Troublemaker by John Cho with Sarah Suk

★★★★★

It wasn't intentional, but my library just happened to fill my hold request so that I read this book over April 29, the 30th anniversary of the LA riots.

The 1992 riots in Los Angeles serve as the backdrop for this story, which unfolds at the intersection of immigration, child-of-immigrant identity, racial injustice, and gun violence. On top of all that, the main character Jordan is trying to navigate strained relationships with both his father and his friend. Jordan's life is complicated, as many children's lives are. In that way, it reminded me of the book Blended, which also has themes of race and gun violence, and also openly addresses the many issues children face in real life. I appreciate these books for providing a framework for kids to process complex issues in age-appropriate ways.

I'm not Korean, but I'm an American-born child of Asian immigrants, and the Park family dynamics were familiar; the portrayal of Korean American experiences felt authentic.

Some parents might like to know that though the title may allude to John Lewis's quote about getting into "good trouble", there is quite a lot of actual "troublemaking" in this book, from cheating in school to stealing from family to hitchhiking with strangers! Every such action is presented with clear disapproval, and it's obvious that the decisions to engage in these activities were poor and reckless. I think the right vs. wrong morality is evident, so kids aren't likely to want to emulate Jordan and Mike. In fact, I actually think it's solid representation to show that yes, sometimes kids make bad decisions. Sometimes those decision come from a place of weakness or curiosity, sometimes they come from a place of desperation or wanting to do good, but no matter the motivation, bad decisions do not make for a "bad kid", and I think that's an important message for all kids to understand.

While Jordan is trying to unpack a lot of big and meaningful questions, the events of the book actually take him on an exciting adventure, making for an engaging and entertaining read even if you're not particularly interested in the social justice issues.

There is no Korean glossary, but there is an Author's Note at the back of the book. I think I might even recommend reading that first, to help frame and set the context for the book.