Girls for Breakfast

by David Yoo

Nick Park loves girls.

Drumstick legs, cherry-colored lips, dumpling cheeks . . . everything about them he wants to eat up. But he’s dateless and has been since he discovered girls in the third grade, and he’s convinced himself that this is solely based on the fact that he’s the only Korean American teenager in Renfield—the fifth richest (and WASPiest) town in Connecticut. In Nick’s mind, he sticks out like a banana in a wheat field.

And now it’s time for him to figure it out once and for all. Is it all in his head or are his suspicions that his heritage is keeping him from a triumphant boob fest true?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Asian American

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 2005

About the author

David Yoo's first collection of essays, The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever (Grand Central) is out June 19, 2012. He is a graduate from Skidmore College with an MA from the University of Colorado-Boulder. His first novel, Girls For Breakfast (Delacorte) was a Booksense Pick, an NYPL Books For the Teen Age selection, and a Reading Rants Top Ten Books for Teens choice. He lives in Massachusetts, where he regularly plays adult soccer and Sega Genesis and teaches fiction at the Gotham Writers' Workshop.

Reviews

[geraly · Rating 4 out of 5]

before i write anything else, i just wanted to share this from the book that almost made me blow chai tea latte out my nose: "...now that's what i call true love. doinking each other's brains out even as the pyroclastic flow vaporizes their genitalia...."

here's the synopsis from the author's website:

"On his graduation day from Renfield High, Nick Park is determined to figure out if his heritage is the cause of his abysmal luck with girls.

Beginning the novel as an unreliable and unknowingly comic narrator, Nick Park struggles to fit into Renfield--an alarmingly homogeneous Connecticut suburb as he grapples with his own ambivalence towards his ethnicity and his neurotic love for girls. Girls For Breakfast is a uniquely funny, unforgettable meditation on love and race, family and friendship,acceptance and isolation.

From killing a hamster in 3rd grade in front of his entire class, to contracting illicit photos of his 8th grade crush, to repeatedly lying about being a 4th degree black belt, Nick Park is a character that you will remember long after you close this book."

zomg... this book was HILARIOUS to read... and for some reason, i kept seeing a young ken leung in my head. and although my love/hate relationship with nick was unnerving and frustrating at times, i have to give david yoo a standing ovation for making me care about and worry over nick park anyway... :)

before i read the book, i thought i'd relate to the character and story for sure because like nick, i grew up in the 80s/90s as well (the all too familiar pop culture references were also a bonus), my high school years were spent in a predominantly white suburb of chicago (my mother was afraid of the chicago schools) and i was one of a (ok, maybe two) handful(s) of asian american students in my class.

unlike nick, my feeling of "otherness" didn't stem from my being asian american - although that blossomed as well - my self segregation came from my facial malformation. when nick realizes his friends notice another asian student as someone "abnormal" or "other", he realizes they think similarly of him. and after all his madcap adventures, in the end, nick's epiphany is that although he may have been judged and bullied unfairly because of his race - his classmates also judged him because he was a completely boneheaded (and slightly pervy) teenager.

it reminded me of a similar situation, when friends of mine commented on another friend being aloof and conceited. i was shocked that they could think that of someone who was very friendly/nice to me and also painfully shy. and i realized that it was possible that i didn't have nearly as many friends because i was really shy too and would rather avoid the risk of rejection completely - not necessarily because i looked the way i did (do).

the same feelings of "non-belonging" (to his non-asian classmates and his korean church's youth club) that nick felt resonated with me as well. i have also felt like i have a foot in the doorway of my asian american identity and another in the doorway of my filipino roots - and conflicted with both. often, i still feel this way... it makes me even more aware of what porkchop and paloma might feel someday or maybe even now and maybe just too young to articulate it...

someday, i hope i stop being so shy, to stop segregating myself from the world, to stop trying to "normalize" myself for the comfort of others and to stop assuming things about other people... i almost always assume (from past experiences) that most people won't talk to me because they don't think a) i speak english b) we have anything in common because we're not the same skin color, age or economic/social class. c) they can stop staring at me.

