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Famous Adopted People
"Peppered with moments of political satire and heartfelt introspection, Stephens’s novel also offers a fun-house depiction of the absurdities and horrors of the surveillance state. This is an excellent debut." —Publishers Weekly
Lisa Pearl is an American teaching English in Japan and the situation there—thanks mostly to her spontaneous, hard-partying ways—has become problematic. Now she’s in Seoul, South Korea, with her childhood best-friend Mindy. The young women share a special bond: they are both Korean-born adoptees into white American families. Mindy is in Seoul to track down her birth mom, and wants Lisa to do the same. Trouble is, Lisa isn’t convinced she needs to know about her past, much less meet her biological mother.
She’d much rather spend time with Harrison, an almost supernaturally handsome local who works for the MotherFinder’s agency. When Lisa wakes up inside a palatial mountain compound, the captive of a glamorous, surgically-enhanced blonde named Honey, she soon realizes she is going to learn about her past whether she likes it or not. What happens next only could in one place: North Korea.
Lisa Pearl is an American teaching English in Japan and the situation there—thanks mostly to her spontaneous, hard-partying ways—has become problematic. Now she’s in Seoul, South Korea, with her childhood best-friend Mindy. The young women share a special bond: they are both Korean-born adoptees into white American families. Mindy is in Seoul to track down her birth mom, and wants Lisa to do the same. Trouble is, Lisa isn’t convinced she needs to know about her past, much less meet her biological mother.
She’d much rather spend time with Harrison, an almost supernaturally handsome local who works for the MotherFinder’s agency. When Lisa wakes up inside a palatial mountain compound, the captive of a glamorous, surgically-enhanced blonde named Honey, she soon realizes she is going to learn about her past whether she likes it or not. What happens next only could in one place: North Korea.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2018
13 people are currently reading
360 people want to read
About the author
Alice Stephens
2 books33 followersBorn in Korea, Alice Stephens was among the first generation of transracial, international adoptees. She has lived and traveled extensively abroad, and currently resides in the Washington, DC, area. She writes book reviews and a column for the Washington Independent Review of Books. Famous Adopted People is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
December 4, 2018
Poignant and imaginative, this is one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in some time. Adoptee and author Alice Stephens weaves us through a twisted tale of a mixed race Korean adoptee on a quest to not find her birth mother. We’re introduced to Lisa—a quirky wannabe writer, aggressively flirting with addiction—at the moment she fails her best friend. And just as we start to settle in, Stephens takes a quick turn, flinging us on a wild ride filled with absurdities that parallel many adoptees’ biggest hopes and fears. It’s somehow both wacky and honest; hilarious and meaningful. I loved it. Maybe you will, too.
October 5, 2018
When Lisa’s best friend, Mindy, proposes they find their respective Korean birth mothers - Lisa is apprehensive. What if her birth mother is as dysfunctional as she is? After much convincing, Lisa makes the trip to Korea to find her mother and support her best friend. After a series of events, though, Lisa finds herself on a trip with a handsome Korean man named Harrison. The trip soon turns sinister, and Lisa is not sure if she’ll ever see her friends and family again.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I really enjoyed the first 50-ish pages, and even when Lisa’s trip takes an unexpected turn - I was still interested in seeing where it was going. But once I got into the second act of this book, things started to get way too outlandish for me. I can usually suspend my belief for things like magical realism, but these plot elements were so unbelievable that it distracted me from the underlying themes and storytelling of the book. I will say, the author did include some aspects of the Korean adoptee experience through Lisa’s inner monologue, and I really enjoyed those parts of the book.
If you are searching for a book that will constantly surprise you, or you simply want a wild reading experience - this book might be for you. I wouldn’t say I learned a lot about Korea while reading this book, but I did learn about an unconventional viewpoint on adoption and finding birth family members.
*Please note - Trigger warnings for random acts of violence: There were two scenes that I wouldn’t recommend for readers who are sensitive to violence and gore. I’m usually not bothered by these elements, but I had to skip one scene because I thought it was way too graphic.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I really enjoyed the first 50-ish pages, and even when Lisa’s trip takes an unexpected turn - I was still interested in seeing where it was going. But once I got into the second act of this book, things started to get way too outlandish for me. I can usually suspend my belief for things like magical realism, but these plot elements were so unbelievable that it distracted me from the underlying themes and storytelling of the book. I will say, the author did include some aspects of the Korean adoptee experience through Lisa’s inner monologue, and I really enjoyed those parts of the book.
