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Echoes of the White Giraffe Kindle Edition
by Sook Nyul Choi (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
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In this sequel to Year of Impossible Goodbyes, the unforgettable heroine, Sookan, is now a refugee in Pusan, South Korea, where she strives to make her world normal again.
Reading age
12 years and up
Print length
146 pages
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Product description
About the Author
Born in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sook Nyul Choi spent two and a half years as a refugee in Pusan during the Korean War. She later immigrated to the United States to pursue her college education at Manhattanville College. She taught school in New York City for twenty years while she and her husband raised two daughters. Echoes of the White Giraffe is a sequel to Sook Nyul Choi's first novel, Year of Impossible Goodbyes, which won the Judy Lopez Children's Book Award. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Review
This inspirational work possesses a confidence and quiet triumph with universal reverberations. Publishers Weekly, Starred ----This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Product details
ASIN : B0085TK1XE
Publisher : Clarion Books (10 December 2007)
Language : English
File size : 744 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Not Enabled
Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
Print length : 146 pagesBest Sellers Rank: 1,355,529 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)204 in Children's Explore Asia Fiction
298 in Children's Explore Asia Books
1,110 in Exploring Asia for ChildrenCustomer Reviews:
4.8 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
About the author
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Gathering of Pearls
Sook Nyul Choi
4.7 out of 5 stars 10
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Melissa
5.0 out of 5 stars Historically based lit at its bestReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 26 May 2019
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As a sequel to Year of Impossible Goodbyes this book follows Sookan and her family through the hardships of one war after another. Great read for middle school aged kids who want to understand the struggles of Koreans post World War II. The Gathering of Pearls is the third book in this trilogy.
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Noelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Educational and fascinating account of how life under the occupation ...Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 13 April 2017
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Educational and fascinating account of how life under the occupation of the Japanese influences an entire family and their future.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!!!!Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 2 October 2022
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My nine year old loves this book, but it’s just as good for adults!
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S.A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast delivery... book as described.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 10 January 2018
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Fast delivery...book as described.
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That White Guy
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 6 September 2015
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Great book! Very inspiring!
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Year of Impossible Goodbyes #2
Echoes of the White Giraffe
Sook Nyul Choi
3.81
290 ratings35 reviews
In this sequel to Year of Impossible Goodbyes, the unforgettable heroine, Sookan, is now a refugee in Pusan, South Korea, where she strives to make her world normal again.
GenresHistorical FictionFictionYoung AdultHistoricalAsiaChildrensNovels
...more
144 pages, Paperback
Community Reviews
3.81
290 ratings35 reviews
Rachel
1,004 reviews · 42 followers
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May 27, 2008
A captivating sequel to my mind, which further's Sookan's journey into the uncertain South Korea, teen years, and attempts at creating normalcy. Always a pleasure to get a taste into another culture's history through the eyes of an intriguing character.
young-adult-fiction
4 likes
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Nancy Bielski
622 reviews · 4 followers
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August 22, 2009
I was so glad there was a follow up to Year of Impossible Goodbyes! It wasn't as good, but, as I said, it was nice to know what happened to the family.
ya-literature
3 likes
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Bertram E2
8 reviews
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December 12, 2018
The protaganist of this book, a little girl, is a refugee of the Korean war. She was living with her family in Seoul before the war started. Then one day, planes bombed the city of Seoul and they were forced to leave her house and move to another place. The family got seperated when they were trying to escape, the girl was with her brother and her mom, but her dad and her three brothers were nowhere to be seen, so they escaped by themselves to the city of Pusan, which is located in the Southern side of Korea. The book is similar to ALWTW in a way that both of the protaganist was a refugee of a civil war, and both of them got sperated from their families when they were trying to escape.
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Josie Derstine
1 review
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August 15, 2018
- The book is written in first person by the character Sookan, who is a 15-year-old refugee in South Korea. She and her family fled from her hometown of Seoul when it started to be bombed and invaded because of the war. She was separated from half of her family but had her mother and younger brother with her in their refugee camp in Pusan. Throughout the book, she describes the change of lifestyle she had to adapt to and her thoughts and feelings through these difficult times. In this new area she builds and attends a new schoolhouse, joins the church choir, helps take care of her family, and even meets a boy she is very interested in. In her culture, it is not allowed for girls and boys to even have a conversation without a certain reason to. However, her and Junho connected by singing together in choir and couldn't stay away from each other after that. He had come to find her house, left her secret letters, and even asked to take a photo in secret that they could both keep forever. Sookan was excited by the boy but she also knew that she would eventually be going back to Seoul, where her life would be completely different once again. She struggles to stay positive but finds hope in her new friend and the memories of a singing poet who used to sing for her village but had passed away. In the end of the book, the war is ended in an agreement to keep the north and south divided. Sookan and her family travel back home and find their old home mostly still standing. Her three other brothers reunited with them there, but they also received the news that their father was dead. After some time, Junho shows up at her house to see her. They talk about their plans, him becoming a priest and her going to study in the United States. After this, they don't get to see each other again before going their separate ways but they both know that they will be friends forever. Finally, Sookan passes the tests required to move to the United States and she packs up and gets on her flight. She is nervous and scared for the future, but she also knows that it is her calling and chooses to follow her heart.
