Okchundang Candy

I still remember that house filled with summer …

Growing up, Jung-soon spent every moment she could at her grandparents' house. Dressing up and watching cartoons. Dyeing each other's fingernails with crushed balsam petals. Getting the whole neighborhood together to sweep their streets. Falling asleep together … just the three of them, happy.

Grandfather was Grandmother's best and only friend. On every Jesa day, during the ancestral ritual, he would gently place the okchundang candy in her mouth, a big smile spreading across her face as it melted on her tongue.

But nothing ever stays the same, and as Jung-soon got older, so did her grandparents. She presents an achingly beautiful novel about the little joys and sharp sorrows that make up a life together as a family.

★ “This sweet, poignant tale deserves to be appreciated by all audiences, particularly adults with aging parents. Queue the (cathartic) ugly tears, though, and prepare with plenty of tissues. Heartbreakingly glorious … stupendously affecting.”—Booklist (starred)