anyway, this turned out to be a very pensive and kinda depressing review - i rambled. apologies... :) girls for breakfast brought back a lot of high school memories (and nightmares) of who i was, the boys and girls i knew and loved and those others who i quietly disliked...

all in all, the book is painfully (think brazilian wax) honest, so funny (your body will revolt) and often times, an emotional freakshow. i'm not sure i'd be too excited to hear that paloma or porkchop picked it up in high school as there's a LOT of sexual innuendo and sex described in the book - but that's just me... and they're only 8 and 5 now... ask me again in a few years... :) but, for the random adult especially if you grew up in the 80s/90s - i highly recommend it for an easy and hysterical summer read. :)

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm supposed to like the hero of this young adult novel, while being amused and relating to his many flaws. Unfortunately, the author spent all his time showing the flaws, and forgot to give me anything to like. Couldn't finish it.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was seriously, 100% laugh out loud funny. I have this habit of carrying my books around with me and reading them while I'm walking around on campus, to and from classes, but I couldn't do this with Girls for Breakfast because I was making a fool of myself laughing too hard. Here's an excerpt to give you a taste: "What confused me about involuntarily visualizing Miss Hamilton with no clothes on was that she wasn’t even pretty. Her nose was pointy and her frizzy hair always looked sweaty, but I couldn’t stop picturing her naked. I also couldn’t stop picturing Martha the bus driver naked every time I stepped on the bus. I was a perverted Superman... I glared at Miss Hamilton’s breasts and shook a fist at her bare butt as she faced the chalkboard. I knew in my heart I’d beat this disease."

Seriously, this was funny. Plus, this comes after he's made up this whole new form of martial arts because his friends in WASP-y Connecticut think that because he's Asian he must be a kung fu master. Upon reading this book I realized that writing truly funny stuff is equally as challenging as writing dramatic stuff. Eliciting a visceral reaction of laughter is just as note-worthy as getting a reader to cry.

I gave the book an A, couldn't quite pull off an A+ because the story line drags at parts, in my opinion (granted the jokes keep coming), but you know where Nick Park is going to end up, but it just takes him so long to get there. It was a fast and easy read (and his parents are hilarious). I recommend this book to people that can appreciate sophomoric humor.

[Melody · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gah. Unlikable, self-loathing hero, pointless story, cardboard supporting characters.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh dude, David Yoo is a funny, funny guy. I could not stop giggling out loud as I read this book. The humor is silly, self-deprecating and positively ludicrous at points, but so convincing I couldn't stop grinning the whole way through. And luckily, because Nick Park (the protagonist), the young, girl-obsessed, Korean-American kid in this book, is a total asshole. I kid you not. From the beginning of the book (where he's in 3rd grade) to the end (when he's graduating from high school), he's a self-loathing, deluded, selfish asshole who lies and pushes the envelope so much that you almost can't stand him and almost lose sympathy for him. But Yoo's wit is Nick's, and therefore the book's saving grace. So even though you kinda think he's an ass for pretending he's a kung-fu fighter, he's funny about it, so, okay fine.

And anyway, his wild delusions are all part of him finding himself and coming to terms with his Korean-Americanness. I liked how fresh this book was as one to contend with the Asian-American dialogue. It was a fresh breakaway from the many eye-rolling Asian-American texts I've read in the past. So good for David Yoo.

Great read, truly entertaining. I can't wait to read his new book that just came out.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't decide if I loved or hated this book. The book opens on the morning of Nick Park's graduation from high school as he is reflecting on how his life unfolded ever since his parents moved to the upper middle class and almost all white town of Renfield, CT just before third grade. At the beginning, the book was laugh-out-loud-funny but there are equally sad, disgusting, and just plain mean episodes. Nick was his own worst enemy, lying to his friends, his parents, and girls. No doubt he experienced racism as he came of age but his belief that he wasn't popular because of it was delusional. His own self-loathing and erratic behavior sealed his fate. There were parts that were just heartbreaking because of the way he treated his parents, his supposed-best friend, girls, and other classmates. Nick Park seemed to gain very little insight in the end.

