matter how great she did when she was a kid, her dad would start comparing her to other kids in school, or her own sisters, and be like" oh why can't you be as good as them" ...It's so schocking! I don't understand how a parent would say that to his own child , not realizing how much damage its going to do...it's just sad...but I guess...it's also a lesson for all of us, to not do the same to our future children, and instead acknowledge their little success stories, no matter how small and tell them how we are so proud of them.

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  17. Ugh, the pressure on everyone these days...

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  18. Thanks darling...always looking for smart, sassy, and funny reading in summer! Fab weekend!!

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  19. Sounds like a great book.

    While I must admit that I had the varsity cheer experience my frosh year, most of the other points apply to my life.

    Apparently I have a life plan of not dating until after college, but somehow getting married within about two to five years of dating. I'm rather perplexed on how my parents expect that all to work out.

    As for frenemies- my school is full of them. :(

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  20. I can definitely relate. I shall have to try and hunt down a copy, thank you so much for the heads up! Hope you're having a beautiful weekend :)

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  21. As if I need to be reminded of my own growing pains :)! Seriously, though, I think this is the kind of novel I'd enjoy reading - to laugh out loud and snicker along the all-too familiar Asian Parent Syndrome. Hopefully, I can keep in mind not to carry this syndrome over to my daughter (she's 2-1/2). The older I get, the more I realize that career satisfaction is important, but it isn't necessarily proportionate to financial status . Money is not the most important measure of success or happiness. Health, sanity, and love are.

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  22. might have to check this book out when i finish summer school

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  23. Hi Solo Lisa. Wow, thank you for your very kind review. I am honored! I also love your blog's content - I'm a Sephora addict and love stuff like Top Model, so I must bookmark your page now! :) Hope you are having a great weekend and thank you for your kind review. Sincerely, Paula

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  24. I can't wait to read this one. I swear... if they had invented a grade higher than A+ just to rank the quality of my work, my parents would not be impressed. But if my little sister got a B, they'd throw her a parade!

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