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Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters
Happy Birthday or Whatever Track Suits Kim Chee and Other Family Disasters
Author: Annie Choi
Meet Annie Choi. She fears cable cars and refuses to eat anything that casts a shadow. Her brother thinks chicken is a vegetable. Her father occasionally starts fires at work. Her mother collects Jesus trading cards and wears plaid like it's a job. No matter how hard Annie and her family try to understand one another, they often come up hilariou...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780061132223
ISBN-10: 0061132225
Publication Date: 4/1/2007
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 35

3.8 stars, based on 35 ratings
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

berries674 avatar reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 92 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Adorable, hilarious, light and quirky memior!!! Loved it!! Choi's humor is fresh, sarcastic and totally relatable!!! I liked her humor even more than Jen Lancaster. Her mother is a riot!! I love how she writes her broken English-Korean into the dialogue. Highly recommended!
reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 391 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
HYSTERICAL Love the way she writes Her mom is a trip
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boygirlparty avatar reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 3 more book reviews
I really love Annie's writing style; she feels like someone I know. And her mom feels like someone I *want* to know.

I loved how Annie's constant eye rolling at her parents' behavior was palpable in the mere retelling of events! At the same time, her parents are so awesomely confident and self-assured, each of her mom's quick retorts had me laughing as hard as Annie's "can-you-believe-this" set ups.

I really related to a lot of the author's embarrassment about her family (which comes from a place of love, obviously, not ridicule!) I went through the exact same thing with my mom when I wanted to wear thrift store clothes, became vegetarian, etc. and I really appreciate that Annie doesn't try to put vaseline on the lens regarding her own behavior -- at times she sounds whiny and intolerant (ie, on the Korean hiking trip) but that just makes a funny situation sound funnier. Favorite line of the book: "No pants, I have no pants." I also really admired how Annie found a way to talk about her culture (and write in her parent's broken dialect) without resorting to reinforcing cultural stereotypes.

A great read!
short-angry14 avatar reviewed Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters on + 79 more book reviews
This book is completely hilarious! I could totally hear Annie Choi's mom in my head for days after reading this book. Highly recommended for a great laugh.


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