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There are currently 24 member reviews
for The All-American
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Dianne Y. (Stuart, FL)
Fast paced, griping story
The All American by Joe Milan Jr. is a fast-paced story with a lot of action centered on Bucky, a Korean, American male teenage adoptee. Short chapters keep the story moving along, making it a page turner. The author writes using an authentic voice capturing how a teenager would think, act and talk.
Bucky, the main character, is a high school running back and there are a lot of football images and many analogies between Bucky's reality and the game of football throughout the novel.
The author does an excellent job of vividly describing Bucky's life in a small rural town in the State of Washington with his adoptive mom and family. The description of his life in Korea, after being deported because of a problem with his adoption status, is well drawn. The reader can readily grasp and sympathize with how difficult it would be to navigate in a strange country where you know no one and are unable to understand the language.
While I enjoyed the book, I am a little hesitation to give it a full-throated recommendation for two reasons. The book does have twist and turns along the way, but at times the reader may not be sure where the story is going. However, it does come together by the end. Also, readers who have no knowledge nor interest in football may find all the football imagery and analogies tedious.
Notwithstanding these concerns, I believe The All American could make for a good book club discussion focusing on any number of themes presented in the novel.
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Vicky S. (Salinas, CA)
The All-American
I'd like to give the book 4.5 stars. The beginning pulled me in though there were some spots in the book that were a bit slower and the last part I could not put down. Some parts may seem unbelievable but people we meet can be wacky and the situations even wackier. I appreciated the protagonist comparing his situations to football tactics, training and formations. I also enjoyed the exposure to different cultures and the idea of fitting in or not fitting in. I welcomed the variety of characters and their idiosyncrasies. I would recommend this book for book clubs as there are a number of situations and individuals to discuss.
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Terrie J. (Eagan, MN)
A Book for All
The All-American was a very interesting book. It had humor, tragedy, friendship, family relationships and pride all rolled into one. This story of a teenage boy begins in America and takes you to Korea. It has so many feelings in it that you really feel like you are living the story through Bucky. The book is well written and spanned different cultures. I learned some things about the Korean culture that I didn't know. The emotions in this book are heartfelt (happiness, sadness, fear, pride, hope, love, hate). It was a quick read, because it was hard to put down. I highly recommend this book!
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Melissa C. (Saint Johns, FL)
A Wild Ride from the U.S. to South Korea
What a great book - and so timely - about a teenager ("Bucky") living in Washington state who is deported to his birth country of South Korea. While this book is a very easy read, the subject matter is serious and intense. Yet, the author manages to infuse humor into Bucky's experiences, helping to alleviate some of the hardships he must endure.
I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone interested in an immigrant's story told from the perspective of a teenager who knows little about his birth country.
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Connie, FL
Finding Self and Family the Hard Way
The lead character, Bucky, (and many more monikers as his experiences continued) takes the reader on a forced whirlwind trip to South Korea where he was born but knows not a word of Korean. He is a flawed young man who gains the reader's interest, if not sympathy, early on. He has a chip on his shoulder and limited life experience and finds himself deep in the kimchi barrel page after page after page. A good (4) coming of age story for older teens, young adults. The story dragged in places, especially once he was in the military and pages could be cut. This book wouldn't be my book club's cup of tea, which consists of retired women; but I will be telling them about how surprisingly easy it is for a young person to lose control once out of his own country as evidenced by some of his serious predicaments, which I think were fiction imitating life. There is sex, foul language, bawdy humor.
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Paula W. (East Wenatchee, WA)
The All American
Bucky a young Korean American high school senior is arrested. He is considered an immigrant and is deported from Washington State the only home he knows. He is put on a plane to South Korea. He knows nothing of South Korea, no knowledge of the land or the language. His attorney says think of it as a short vacation! But vacation it is not! His goal is to return to the United States, attend college and play football. The author takes Bucky and us on a wild ride. It is amazing what he goes through trying to return home. It is a fast read, hard to put down. A well written book. I know book clubs will have a lot to discuss.
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Beverly J. (Hoover, AL)
A Jaunt of an Adventure
All Bucky has ever wanted to do is play college football, even if it means he will be a walk-on on a community college team. But, just as this dream looks possible, an unknown reality snatches the ball right out of his hands. Bucky is unknowingly an undocumented immigrant according to misfiled documents and is being deported back to his birthplace, South Korea and being immersed into a culture he knows nothing about and a language he does not read or write.
In this blunt story with no-nonsense consequences, Bucky has many hurdles and faces each as he just needs one more play to make this nightmare go away, even as he questions, who am I and what is my past and more importantly what is my future.
Milan does a great job holding the tension in the storyline and as a reader several times I was holding my breath as Bucky is so close to escaping his situations and then Milan reels me back in with the next challenge.
Bucky's personality kept me grounded in this story as one absurdity after another at times felt like one too many, but unfortunately for many this is reality, just change the character name and the birth country.
