Nowhere Home (Paperback)

Cameron Appelbaum

ISBN 13: 9798880262601

Published by Independently Published, 2024

About this Item

Paperback. Thirteen-year-old Ji-Min moves to a small, rural town in Ohio from Seoul, South Korea to live with his aunt and her family. He brings with him a heavy load of emotional luggage that's too much for him to deal with: feelings of guilt over his mother's death, abandonment from his father, and a sense of not belonging anywhere. He is accepted with open arms by his family in America, but that's not the case when he starts school, where he experiences discrimination right off the bat. Kids lob racist slurs at him and bully him. Even the school administrators, with good intentions, stereotype him and make no real effort to get to know about him and his culture. Back at home, before his mother's death, he had the ideal life as a popular kid and star baseball player, and now he finds himself in a foreign land at a new middle school, where no one looks like him and he's treated like a weirdo and an outsider. As he tries to maneuver through the social world at school, something wonderful is happening at his new home. His aunt, cousin, and uncle serve as a healing agent in many ways, providing him with a sense of belonging and family, which he hasn't felt since the loss of his mother. They help him grieve and help release him from the guilt and pain he's been feeling about his role in her death. It's through the common language of baseball and the support of his "American" family that he begins finding his way home. As kids begin to see what an exceptional ball player Jin-Min is, they're able to peel back some of the prejudices they've formed and dialogue can begin. The teen must also learn how to reconcile his broken relationship with his father, who isn't able to handle his mother's death and rejects his son in his own grief. And the idea of home changes for Ji-Min when he is empowered to find himself and his voice again This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9798880262601

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Nowhere Home (Paperback)
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798880262601
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Thirteen-year-old Ji-Min moves to a small, rural town in Ohio from Seoul, South Korea to live with his aunt and her family. He brings with him a heavy load of emotional luggage that’s too much for him to deal with: feelings of guilt over his mother’s death, abandonment from his father, and a sense of not belonging anywhere.

He is accepted with open arms by his family in America, but that’s not the case when he starts school, where he experiences discrimination right off the bat. Kids lob racist slurs at him and bully him. Even the school administrators, with good intentions,
stereotype him and make no real effort to get to know about him and his culture.

Back at home, before his mother’s death, he had the ideal life as a popular kid and star baseball player, and now he finds himself in a foreign land at a new middle school, where no one looks like him and he’s treated like a weirdo and an outsider.

As he tries to maneuver through the social world at school, something wonderful is happening at his new home. His aunt, cousin, and uncle serve as a healing agent in many ways, providing him with a sense of belonging and family, which he hasn’t felt since the loss of his mother. They help him grieve and help release him from the guilt and pain he’s been feeling about his role in her death.

It’s through the common language of baseball and the support of his “American” family that he begins finding his way home. As kids begin to see what an exceptional ball player Jin-Min is, they’re able to peel back some of the prejudices they’ve formed and dialogue can begin.

The teen must also learn how to reconcile his broken relationship with his father, who isn’t able to handle his mother's death and rejects his son in his own grief. And the idea of home changes for Ji-Min when he is empowered to find himself and his voice again