Frances Park

Ginger Park

Based on the life of the authors' mother, this is the story of her escape from North Korea.

My Freedom Trip

Yangsook Choi

Jangmi finds it hard to say goodbye to relatives and friends, plus the food, customs, and beautiful things of her home in Korea, when her family moves to America.

Good-bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong

Marcy idolizes her older sister, Cleo, but when Cleo returns home from college Marcy senses a self-destructiveness about her she hadn't noticed before

When My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon

When her brother-in-law dies in a freak accident, Marcy Moon rushes to offer support and solace to her older sister Cleo. Their reunion opens the floodgates of family memory, and Marcy is forced to re-examine her childhood hero-worship for her older, glamorous sister, as well as the cultural conflicts that arise from being first generation children of Korean immigrants. Like Amy Tan, Frances Park conjures up her characters, and the clash of old amd new cultures, with a faultless sense for where absurdity shades into heartbreak, and with perfect pitch for a whole range of wonderful voices. And there's a delightfully satisfying twist in the tail of the story, as we discover that our narrator - now running from her past in Indian territory in the Nevada desert - is less than reliable, and that her own weird ideas and easy sentiment are not the author's.

When My Sister was Cleopatra Moon

Based on a true story, The Royal Bee is an elegantly written tale that pays tribute to a young boy's courage and strength of character. Song-ho is a young Korean boy destined by birth to a life of poverty. Barred from going to school--only the sons of wealthy families could attend--he dreams of learning to read and write. Then one day he hears the sound of a school bell and follows it deep into the valley. There, the school master turns him away, but Song-ho's boldness and determination earn him a chance at gaining an education nevertheless. Dramatically illustrated with richly textured oil paintings, the story offers glimpses of daily life in Korea a century ago--for both the rich and the poor.

The Royal Bee

The story of a young girl's escape from North Korea, based on the life of the authors' mother.

When their beloved father died suddenly, authors Frances and Ginger Park (To Swim Across the World) comforted themselves with chocolates and mused on opening a confectionery shop with their small inheritance. The idea felt right to them--"a shop our late father would've loved just by virtue of its contents: chocolates and daughters"--and despite their inexperience, they decide to go for it, with their mother as silent partner. In 1984, on the day f their Washington, D.C., store, named Chocolate Chocolate, opened, they already were beset with difficulties, from crumbling walls and cracking floors installed by a shoddy, shady contractor to trying to conjure strategies to gain attention and sales. Bit by bit, their clientele grows; the sisters write fondly and often humorously of the recurring characters in their new, chocolate-centric lives, from favorite customers to the kooky sales rep who becomes an employee and dear friend. They easily move between musings on friendship and family, all the while offering inspiration and valuable lessons for budding entrepreneurs. The recipe for their house truffle rounds out this appealing, engaging memoir that's sure to appeal to a range of readers, chocoholics or not. --Publishers Weekly

The True Story of Two Sisters, Tons of Treats, and the Little Shop That Could

Chocolate Chocolate

Mike's grandmother, who has moved from Korea to live with Mike and his family in the United States, inspires him to suggest an idea to help their floundering food cart business.

Frances Park

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