Posted By: Elizabeth A Johnson
Posted On: May 13, 2019
I teach high school students. They have a fascination with North Korea. In Girl With Seven Names, Hyeonseo Lee, describes her upbringing. She describes her views of the world, her family, and her identity. After deciding to cross the border to China for a brief visit before her 18th birthday, she finds herself in a difficult situation. She is absolutely isolated and disconnected to her family and the home she knew. Through grit, determination to survive, love for her family, and sheer luck, she shares her remarkable story. I was completely captivated and eager to know how it all turns out. Although I may not have North Korean defectors in my classroom, I believe her story is one that many of my students can find relation to. This book would be a great conversation starter and personal story to peak student interest. It is also interesting how she reflects on her youth and takes notice to things her father taught her that she believed was a waste of her time. It turns out some of those family lessons would save her life. Maybe students can read this and understand that learning is a process and sometimes we don't use those lessons right away, but life has a way of testing us. Algebra might not be the most important subject in the world, but the skills a students gains may be of use later in life in unexpected ways. I highly recommend this book, could be used in an English or Social Studies class. It also could be valuable for a book club or community group.