[Jacqueline Yang · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was slow in the beginning and I did not really enjoy some of the anecdotes (pretending to know kungfu really annoyed me for some reason) but the book got better as he grew up and he told more stories Asian Americans or POC can relate to.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

From School Library Journal:
Grade 9 Up–"I'd descended into social Siberia sometime during the first week of middle school and had no idea how I'd gotten there. This is, apparently, the question of my life." Nick Park, a Korean American, describes himself as "the only non-Anglo-Saxon student in suburban Connecticut," and blames his Korean looks for his lack of popularity and girlfriends. Readers, however, will understand that his problem is due to his desperate bids for attention. This edgy and wickedly hilarious tale, filled with references to '80s pop culture, begins on Nick's high school graduation day as he retraces his thoughts and experiences from elementary school to the present. Through Nick's perception of his mother (a woman who is more adept at cursing in Korean than cooking) to his perception of what makes the popular kids popular (hot girls, varsity letter jackets, and definitely NOT church), readers get to know a confused and lonely young man who is trying to know himself by any means necessary. Nick thinks a lot about girls, sex, and nude women; while the text is sometimes vulgar, it is actually quite true to the high school experience.–Jessi Platt

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fast, funny, and enjoyable read about the awkwardness and longing of the later primary school years, that also delves quite well into issues of racism and just how painful it is to be a teenager, even if you aren't "different" from everyone else around you.

i was actually surprised that this is a young adult book, for a couple of reasons, but not least of which is that it seems to take place in the late '80s, and having come out in 2005, would put most of its intended readers as not even born yet during the time frame it takes place in, but i got a kick out of the references.

nick, the main character, is kind of an ass sometimes, but the book does a great job of carrying him through his own life, as he reminisces on the cusp of graduation, and in the end, he comes to some conclusions about himself that make him (hopefully) a better person, and the book serves as an excellent reminder of the fresh start that everyone gets when they're done with high school, and how anyone can make something better of themselves as long as they try to learn from their mistakes.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never liked the main character, Nick Parks. I can understand why he didn't have any friends. Nick is a jerk to his friends and all the girls that approach him. If I had gone to school with him, I wouldn't have liked him either.

Nick lives in a fantasy world where he is no different then all of the Caucasian kids he goes to school with. He cannot see that he is any different. It doesn't occur to him until much later that all of the other kids see an Asian. Still, this doesn't excuse his asinine behavior.

I have trouble with books where the reader doesn't like the main character. In the end, I couldn't care less what happened to Nick. This makes me not enjoy reading the book because I have no one to cheer for, no one to root on when the going gets tough, no one to bond with as the story progresses. I just didn't like it very much, although Nick made me laugh twice. At least there is that.

I rated this book a 5 out of 10.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, David Yoo writes another book through an Asian's small eyes. No offense, but i think it's okay, considering that i'm asian myself. Just saying. So, the thing with a book with an Asian protaganist, and more importantly, in 1st person perspective, is very surprising, but yet...right. It's about time...ASIANS REPRESENT! Also, i found myself very, very, very similar with the protagonist. We have lots alike. It's basicaly about an Asian chasing after girls. Or something like that... He's sorta perverted. But still, it was definititly a good read. I would highy recommend this book to pretty much any asian out there. Maybe more of Twinkies/Bananas (yellow on outside, but white in the inside haha) That's what the protagonist describes himself, and i feel like that too. I really could connect to the book in many ways, and i think others will too.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading GIRLS FOR BREAKFAST on the half-hour bus ride home, and I smirked all the way there. There's so much wicked humor in this book. I'm not Korean and I'm certainly not a guy, but I totally identified with Nick Park. He's both flawed and sympathetic. I laughed hard at his childhood memories of teaching fake martial arts to his friends, his mom's horrible cooking, and his incredibly embarrassing moments around girls and pretty much everyone else. Many times I was smiling and sighing, "Poor guy." Nick manages to come across both awkward and sweet. He seems real enough that I might run into him one day. I very much recommend this book.

