With echoes of Marijke Nijkamp and Jason Reynolds, acclaimed author Marie Myung-ok Lee’s stunning YA homage to Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men tells the tragic story of a Korean-American teen who fights to protect herself and her neurodivergent older brother from a hostile community.
Inspired by the unabashed social realism of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Hurt You moves beyond the quasi-fraternal bond of the unforgettable George and Lenny to explore an actual sibling bond of Georgia, sister to Leonardo da Vinci Daewoo Kim, who has an unnamed neurological disability that resembles autism. The race, disability, and class themes spin themselves out not on a ranch but in a suburban high school where the Kim family has moved from the city for better services for Leonardo.
Suddenly unmoored from the familiar, including the support of her Aunt Clara, Georgia struggles to find her place in an Asian-majority school where whites still dominate culturally, and she finds herself also feeling not Korean “enough.” Her one pole star is her commitment to her brother, a loyalty that finds itself at odds with her immigrant parents’ dreams for her, and an ableist, racist society that may bring violence to Leonardo despite her efforts to keep him safe.
Steinbeck was fearless about bringing his stories to realistic, not tidy, conclusions that reflected actual society in the 1930s. Of Mice and Men’s Lenny was to some eyes a monster and a killer; in the 2020s, Hurt You reflects statistics that a person with intellectual disability is much more likely to be a victim, not a perpetrator, of violent crimes, despite enduring stereotypes that they are the ones who should be feared.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Inspired by the unabashed social realism of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Hurt You moves beyond the quasi-fraternal bond of the unforgettable George and Lenny to explore an actual sibling bond of Georgia, sister to Leonardo da Vinci Daewoo Kim, who has an unnamed neurological disability that resembles autism. The race, disability, and class themes spin themselves out not on a ranch but in a suburban high school where the Kim family has moved from the city for better services for Leonardo.
Suddenly unmoored from the familiar, including the support of her Aunt Clara, Georgia struggles to find her place in an Asian-majority school where whites still dominate culturally, and she finds herself also feeling not Korean “enough.” Her one pole star is her commitment to her brother, a loyalty that finds itself at odds with her immigrant parents’ dreams for her, and an ableist, racist society that may bring violence to Leonardo despite her efforts to keep him safe.
Steinbeck was fearless about bringing his stories to realistic, not tidy, conclusions that reflected actual society in the 1930s. Of Mice and Men’s Lenny was to some eyes a monster and a killer; in the 2020s, Hurt You reflects statistics that a person with intellectual disability is much more likely to be a victim, not a perpetrator, of violent crimes, despite enduring stereotypes that they are the ones who should be feared.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Praise for this book
"Hurt You is a big, brave story of 'otherness' juxtaposed with 'extreme otherness, ' and friendship under fire. The issues, in their sheer number and intensity, could have been taken over the top by a less accomplished storyteller, but Marie Myung-Ok Lee's protagonist, Georgia Kim, tells it seamlessly. If you're not swept away by Georgia's tough and completely honest loyalty, read the book again." - Chris Crutcher
"Marie Myung-Ok Lee wonderfully recasts Of Mice and Men for a new America. Lee is a brave and insightful storyteller, and her words of pain -- and hope -- seep into our souls." - Ed Lin
"I learned so much from these pages. Marie Myung-Ok Lee's timely and critical work recasts Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men as Korean American siblings and pushes much-needed conversations on neurodiversity, racism, and what families -- and communities -- owe to each other." - Patricia Park
"Hurt You reads like something written by a master's hand, a powerful and heartbreaking story that resonates with the force of love and legend." - Jeff Zentner
"Marie Myung-Ok Lee wonderfully recasts Of Mice and Men for a new America. Lee is a brave and insightful storyteller, and her words of pain -- and hope -- seep into our souls." - Ed Lin
"I learned so much from these pages. Marie Myung-Ok Lee's timely and critical work recasts Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men as Korean American siblings and pushes much-needed conversations on neurodiversity, racism, and what families -- and communities -- owe to each other." - Patricia Park
"Hurt You reads like something written by a master's hand, a powerful and heartbreaking story that resonates with the force of love and legend." - Jeff Zentner
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