If you are searching for a book that will constantly surprise you, or you simply want a wild reading experience - this book might be for you. I wouldn’t say I learned a lot about Korea while reading this book, but I did learn about an unconventional viewpoint on adoption and finding birth family members.
*Please note - Trigger warnings for random acts of violence: There were two scenes that I wouldn’t recommend for readers who are sensitive to violence and gore. I’m usually not bothered by these elements, but I had to skip one scene because I thought it was way too graphic.
November 23, 2018
Stephens' novel is on one level a clever lampoon of the surreal political situation in North Korea, but it doesn't stop there. It's also a coming of age novel in a sense, where an impetuous young woman with a bit of a chip on her shoulder finally starts to feel the impact of her impulsive decisions. The source of said chip: her complex feelings about being adopted, a subject which the author explores from first-hand experience and from an (oddly) unconventional perspective--that of the adoptee. Stephens' depictions of conspicuous consumption and opulent parties are vivid, and her mouth-watering descriptions of food make you want to reach for a menu. There are laugh-out-loud moments as well as cringe-in-your-seat moments, and you'll keep compulsively reading to see how Lisa gets through each step of her journey.
February 26, 2019
In an interview, Stephens claims that “I knew that what was standing in [the novel’s] way of getting published was the hive-mind mentality of editors who want to chase, but not challenge, the latest trends.” In the case of this novel, the problem is more likely to be that it’s not well written.
The primary theme seems to be that adoptees have the right to control their own narratives, rather than the narratives placed upon them by adoptive parents, agencies, and the outside world. This would certainly make for a challenging, interesting story. Unfortunately, in this novel, the themes were all muddled. We move from an exploration of young adoptees seeking - or not seeking - their birth mothers, to a bizarre farce in which the protagonist discovers her real parentage - which seems to be a straight-up princess fantasy of discovering that your parents are actually rich and powerful people who are coming to rescue you. At one point, Lisa ponders her future: “You will be a part of world history. You will help affect the course of the human race.” This seems a perfectly normal feeling for an adoptee to have at some point in their life, and both Lisa and Mindy seek out “famous adopted people” for role models and as ways to rewrite the narrative, but this attitude, like most of the novel’s themes, is never really dealt with or explored, or brought to any conclusion.
The prose style is difficult to wade through - overwhelming numbers of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, and overwriting that needed a firm editorial hand to pare back. “The fragile rims of our shallow cups kissed lightly before meeting with our pursed lips” is a typical example.
A protagonist doesn’t need to be “likeable” - there are plenty of horrible, flawed narrators who intrigue us (Tom Ripley, for instance) - but Lisa is drawn as an unpleasant person without any redeeming features, and the author makes little attempt to provide her with nuances or complexities. A woman who teaches in Japan and sleeps with one of her underage students could be both reprehensible and fascinating, and a skilled writer would make us feel something for this character, even if that’s revulsion; Stephens, however, just tosses that plot point in at the start of the novel, apparently to ensure that Lisa is forced to stay in South Korea and can’t simply run back to her life in Japan; the explanation doesn’t come in until more than 80% of the way into the novel, and doesn't provide much in the way of character development when it does. Another amateurish character point - Lisa is told there are no seats on any flight from Seoul to Washington DC or New York for four days. That part’s a deliberate lie by another character, but Lisa - who has lived in the USA, China, and Japan, and visited her father multiple times in various locations in Africa, and would therefore understand how international air travel works - falls for it without any comment other than “that’s crazy”. She’s not an autonomous character; the author just pushes her around the chessboard to get her to the required destination.
I wasn’t expecting blatant racism in a book focusing on issues surrounding cross-cultural adoption, but the three people in the office in chapter 3 are insultingly depicted. “As featureless and identical as button mushrooms, with the exact same blunt bowl haircut” - please, just say “all those Asians look alike” and spare us the fungi simile. One of the “mushrooms” is only discovered to be a woman by virtue of - I cannot believe I am copying these words - “small mounds under her shirt.” What was the point of this? Again, if this had somehow illuminated Lisa’s character, her attitude towards her Korean heritage perhaps, or even the enforced homogeneity of a culture she finds foreign even though she’s genetically part of it, it would have contributed to the novel as a whole, but no, it’s just tossed in. (The phrase “blunt bowl haircut” is used later to describe a different character - this is lazy writing, but at least there are no further comparisons of people to mushrooms.)
