Carolyn Mott Ford (Children's Literature)
Boys and girls alike will enjoy this fast-paced story. Although it is basically the tale of a young Korean boy who was adopted by a family of Italian descent and his search for his birth mother, the book will be enjoyed by kids of all backgrounds. The problems faced by Joseph are universal enough in their effect as to allow identification with him by most young readers. When Joseph must write an essay for class about his ancestors, he concocts a tale about an Olympic champion being his grandfather. That lie backfires and Joseph’s embarrassment and the reactions of his mother and father are almost overwhelming. While he is dealing with all this, Joseph also is trying to get a date for the middle-school dance and he meets a Korean family whom he slowly comes to regard as friends. His thwarted attempts to find his birth mother are realistic, as is his relationship with his parents. There may be a slight overemphasis on class and moving up from blue-collar jobs or businesses, but that is a minor issue. Kids will enjoy Joseph’s exploits as he maneuvers his way through eighth grade. 2007, HarperCollins, $15.99. Ages 8 to 12.

Denise Daley (Children's Literature)
Joseph considers himself an ethnic sandwich. His birth parents are Korean but as a baby, an Italian-American family adopted him. Lately, Joseph has been experiencing inner struggles because he wants to better understand his Korean heritage but he does not want to upset his caring, hardworking adoptive parents. His eighth grade teacher unknowingly brings this issue to the forefront when she assigns the class a heritage essay that requires students to trace their past. Joseph enlists the help of his friend Nash and, while attempting to contact his birth family in Korea, Joseph writes a creative paper inventing someone who is a relative to an Olympic gold medal winner. When the truth comes out, Joseph’s teacher and even some of his friends view his creativity as deceitful. Fortunately, the entire situation provides Joseph with a learning experience that helps him to better understand and appreciate his unique position. This book has an honest and light-hearted approach to situations that all teenagers struggle with, especially those with diverse cultural or ethnic backgrounds. 2007, HarperCollins, $15.99. Ages 10 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008)
Fourteen-year-old Joseph Calderaro is having an identity crisis thanks to a school assignment to write about his ancestors. Adopted as a baby from Korea, Joseph is interested in writing about his Korean ancestors, even though he worries about hurting his Italian American parents’ feelings. A growing friendship with a Korean student at his school gives Joseph the opportunity to learn about Korean traditions and customs but also reminds him how little he knows about his background and culture. After a promising lead from an online inquiry leaves Joseph certain he’s tracked down at least one member of his birth family, he discovers that both family and heritage are things that cannot be defined by blood alone. Rose Kent’s story is one with substance but refreshingly buoyant at the same time. Joseph is able to explore big questions about who he is from a place of security in the midst of a realistic (and therefore not perfect), loving family. CCBC Category: Fiction for Children. 2007, HarperCollins, 220 pages, $15.99. Ages 10-13.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 7))
When his eighth-grade class is assigned to write about their ancestors' journey to America, Joseph Calderaro has a problem: Who are his ancestors? Joseph was adopted from Korea. His parents are raising him in their Italian-American tradition. But though his favorite foods are calamari and eggplant parmesan, Joseph wonders about the sturdy Korean kid he sees in the mirror. His parents have no information to share. When Joseph befriends Yongsu, whose Korean-American family has just moved into the neighborhood, Yongsu's mother treats Joseph with wary suspicion. His attempts to uncover his Korean roots frustrated, Joseph makes some up, passing off a famous Korean athlete as his grandfather. After his essay is chosen for submission to a national contest, Joseph must come clean. Despite its lighthearted tone, this first novel does justice to complex issues, from anxious adoptive parents to birth-parent searches. Joseph makes a funny, engaging tour guide to the world of transcultural adoption. Seasoned with familiar angst-provoking adolescent preoccupations—dating and embarrassing parents—Joseph's story makes for an entertaining fictional stew. 2007, HarperCollins, 240p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 13. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, March 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 2))
The author has two children who were adopted from Korea and she has two biological children who are part Korean, so this, her first novel, about a boy born in Korea, adopted by an Italian American couple and raised in America, is about a subject she knows well. Joseph is the narrator. He has just turned 14 years old, and he is in the 8th grade. He plays the drums, he loves his little sisters and his parents, and he is smart and funny with plenty of friends. Joseph was born in Korea and according to his parents his life started when he was delivered as an infant into the arms of his adoptive parents at the airport when he first arrived in America. The catalyst that starts Joseph thinking is an essay assignment: students are to write about their family tree. His parents think of course he should write about his adoptive family’s history--immigrants from Italy. When a Korean family moves to their town and Joseph gets to know them, he realizes he knows nothing about Korea, not even how to pronounce his Korean name. His parents don’t understand his confusion. A good friend uses the Internet to find out if there are any Koreans searching for adopted children who are trying to connect with Joseph. In the process, Joseph starts to understand more about Korea; and his essay finally is about a boy who is part this and part that, who likes kimchi and calamari. With good-natured humor and a healthy dose of curiosity, Joseph starts on his way to understanding himself and the combination of influences that have made him who he is and who he will become. His father, who at first is threatened by Joseph’s need to know about the Korean part of himself, comes full circle by the end of the story, which ends as the two of them are planning a trip to Korea with a tour group for families and adoptees wanting to visit their birthplace. Since the story is so positive, while dealing honestly with the issues of international adoption, it would be most helpful for middle-school students like Joseph who are searching for information to understand who they are. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2007, HarperCollins, 222p., $15.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 10))
A school assignment about his ancestry leaves fourteen-year-old Joseph with questions: why doesn’t his Italian-American family talk to him about his adoption from Korea, where did he come from there, and what does his Korean origin mean? Uncomfortable with taking the matter directly to his parents, he seeks his birth mother on the Internet and garners information from a new Korean classmate, but he makes the situation worse for himself by inventing a heritage for his ancestry project. The fallout brings the subject out into the open at home, though, and Joseph begins to explore his multilayered legacy. This is a situation that many kids will recognize, and the book is particularly perceptive about the tendency of an adopted kid to get put in the position of caretaker to his parents, protecting them from his own history even as he’s hoping for more access to it. The contrast between Joseph and his Korean buddy Yongsu helps make the point about the different ways one can be influenced by one’s country of origin and country of residence. The book never really faces the either/or myth head-on, though, and it tends to be more programmatic than effective; the writing’s pedestrian tendencies underscore the sometimes hackneyed characterization. This therefore lacks the nuance of Marie G. Lee’s similarly themed If It Hadn’t Been for Yoon Jun (BCCB 3/93), but this is an undertreated topic, and readers thinking about issues of heritage and legacy may find this an unintimidating way to ease into the subject. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, HarperCollins, 240p.; Reviewed from galleys, $16.89 and $15.99. Grades 5-7.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2007)
An eighth-grade genealogy assignment pushes Korean-born Joseph to question his identity as an adopted son of Italian Americans. Joseph's quick wit, honesty, and curiosity make him a winning character. Kent's food and music imagery and description are at first funny then become tedious, but the balance she achieves among Joseph's family life, school experiences, and friendships is effective. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, HarperCollins, 220pp, 15.99, 16.89. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.