[Hannah Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. David has created a character that you hate and love all in the same moment. His protagonist, ultimately, is a a kind of hero though. His self deprecation isn't just for effect, and as the novel progresses it turns into self awareness and insight. It's a kind of epic novel following the main character from 3rd grade to senior year graduation. This is a book not only about race and identity but really about being a boy. I would subtitle this "The secret life of boys" and wish I had read it in high school because I would have been far more sympathetic to the plight of the teenage male. GREAT BOOK FOR ALL AGES AND GENDERS!!!!!!

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was a disappointment in my opinion. From the outside the book looks like a good witty book. I thought it would be a fun and easy read. In reality the book is so boring it was so hard for me to finish. There were some witty and humorous part in the book. This book is about Nick who is the only Korean boy in an all white school. He embarrasses himself infront of the whole school the day before prom so he decided to figure out what happened. He finds out that he was never really comfortable with himself as a whole which he thinks is why he couldn't get girls that easily. Personally I wouldn't recommend this book to anybody.

[Queenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny, the protagonist, Nick Park, is definitely the most arrogant, selfish, and superficial person i've read but his humour makes up for it. Really like the ending because it wasn't really "finished", it left you hanging but at the same time had that finality of an ending. I don't know, but it gave me a lasting impression. The only thing I do have to say is, the book somewhat drags on. I found it boring towards the middle-endish. I recommend it to teens/young adults. It's a lax and fun read.

[Louie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book in a span of 1 day, i found it funny and well written. It presents growing up in a realistic light, last minute happily ever afters don't exist the equivalent of it is realisation. A realisation that takes time to understand because we all had issues trying to fit in and blaming the world for not accepting us. Sometimes the reason they can't accept us is because we can't accept ourselves.

it's more than just an Asian kid trying to accept his ethnicity in an all white community and finding a way to fit in with them. It's about him learning life and to grow up.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend, she let me borrow it and its really funny! It's about an Asian boy growing up in a WASP-y, wealthy Connecticut town where they are the only Korean family. The main character is really self deprecating and funny, and it was fun to read something from a boy's perspective because I don't read a lot of books that are from a boy's point of view. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a funny, light read!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asian characters in YA lit are rare, and I loved the title. [return][return]Despite the fact that most teens have insecurities about themselves, Nick Park is certain that his insecurity--not being able to get a date is due to him being the only Korean American in town--is valid and so begins the process of looking into the matter in order to finalize his assessment once and for all.

[Alanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about a Korean boy brought up in an all white town in the 80's. Never realizing he was different, or rather in denial that he's different, until he's a social outcast and forced to. Light and funny. Seemingly realistic insight of the mind of a hormonal teenager. Kept me captivated throughout.

[Richard Osborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny, witty, and interesting. But I really didn't like the main character. He's kind of a jerk and sometimes he can be a real douchebag. He doesn't really grow that much throughout the book. I like reading about heroes that I want to aspire to be like. I don't want to be like Nick Park at all. But I enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is about a kid who's the only Asian in his school. He is unpopular and wonders if it is true that his race is what's keeping him from getting girls. So i think this book is reccommended for every teenager. After reading it, you'll never look at an Asian guy the same way again

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the many differences between the author's upbringing and mine, I was able to relate to his internalized racial oppression a.k.a. racial self-hatred. Very funny and engaging writing. My only complaint is the content devoted to his understanding of racism; it feels too rushed and cursory.

[Jody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I read the author's bio/interview from a publisher. I was looking forward to it, but as I got into the book, the more I felt like it was a chore for me to read. I didn't finish it, although it was a good glance into the mind of a teen boy.

[Will Camp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Was in the house, read it. Meh. If you are curious as to how aimless, listless guys _can_ think, he does a fair job - but I just can't handle aimless, listless guys - we've got enough of them in the world.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful first novel for Mr. Yoo about a Korean teenager growing up in Connecticut being the only Asian in the school system. The main character is dealing with adolescents and the experiences of girls and sex. Very amusing and engaging coming of age story about racial relationships.

[Eric Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book but its just like any other teen book. It follows the life of an Asian American boy living in a dominantly white neighborhood and his quest for girls and to fit in. Very interesting and also a very immature read.

[Matt Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing. Can't wait for the new book to come out.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty good

[Karrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

YA novel giving insight into a sex-crazed teenage male mind. Little too ridiculous for me, but it was for class.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/201...