| Finding My Voice | |
| Author: | Marie Myung-Ok Lee |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Young adult |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Pub Date: | 1992 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback and paperback) and ebook |
| Pages: | 172 |
| Isbn: | 9780064472456 |
| Isbn Note: | (hardback) |
| Italic Title: | yes |
Finding My Voice is a young adult novel by Marie Myung-Ok Lee (writing as Marie G. Lee). First published in 1992, Finding My Voice was republished in 2001 by Harper Trophy,[1] and was reissued in 2021.[2] Finding My Voice is generally considered to be the "first teen novel released by a major publisher with a contemporary Asian American protagonist by an Asian American author".[3] An excerpt from Finding My Voice was included in the anthology Prejudice: stories about hate, ignorance, revelation, and transformation[4] [5] and in Literary themes for students: the American dream: examining diverse literature to understand and compare universal themes.[6]
Lee's novel Saying Goodbye is the sequel to Finding My Voice.[7]
Finding My Voice is a frank presentation of the issue of racism through the experiences of Ellen Sung, a high school senior, who is the daughter of Korean immigrants and is attracted to Tomper, a white classmate.
Kirkus Reviews described it as "Honestly rendered, and never didactic, the story allows readers first to flinch in recognition and then to look into their own hearts."[8] Publishers Weeklys review said "If Lee's story line is somewhat familiar, her portrayal of her heroine is unusually well balanced."[9]
Monica Chiu states "Lee's novel exemplifies that some authority cannot be subverted by young adults, and that students are disadvantaged in fighting a system that is more powerful than they are."[10] Eve Becker, writing in the Chicago Tribune, says the book helps readers understand what it is like to be an outsider, but calls it "sort of predictable".[11]
The American Library Association named Finding My Voice the Best Book for Reluctant Readers in 1992.[12] In 1993, Finding My Voice received the Young People's Literature Award from the Friends of American Writers.[13] The International Reading Association placed it on their 1994 Young Adults' Choices list.[14] In 1997, it was on the American Library Association list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults.[15]