Kimchi & Calamari - by Rose Kent (Paperback)

About the Book

A wide range of readers can relate to Joseph's story--those who are adopted, have mixed-race heritage, or those caught between their parents' culture and the culture where they live now.

From the Back Cover

There are worse things in the world than being adopted. But right now Joseph can't think of one.

Joseph Calderaro has a serious problem. His social studies teacher has given him an impossible assignment: an essay about ancestors. Ancestors, as in dead people you're related to.

Joseph was adopted, but the only sure thing he knows about his birth family is that they shipped his diapered butt on a plane from Korea and he landed in New Jersey. How do you write about a family you've never known and at the same time manage all the other hassles that middle school mixes in the pot? What Joseph writes leads to a catastrophe messier than a table of shattered dishes--and self-discovery that will change his life recipe forever. . . .

Review Quotes

"This will have special appeal for adoptees, but the questions about family roots that Kent raises are universal." - Booklist
"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." - KLIATT
"Joseph makes a funny, engaging tour guide to the world of transcultural adoption." - Kirkus Reviews
"Kent has done an excellent job of creating a likable protagonist whose confusion about his status is touching, and also funny. This is one of the best of the recent spate of books about adolescent adoptees facing quests to establish their identities." - School Library Journal
"Kent has done an excellent job...touching, and also funny." - School Library Journal
"...This first novel does justice to complex issues...Joseph makes a funny, engaging tour guide to the world of transcultural adoption." - Kirkus Reviews