East City Bookshop welcomes Ellen Oh with her new book Finding Junie Kim in conversation with Hena Khan and Linda Sue Park.

About Finding Junie Kim

For fans of Inside Out and Back Again and Amina’s Voice comes a breathtaking own voices story of family, hope, and survival from Ellen Oh, cofounder of We Need Diverse Books. When Junie Kim is faced with middle school racism, she learns of her grandparents’ extraordinary strength and finds her voice. Inspired by her mother’s real-life experiences during the Korean War, Oh’s characters are real and riveting.

“Both unique and universal, timely and timeless.” —Padma Venkatraman, Walter Award-winning author of The Bridge Home

"A moving story that highlights how to find courage in the face of unspeakable hardship." —Hena Khan, award-winning author of Amina’s Voice

"Junie discovers where she comes from and gains the courage to make a difference in the future." —Wendy Wan-Long Shang, award-winning author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu

Junie Kim just wants to fit in. So she keeps her head down and tries not to draw attention to herself. But when racist graffiti appears at her middle school, Junie must decide between staying silent or speaking out.

Then Junie’s history teacher assigns a project and Junie decides to interview her grandparents, learning about their unbelievable experiences as kids during the Korean War. Junie comes to admire her grandma’s fierce determination to overcome impossible odds, and her grandpa’s unwavering compassion during wartime. And as racism becomes more pervasive at school, Junie taps into the strength of her ancestors and finds the courage to do what is right.

Finding Junie Kim is a reminder that within all of us lies the power to overcome hardship and emerge triumphant.

About Ellen Oh

Ellen Oh is the president and founder of We Need Diverse Books and author of middle grade fantasy novel The Dragon Egg Princess, the Spirit Hunters series for middle grade, and the Prophecy trilogy (Prophecy, Warrior, and King) for young adults. Ellen is a former adjunct college instructor and lawyer with an insatiable curiosity for ancient Asian history. She also loves martial arts films, K-pop, K-dramas, and cooking shows, and she is a rabid fan of the Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra series. Originally from New York City, Ellen lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and three children and has yet to satisfy her quest for a decent bagel. You can visit her online at www.ellenoh.com.

About Hena Khan

Hena Khan is the award-winning author of the middle grade novels Amina's Voice, Amina's Song, More to the Story, and the Zayd Saleem: Chasing the Dream series, and a bunch of picture books like Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns and Under my Hijab. Hena lives in Maryland with her family but is lucky to get to travel a lot. Her favorite things are getting letters from kids, perfect cappuccinos, and reading in bed.

About Linda Sue Park

Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard and the NYTimes bestseller A Long Walk to Water. Her most recent title is The One You'd Save, a collection of linked poems. The daughter of Korean immigrants, Linda Sue serves on the advisory boards of We Need Diverse Books, SCBWI, and the Rabbit hOle children’s literature museum project. She also created the website kiBooka.com, a listing of kids’ books by Korean Americans & Korean diaspora. Linda Sue knows very well that she will never be able to read every great book ever written, but she keeps trying anyway. Visit her website at www.lindasuepark.com; follow her on Twitter @LindaSuePark.