This book sat on my TBR shelf for awhile because I am a celebrity book club snob. For some reason, I had it in my head that Reese Witherspoon’s book club would have a list of titles that were all fluffy stories. Finally, I ran out of things to read and started this one. TBH, I was quickly hooked, and stayed that way! 

When Margot Lee’s mother Mina (who still lives in the Koreatown (LA) apartment where they lived while Margot was growing up) doesn’t answer her phone calls, Margot gets worried. Margot and her BFF Miguel, who happens to be moving to the LA area, hit the road for a marathon drive from Seattle to LA.,  where Margot finds her mother dead on the living room floor.

Margot and Mina were very close, but in a superficial way: they talked on the phone frequently, but conversation wasn’t easy between an independent young woman and her single mother who lived as a war orphan before she escaped from Korea, came to the U.S., then overstayed her visa. Margot comes to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.

Alternating chapters  tell the story of Mina’s first year as an undocumented single woman living in LA and Margot’s search for the reason her mother died. At first, Mina was barely able to earn a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, but she fell in love with a coworker and the result of that led up to the events surrounding her death. 

I loved this beautifully written book, and think the issues of identity, family, secrets, immigration issues, and acceptance will make it a good choice for book clubs. Four stars.