Summer 2004 Review:

Imagine that you, the reader, are a young Korean boy, named Jin-Han, living in the United States with your Uhmmah (mother) and Ahpbah (father). Imagine your entire childhood spilled out like ink into the pages of a book. You can go back and reread your life at any time. Did you imagine this? Well, if you're having some trouble, you should read the book Finding My Hat. Its a well-written story of Jin-Hans life, from his earliest memory to his teenage years. The end of the book transforms it into quite a tear-jerker, because of a death I feel wasn't in any way necessary to this storyline, but all in all the book kept me reading, and I felt like I was there with Jin-Han and his family. I could picture his surroundings as they were described, which is unusual for me, as I usually place objects I read about into a familiar room. I could envision every movement in this story, and I enjoyed doing so, too. 
I'd recommend this book to any of my friends my age, or my younger or older friends, give or take a year. The material should be intriguing to most middle school children, like myself. Some of the Korean words in the book are left undefined for you to use context clues to figure out their meanings. Some of the food words kept me guessing, so I just imagined the sort of foods I see at Asian restaurants. 
This book had a great writing style by the author, John Son. I feel myself thinking, This boy is a talented writer as if it is the character himself writing his own adventure as it plays out. Some parts of the book even made me laugh, and I don't laugh easily. The book has a certain seriousness, however, that an experienced reader will have the knowledge to respect. After reading Finding My Hat, you'll imagine a Korean boy's childhood in the U.S. in a completely different manner. 

~ Emma Shebat, Grade 7, Canfield Village Middle School