Book Review

Book Review : The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim

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Hey friends! Today I’m bringing you a review for the book The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim.

*Disclaimer : I received a copy of this ebook for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Below you’ll find the description of the book provided by NetGalley, followed by my personal review and star rating. Enjoy! This book is available for purchase now, and was a Reese’s Book Club Pick!

Description :

Margot Lee’s mother, Mina, isn’t returning her calls. It’s a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, LA, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous invisible strings that held together her single mother’s life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.

Interwoven with Margot’s present-day search is Mina’s story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she’s barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.

Told through the intimate lens of a mother and daughter who have struggled all their lives to understand each other, The Last Story of Mina Lee is a powerful and exquisitely woven debut novel that explores identity, family, secrets, and what it truly means to belong. 

My Review :

I absolutely adored this book. The way that we get snippets of the past and present kept me flipping pages. I had to find out how the story wrapped up…and try to concentrate over the sound of my rumbling stomach – the food that ties in sounds incredible!

Mina’s story is so heartbreaking. She has struggled at pretty much every turn of her life, and ultimately it takes her death for her daughter, Margot to really appreciate all the hard work, and culture that her mother tried to instill in her since her birth.

Margot fought against her mom every step of the way, embracing her American roots and pretty much completely shunning her Korean heritage.

Eventually though, she does begin to grasp her history and where she comes from – and it’s beautiful to see.

This book does not disappoint. It has been on my TBR for a while, and I’m so happy that I had the opportunity to read and review it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️