I was drawn to this book because I found it on a list of books that honor an Asian voice. While the protagonist is White, secondary character Sun Joo has admirable characteristics and Patti Kim, the author, is Korean.

On to the story line — Mickey is down on her luck in many ways: her family is living paycheck-to-paycheck, her father has just left them, her only friend moved away and she is bullied by the popular crowd. But Mickey is bold, speaks her mind, and above all else, is funny! She has a heart of gold and when she is nice to the new girl, Sun Joo, she gets a handmade friendship bracelet in return. This new friendship is what both girls desperately need, but this is middle school and drama comes on the scene in the form of the popular girls trying to steal Sun Joo from her.

Readers will love Mickey, whose personality is larger than life. With her heart in the right place, she is there to save everyone’s day, even those who are not always kind to her.

In a letter to her friend, Mickey writes “What does it mean to succeed? Is it getting good grades? Is it getting money? Is it being popular? Is it having fun? Is it having friends? Is it getting applause? Is it about helping people? ….I think it’s a mix of all those things. One thing I do know for sure is that it’s about getting back up and not staying down when you do fall.”