PIPPA PARK CRUSH AT FIRST SIGHT

Pippa is in over her head and head over heels in the second installment of the Pippa Park series.

Pippa, a working-class Korean American 12-year-old, lives with her adult sister, Mina, and Mina’s husband in Massachusetts; her mother returned to Korea due to visa issues. Pippa has settled into the private middle school she attends on a basketball scholarship. She is friendly with the Royals, the group of popular girls, most of whom are wealthy and White, but she isn’t quite one of them—yet. When the venue for the Royals’ Christmas party falls through, Pippa impulsively volunteers to host it. What the other girls don’t know is just how tiny Pippa’s apartment is and that her family can’t afford glitzy decorations or catering—even Christmas presents are outside their budget. Obstacles abound, one of the Royals seems to have it in for her, her best friends are drifting away from her, and she develops feelings for two different boys, one White and one Korean American. It’s too much, and Pippa makes one disastrous decision after another until it all comes to a head a few days before the party. Luckily Pippa learns some valuable lessons in friendship and teamwork just in time to make it a very merry Christmas after all. This is solid, classic middle-school drama fare that benefits from the interesting ways Pippa’s family background is developed.

An engaging variation on a familiar theme.