Finding My Voice

Finding My Voice is a young adult novel by Marie Myung-Ok Lee (writing as Marie G. Lee). First published in 1992, Finding My Voice was republished in 2001 by Harper Trophy,[1] and is scheduled to be reissued in 2021 by Soho Teen.[2] Finding My Voice is generally considered to be the "first teen novel released by a major publisher with a contemporary Asian American protagonist by an Asian American author".[3] An excerpt from Finding My Voice was included in the anthology Prejudice: stories about hate, ignorance, revelation, and transformation[4][5] and in Literary themes for students: the American dream: examining diverse literature to understand and compare universal themes.[6]

Finding My Voice
AuthorMarie Lee
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult
PublisherHarper Collins
Publication date
1992
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback) and ebook
Pages165
ISBN9780064472456 (hardback)

Lee's novel Saying Goodbye is the sequel to Finding My Voice.[2]

Plot

Finding My Voice is a frank presentation of the issue of racism through the experiences of Ellen Sung, a high school senior, who is the daughter of Korean immigrants and is attracted to Tomper, a white classmate.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews described it as "Honestly rendered, and never didactic, the story allows readers first to flinch in recognition and then to look into their own hearts."[7] Publishers Weekly's review said "If Lee's story line is somewhat familiar, her portrayal of her heroine is unusually well balanced."[8]

Monica Chiu states "Lee's novel exemplifies that some authority cannot be subverted by young adults, and that students are disadvantaged in fighting a system that is more powerful than they are."[9] Eve Becker, writing in the Chicago Tribune, says the book helps readers understand what it is like to be an outsider, but calls it "sort of predictable".[10]

Honors

The American Library Association named Finding My Voice the Best Book for Reluctant Readers in 1992.[11] In 1993, Finding My Voice received the Young People's Literature Award from the Friends of American Writers.[12] The International Reading Association placed it on their 1994 Young Adults' Choices list.[13] In 1997, it was on the American Library Association list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults.[14]

References
  1. Formats and Editions of Finding my voice. [WorldCat.org]. OCLC 671809976.
  2. Bussel, Rachel Kramer. "Popular Asian-American Young Adult Novel 'Finding My Voice' To Be Republished in 2021". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  3. Moss, Gabrielle (2018). Paperback crush: the totally radical history of '80s and '90s teen fiction. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books. pp. 29–30, 36. ISBN 9781683690788. OCLC 1022200901.
  4. Muse, Daphne (1995). Prejudice: stories about hate, ignorance, revelation, and transformation. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 9780786800247. OCLC 31331199.
  5. "PREJUDICE: Stories About Hate, Ignorance, Revelation, and Transformation". Kirkus Reviews (10). 15 May 1995. ISSN 1948-7428.
  6. "Literary themes for students; the American dream; examining diverse literature to understand and compare universal themes; 2v. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  7. FINDING MY VOICE by Marie G. Lee | Kirkus Reviews.
  8. "Finding My Voice". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  9. Chiu, Monica (Apr 2006). "The Cultural Production of Asian American Young Adults in the Novels of Marie G. Lee, An Na, and Doris Jones Yang". The Lion and the Unicorn. 30 (2): 168–184. ISSN 0147-2593.
  10. Becker, Eve (6 Sep 1994). "BOOKS". Chicago Tribune.
  11. A Study Guide for Marie G. Lee's "Finding My Voice". Gale, Cengage Learning. 2016. ISBN 9781410345943.
  12. "Friends of American Writers Chicago Young People's Literature Awards". fawchicago.org. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  13. "Young Adults' Choices for 1994". Journal of Reading. 38 (3): 219–225. 1994. ISSN 0022-4103. JSTOR 40033306.
  14. "ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults – Book awards". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
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