The Fold

Quiet and lovely- I never really understood the desire for "The Fold Surgery" before I read this book. An Na's story of a girl who is given the opportunity to change a major part of herself could have been written about _any_ girl in the world, but it is about a Korean teenager, Joyce Park.
Joyce's older sister, Helen, was the shining star of their high school(in looks, popularity, and intelligence- the HS Troika!), and Joyce wants nothing more than to be noticed for herself, not as Helen's little sister. Her plan for a summer makeover is incited by her crush on another one of her HS's "Beautiful Ones," John Ford Kang; she wants to be the kind of girl HE notices. Well, he notices her, all right- he just thinks she's someone else show more completely.
I remember that same sort of desperate longing to be just like everyone else in High School. I even tried changing my makeup and hair and clothes; after getting mocked for trying to fit in, I gave up.
Joyce doesn't give up- Fate has dropped an Opportunity in her path. Her Aunt offers her a gift of Blepharoplasty- to have her undergo san-ga-pu-rhee (the Korean word for blepharoplasty) in order to create a more "open" or "Western" eye- "The Fold" of the title.
Will Joyce undergo the painful surgery to change the way she is perceived by others, or will she continue on the infinitely more painful path of creating inner beauty? show less

As junior year ends, Joyce is determined to have a transformative summer so she can catch the eye of hot John Ford Kang for senior year. She's never been able to step out of the shadow of her older and prettier sister Helen. When Gomo, a revered elder friend of the family, offers Joyce a gift of eyelid surgery, Joyce knows this is an incredible opportunity for her transformation. But the idea of pain and the recovery time has her on the fence while she seeks answers. Self-image, self-acceptance and assessing the social standards of beauty are all themes here, and although the story felt a little lightweight to me, it can be a positive tool for teen readers grappling with their own self-images. The concept of eyelid surgery may be new to show more readers, and Joyce's visit to the surgeon is informative, raising questions about the procedures we go through to improve appearances, whether it's braces, acne medicine, or plastic surgery. show less

Joyce Park has always been overshadowed by her beautiful, smart older sister Helen, but this is the summer that's going to change. Joyce has a plan. First, she's going to get her crush John Ford Kang to sign her yearbook. She'll be effortlessly gorgeous and witty and sign something intriguing in his. Then she'll spend the whole summer improving herself. She'll wash her face every day and figure out some way to slim down her fat knees. When they come back for their senior year, John will remember her and fall instantly in love.

But things don't go the way Joyce plans. In fact, her plan fails miserably. And then something extraordinary happens. Joyce's aunt wins the lottery and buys gifts for all her family members. Joyce's gift is that show more her aunt will pay for her to get plastic surgery on her eyes to create the double folded eyelids, the "good eyes". Joyce had never considered the surgery before, but she finds herself drawn to it. Could it make her beautiful? Could it help her get John Ford Kang's attention? Could she finally feel confident about herself?

I liked this story, although I think I liked some of the secondary characters more than the main character Joyce. Joyce really seemed to only care about how she looked and whether she could get John to notice her. She didn't really seem to have much else going on. I found Joyce's sister Helen, so distant and depressed since her best friend moved away, and Joyce's friend Gina, determined to get into an ivy league school even though her family has no way to pay for it, much more intriguing. That said, it was still an interesting book and kept me turning the pages. And it made me keep looking in the mirror at my own eyelids. show less

Joyce is a Korean-American who struggles with the typical issues of teens: insecurity, a huge crush on a seemingly unreachable guy, and sibling rivalry. Her aunt offers her the opportunity to have plastic surgery, giving her Asian eyes a fold that will widen them. This book is a good one for exploring the issues surrounding teenage plastic surgery.

Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

What would you do to be beautiful?

Joyce, the main character of An Na's new book, THE FOLD, is facing that question. Joyce, who is Korean, is going to be a senior in high school in the fall. Her Aunt Gomo has won some money and has scheduled a surgery to put a fold in Joyce's eyes.