- Culture in South Korea is different than American culture in multiple ways. People there appreciate school and education because it is not something everyone has access to, especially during war times. In America, many more people have the opportunity to go to school. Also, boys and girls are not permitted to visit each other unless they are engaged, and it is looked down upon for them to try to have conversations. In our culture, it is fine for everyone to talk and be friends. Finally, it is typical for the kids to take on the jobs of their parents in order for society to flow smoothly. In America, this sometimes happens but a lot of the time, individuals get to decide on their own career.
- Sook Nyul Choi wrote this book to portray that the people that endure tough war times are strong enough to hold their lives and traditions together. Throughout the book, various characters would face challenge after challenge and still have hope for the future. For example, when Sookan’s friend Bokhi received news that her parents had died, she was upset but continued to come to school to learn (page 42). In the end of the book, she was reunited with her cousins and lived with their family. Although her parents had passed, she eventually found happiness in taking care of her younger cousins.
- The theme of the text is to follow your heart. From the beginning to the end of the book, Sookan knew that she wanted to study enough that she could go to college in the United States. Even through the war had slowed down her path to education, she still continued to strive for her goal by helping build a new school then studying in it. By the end, she had passes her tests and was on her way to America (page 137).
- I would not recommend this text because the plot is not very interesting. The most tragic thing that happens to Sookan is her father dying and her secret relationship with Juhno. However, even these parts are written in a way that is not very intense or exciting. The book is pretty predictable overall, so I would not recommend it to anyone who enjoys plot twists and excitement (like most people do).
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JusticePirate
1,080 reviews · 17 followers
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March 14, 2020
2.5 stars
The first half of this book was so interesting to me and then it just sort of died into boringness. My sons, whom I read this to (who are 13 and 11) weren't into the book most of the time. What a bummer. I have to say, the title of the book's point did not really flow the whole way through at all, even though they tried their best to wrap it back around to it at the end there.
Sookan is a refugee within her own country of Korea. She is living in the mountains of Pusan and has to climb up and down the mountain for an hour a day in order to go to her choir, schooling, or into town. There is a voice who wakes them all in the mornings that brings comfort to her.
Sookan makes a couple friends and has an old friend from home she is able to talk to still, which she loves. One new friend is a young man who sings in choir with her. She misses her home but keeps thinking of the craziness of the war and when they left. The people of Pusan have no knowledge of what hardships they had to go through.
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Catherine Petrini
190 reviews · 4 followers
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February 10, 2019
This second book in Sook Nyul Choi 's semi-autobiographical trilogy is just as engrossing as the first. Sookan and her mother and younger brother have escaped North Korea and are living as refugees in the South, crowded into a plywood shack in a refugee settlement, desperate for word of her father and older brothers. Still, she sings in a choir, attends school, and spends time with friends, including a handsome boy who makes her want to ignore her society's strict rules about boys and girls keeping their distance from one another. But all along, she knows that this is only temporary; someday, the will be able to go home and be reunited with the rest of the family. Won't they? A compelling read about a place and time that may be unfamiliar to American readers.
historical-fiction novel ya-juvenile
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Xin Ru Toh
218 reviews · 4 followers
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November 17, 2019
I was initially thrown off by the fact that this sequel seemed to skip an entire segment of Sookan's life, as we last saw her entering Seoul, but this book opened with her as a refugee in Pusan. Nonetheless, I later realised that this was an intentional choice, as the book used flashbacks to her time in Seoul in order to draw parallels or contrasts. This book focused on the relationships Sookan formed with other refugees as well as the locals - in particular, a forbidden semi-romantic relationship that is frowned upon in Korea's conservative society. This was a muted story with not much happening in the way of a plot, but was still an interesting sequel good for young readers who are interested in historical fiction.
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Melissa Hua
4 reviews
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May 27, 2019
Historically based lit at its best
As a sequel to Year of Impossible Goodbyes this book follows Sookan and her family through the hardships of one war after another. Great read for middle school aged kids who want to understand the struggles of Koreans post World War II. The Gathering of Pearls is the third book in this trilogy.
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Alisha
794 reviews
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August 11, 2018
I enjoyed this book. It is a sequel. Reading about the Japanese occupation, then the Russian occupation, then the Korean War, all through the eyes of a young girl was moving. I cried during reading this book. So much hardship! And yet, they kept going, and things became normal, over and over.
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