Good Enough (edition 2008)

Khadija- 10th

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Patti tries to balance schoolwork, band, and boys while trying to please her Korean parents by getting into an Ivy League school.

A cute Asian-American coming of age story, where the girl who thought she should aspire to be the PKD (Perfect Korean Daughter) learns that there's a lot more to life (and to the people around her) than scoring 2300 on your SATs. Loved the music jokes, the recipes, and lead character Patti's great sense of humour about her self and her life. Definitely a young adult novel I'd recommend, even if you've never been forced to be the perfect korean daughter. ( )

Good Enough starts off with some rather hilarious band-related jokes, primarily bashing viola players (but you can probably replace it with any other instruments). I live off corny jokes, and the fact that Patti basically introduces herself with a joke really sat well with me. My favorite one from the book:

From page 1
You're lost in the woods and meet a pink elephant and a good viola player. Who do you ask for directions? The pink elephant - a good viola player is just a figment of your imagination.

The jokes only ran for the first few chapters, and then they fizzled out. However, Patti still managed to inject some humor every so often as she went through the trials and tribulations of being an Asian-American high school senior.

The great thing about Good Enough was how realistic I found Patti to be, although I had not been musically-talented or as pressured as she had been. Based off my own experiences with Asian parents, I simply imagined Patti's experiences to be ten times more extreme. Boys were a big NO for both Patti and me, and I could relate to her pining after that cute trumpet player and hoped that he would be The One who would totally get her. I thank my parents for not pressuring me to go to HARVARDYALEPRINCETON, but still they wanted me to get a good useful education and not something that may not sustain me well.

I would not go as far to say Good Enough was a "cute" book. Funny at times, but it still carried a hint of thoughtfulness as Patti tried to sort through what her parents wanted and what she may want. Good Enough was the "serious" cousin of skunk girl with less focus on boys and more focus on figuring out what one wants to do versus what one is expected to do.

The ending can be seen as both satisfying and disappointing. Patti eventually makes her decision on what she wants to do, but the cute trumpet player storyline warrants more discussion. However, I suppose things all work out for Patti and the cute trumpet player - just not the way I would have assumed. Meh, I guess this is more true to what happens in real life. But it doesn't mean I have to particularly like it! ( )