I wasn't sure what a fold was but I am lucky to have a Mongolian exchange student living with me and she was able to explain. Solongo, my exchange student, said that she was lucky to have natural lines in her eyelids, but many of her aunts and cousins do not, and they are very concerned about not having them. It was very interesting and made the book more accessible for me.

Joyce has a big sister, Helen, who seems show more to be perfect, and Joyce feels that she is living in her shadow. Joyce also has a giant crush on a boy in school named John Ford Kang. John doesn't even know that Joyce exists. Joyce thinks that maybe, if she gets the fold, then John will realize that she is there -- but she really doesn't want to go through the surgery. The book then deals with this subject from the points of view of many other different characters.

I loved this book. I enjoyed the main characters, Joyce's family is funny, loving, and very open-minded. Gomo is demanding, but upon hearing her back story she seems to be someone with a very big heart. I enjoyed the scenes at the Korean church and how everyone knew everyone else's business. This book educated me a little about Korean-American culture. I was surprised to hear how they want to look European, while I always think that they are beautiful!

Thank you, An Na, for the wonderful story. I am now going to read your other books. show less

The Fold – An Na, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2008.

Joyce and Gina are best friends ending their junior year of high school. They are determined to make this summer one of transformation. They want to look better, prettier, to stand out and be noticed. When they go back to school in the fall, they want people to say Wow. Who wouldn’t want that?
What steps are you willing to take to be “pretty”? Joyce’s Aunt Gomo offers her the chance of a lifetime. She will pay for Joyce to get her eyes done. Get her eyes done? Will that work? Is that all she needs to be beautiful? Joyce has a decision to make. Will the surgery get her what she wants?
The Fold follows Joyce on her quest for popularity. She has to decide how far she wants show more to go to get what she wants.
Although this story has a great premise, it is predictable and slow-moving. Joyce’s obsession with John Ford Kang is unrealistic based on what he writes in her yearbook. Her loathing of her sister Helen is selfish and has no basis. Knowing what we do about Gomo – leads us to the conclusion long before we get there. show less

Summary: The Fold by An Na is the story of Joyce Park and her struggle with self image, love, and family. The last day of her junior year Joyce finds the courage to ask her mega-crush, John Ford Kang, to sign her yearbook. He does sign, but he signs it too the wrong girl, causing Joyce to question herself and if she will ever be beautiful enough to be noticed by John Ford Kang. Already being the middle child with the sister, Helen, which she is always being compared too and never lives up to that expectation, and the boy, Joyce has trouble trying to keep her head above water at home. Just when her questioning begins, her plastic-surgery-crazed aunt hits the lottery and decides to help each member of the family better themselves. show more Offering Joyce the chance to get The Fold, a surgery to alter her Asian eyes, Joyce is then sent into a tailspin trying to decide if she wants the surgery or not. Helen can’t believe she would even consider it, her best friend Gina can’t believe she wouldn’t jump at the chance for free surgery, and Joyce hates pain. But the only thing she knows is that she wants John Ford Kang to notice her, to be her boyfriend, no matter what it takes to do so. The question becomes, would she consider surgery without knowing for sure that he will notice her? Or will she make him notice her for who she is?

Review: It was a little hard to get into at first, but after the first couple of chapters it was a pretty good story. It’s something I wish I had read in high school, because almost every high school-er goes through the “would he notice me if I was prettier?” kind of situation. The stories all coincide with one another and eventually all make sense; there is the semi-shocking, but kind of obvious twist with her sister Helen, Gina’s part in everything, the boy next door (literally), the boy of her dreams (there was always that one guy), and the mean girl (we all knew those). And yes, every time they talked about John Ford Kang, they either said the entire name or called him JFK, neither of which I particularly cared for. The ending seemed a bit unsatisfying, at least to me, but overall the story was a good one to tell. Although I did never figure out exactly with “The Fold” was, or how it changed someone’s face, but that’s just me (and yes, I did check Wikipedia, but I still have no idea the difference)! show less