 | Okchundang candy Author: Go, Jung-soon | |
| Price: $16.49 | ||
Summary:
Grandfather was Grandmother's best and only friend. On every Jesa day, during the ancestral ritual, he would gently place the okchundang candy in her mouth, a big smile spreading across her face as it melted on her tongue. But nothing ever stays the same, and as Jung-soon got older, so did her grandparents. With breathtaking colored pencil and watercolor art, she presents an achingly beautiful graphic novel about the little joys and sharp sorrows that make up a life together as a family.
Reviews:
Booklist (+) (12/01/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/01/2025 *Starred Review* Although Go’s English-language debut—thoughtfully translated by Park—is officially recommended for readers ages 10 to 14 years old, this sweet, poignant tale deserves to be appreciated by all audiences, particularly adults with aging parents. Queue the (cathartic) ugly tears, though, and prepare with plenty of tissues. The everlasting love story belongs to Mr. Go Jadong and Ms. Kim Soonim, war orphans who married and had three children, the eldest of whom is Go’s father. Go spent every school break with her grandparents, laughingly upholding house rules for toilet paper (“two squares for pee, three for poop”), appreciating silliness (“my grandfather sang me my cartoon theme songs . . . not even close to the original ones on TV”), basking in a “house filled with summer lingering” (power fans, ripe watermelon, afternoon naps). “I loved watching my grandparents being so sweet to each other because my own parents were so busy fighting back home.” Grandpa was Grandma’s only friend, but Grandpa cared for all—especially those disrespected or dismissed by judgmental strangers. But the joy fades when Grandpa dies; Grandma loses her voice and over two long, lonely decades, gradually shrinks away. Their posthumous reunion near book’s end proves heartbreakingly glorious. Go gently illustrates her stupendously affecting narrative in mostly black-and-white, with and without panels, with soft overlays of mostly pastels, making the few pages with bright colors utterly spectacular. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.
