  | Make a move, Sunny Park! Author: Kim, Jessica | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Sunny Park, a seventh-grade student at Ranchito Mesa Middle loves K-pop, hanging out with her cool grandma, dancing when no one is watching, snacking on shrimp chips, and being there for Bailey, her best friend since third grade. Bailey decides that she and Sunny should audition for the school dance team in a ploy to parent-trap Bailey's divorced mom and dad. Sunny makes the team and Bailey doesn't, and when Sunny reluctantly joins, it's the start of a painful and drawn-out parting of ways.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (06/15/23)
School Library Journal (12/02/23)
Booklist (07/23/23)
The Hornbook (00/09/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/23/2023 Seventh-grader Sunny Park is feeling pressure from many directions. Her mother urges her to get over her social anxiety. Sunny’s longtime best friend, Baily, who is having trouble adjusting to her parents’ divorce, demands Sunny’s companionship and support while disparaging her friend’s enthusiasm for Supreme Beat, a K-pop band. Baily presses Sunny to try out for the school dance team. Sunny is chosen, but Baily is not. After befriending two fellow dancers who love Supreme Beat, Sunny honors a commitment to them instead of attending her friend's mother’s wedding. Baily retaliates online with a video aimed at destroying Sunny’s reputation. Taking responsibility for her actions, Sunny brings this hurtful episode to a close and moves forward. Kim, a former teacher and the author of Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (2020), is equally adept in portraying the members of Sunny’s three-generation Korean American household and realistically recreating the shifting dynamics of middle-school friendships. Sunny’s first-person narrative becomes increasingly involving as characters and events create rising tension. The appealing jacket art will help this heartening story find its audience. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 12/02/2023 Gr 5–8—A relatable story for tweens that illustrates the struggle of ending a toxic friendship and the triumph of being unapologetically yourself. Sunny Park is a Korean American seventh grader who has learned to make herself small. While Sunny loves K-pop and dancing, her best friend Bailey does not, and she shames Sunny for her "immature" hobbies. Sunny is afraid to face Bailey's anger if she goes against her wishes or fails to be completely available to meet Bailey's needs. After joining the school's dance team and making new friends who are part of the same K-pop fandom, Sunny begins to work through her social anxiety and realizes how much Bailey has been holding her back. This slice-of-life, character-driven story is a quick read, mostly conveyed through dialogue. Sunny is an empathetic and complex character who grows from her mistakes. VERDICT A potential mirror for tweens who are struggling with their sense of self-worth and navigating the complexities of friendship. Recommended for middle school collections.—Maria Bohan - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
