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The All-American by Joe Milan Jr.

The All-American

A Novel

by Joe Milan Jr.

  • Critics' Consensus (15):
  • Readers' Rating (25):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2023, 304 pages
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There are currently 25 reader reviews for The All-American
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Rosemary C. (Golden, CO)

Intense and Absorbing
A gifted writer tells a compelling story, funny at times as well as heart-rending. His YA novel creates a very human character to explore Asian American identity and adoption and immigration nightmares. I was immediately pulled into the intense and absorbing story told from the point of view of a young man.I think this would be an interesting novel for book groups to read and discuss.
Arden A. (Longboat Key, FL)

How Deep are the Roots
There are many books that as you read, you kind of have a sense of where it is all going. Not so with this first novel by a very talented wirier. Bucky is a Korean born high school football player whose perhaps unrealistic goal of college and professional ball are dashed when he suddenly finds himself deported to the country of his birth, which despite his appearance, he finds foreign to him and whose people speak a language he cannot. It is also a country that requires its young men to serve in its military, and the fact that he cannot even pronounce his Korean name is a forewarning of the high hurdles he mustmore
Junko W. (Pahoa, HI)

Bravo!
Bravo, Joe Milan Jr! I loved The All-American. This is the story of a young Korean adoptee's strange and wonderful journey from an American high schooler, Bucky, to an adult Beyonghak Yi. From Bucky's dream of playing college football to the reality of being thrown into a society where he does not even speak the language, we follow Bucky through many trials and tribulations as he negotiates his new life in Korea. I hate to say anymore except enjoy!
Melissa S. (Rowland, NC)

No Land To Call Home
Talk about a novel that delivers the unexpected! Joe Milan Jr.'s The All American proves itself hefty enough to hold its own amongst many accomplished American emersion authors. I found myself gripped from the first chapter. Bucky, Sheryl, Bobby, and Uncle Rick set the tone of American poverty, grime, and grit while the slums of Korea and poor military ocean villages continue that tone throughout the rest of the novel. Under all the grit and dirtiness lies a young man who thought he knew his path in life as an American and then one day, in a flash and completely as a result of someone else's poor decisions,more
Sandra Z. (Silverdale, WA)

The All American
The first sentence from Chapter One of The All American begins with a description of a mobile home park buried in Lion Mountain. But Lion Mountain is only the beginning of an unforgettable, suspense-filled, descriptive journey that had me anxiously sitting on the edge of my chair. I genuinely enjoyed the entire book. I am so impressed with how the author included meaningful characters throughout the entire book, and he never let the reader forget the character's position, nor what that character meant to him. I would definitely recommend this book to be read and to be discussed in book clubs. Discussing the bookmore
Louise E. (Ocean View, DE)

An Absorbing, Enjoyable Read
The All-American is an interesting and enjoyable Young Adult book. The story is about Bucky, a high school student, who was deported to Korea, a country he doesn't know as he moved to the United States as a baby. His experience in the United States seemed realistic, not sure about his experience in the Korean military though. This is current events in the United States. My niece's friend was deported without his family to the country of his birth and had a similar experience.
Bucky was a resourceful guy who in a roundabout way got his wish to play football. The story was well written, absorbing, and from amore
Jodi S. (Goldens Bridge, NY)

All American?
Bucky is a high school running back from poor, rural Washington state. The All American does a wonderful job of showing us his family's struggles and understanding how Bucky feels like football is the only way out. When he is sent back to Korea, a land he was born in but does not remember, all he wants to do is get back to the US and play football. But, as time goes on, Bucky learns to appreciate what Korea has to offer and the life he has there. Yes, Bucky was sometimes an unsympathetic character when he acted like a rash teenager, but he made the best of a truly terrible situation. The author really made themore
Helia R. (Goodlettsville, TN)

A wild and deeply satisfying rollercoaster ride
This story pulled me in from beginning to end. Like many poor kids in ramshackle towns with ramshackle families, Bucky dreams of escape by way of a college football scholarship. As setbacks, misfortunes, and misunderstandings pile up, he finds himself deported from the US to the country of his birth parents (Korea), a place as alien to him as the language. Often heartbreaking, more often heart-pounding and hilarious, this overcoming-the-odds tale of family, friendship, identity, perseverance, and belonging is a wild and deeply satisfying ride. All thumbs.

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