By Sadie York
This year’s AP Language and Composition students have had the honor of being the first to read Crying in H-Mart as a mandated high school course book. A memoir written by Michelle Zauner on her relationship with her mother, during and leading up to her death, Zauner’s brilliant writing captivates an intrigued high-school audience. Crying in H-Mart offers solace to AP Language students following a year full of treacherous reads such as The Right Stuff and Great Expectations. Zauner does what Dickens and Wolfe cannot–draw in readers with a deeply moving story. Through the re-telling of her mother’s cancer, Zauner reveals the details of her adolescence to adulthood, and the recurring struggles within her familial relationships. A truly relatable story, Crying in H-Mart tugs at the heartstrings with the raw portrayal of loss, grief, and coping. Zauner takes her readers on a brilliant journey of self-identity, culture, and family ties, blended together by the appreciation of Korean food. Evidently, Crying in H-Mart is a refreshing addition to the AP Language book list, and left me reading for the actual story rather than mandated homework. Even if you don’t plan on taking AP Language within your high school experience, Crying in H-Mart is a must read within your lifetime!