At one point, Mindy urges Lisa to write a novel not about a white child who’s an orphan, but about a young female Asian adoptee. It seems as though that’s the novel the author intended to write. Hopefully, the next one will be better.
The primary theme seems to be that adoptees have the right to control their own narratives, rather than the narratives placed upon them by adoptive parents, agencies, and the outside world. This would certainly make for a challenging, interesting story. Unfortunately, in this novel, the themes were all muddled. We move from an exploration of young adoptees seeking - or not seeking - their birth mothers, to a bizarre farce in which the protagonist discovers her real parentage - which seems to be a straight-up princess fantasy of discovering that your parents are actually rich and powerful people who are coming to rescue you. At one point, Lisa ponders her future: “You will be a part of world history. You will help affect the course of the human race.” This seems a perfectly normal feeling for an adoptee to have at some point in their life, and both Lisa and Mindy seek out “famous adopted people” for role models and as ways to rewrite the narrative, but this attitude, like most of the novel’s themes, is never really dealt with or explored, or brought to any conclusion.
The prose style is difficult to wade through - overwhelming numbers of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, and overwriting that needed a firm editorial hand to pare back. “The fragile rims of our shallow cups kissed lightly before meeting with our pursed lips” is a typical example.
A protagonist doesn’t need to be “likeable” - there are plenty of horrible, flawed narrators who intrigue us (Tom Ripley, for instance) - but Lisa is drawn as an unpleasant person without any redeeming features, and the author makes little attempt to provide her with nuances or complexities. A woman who teaches in Japan and sleeps with one of her underage students could be both reprehensible and fascinating, and a skilled writer would make us feel something for this character, even if that’s revulsion; Stephens, however, just tosses that plot point in at the start of the novel, apparently to ensure that Lisa is forced to stay in South Korea and can’t simply run back to her life in Japan; the explanation doesn’t come in until more than 80% of the way into the novel, and doesn't provide much in the way of character development when it does. Another amateurish character point - Lisa is told there are no seats on any flight from Seoul to Washington DC or New York for four days. That part’s a deliberate lie by another character, but Lisa - who has lived in the USA, China, and Japan, and visited her father multiple times in various locations in Africa, and would therefore understand how international air travel works - falls for it without any comment other than “that’s crazy”. She’s not an autonomous character; the author just pushes her around the chessboard to get her to the required destination.
I wasn’t expecting blatant racism in a book focusing on issues surrounding cross-cultural adoption, but the three people in the office in chapter 3 are insultingly depicted. “As featureless and identical as button mushrooms, with the exact same blunt bowl haircut” - please, just say “all those Asians look alike” and spare us the fungi simile. One of the “mushrooms” is only discovered to be a woman by virtue of - I cannot believe I am copying these words - “small mounds under her shirt.” What was the point of this? Again, if this had somehow illuminated Lisa’s character, her attitude towards her Korean heritage perhaps, or even the enforced homogeneity of a culture she finds foreign even though she’s genetically part of it, it would have contributed to the novel as a whole, but no, it’s just tossed in. (The phrase “blunt bowl haircut” is used later to describe a different character - this is lazy writing, but at least there are no further comparisons of people to mushrooms.)
At one point, Mindy urges Lisa to write a novel not about a white child who’s an orphan, but about a young female Asian adoptee. It seems as though that’s the novel the author intended to write. Hopefully, the next one will be better.
April 29, 2020
Like a roller coaster ride through a kaleidoscope, this book kept my attention riveted from start to finish. It's a book that switches gears a lot, and the author manages the transitions very well, partly because the novel is told through the perspective of a single protagonist who has a distinct voice. Lisa, a multiracial international adoptee from Korea who grew up with white adoptive parents in America, is a hard-drinking, work-shirking young woman whose close friendship with Mindy, another international adoptee, blows up when the two young women are traveling in Asia. What starts out as a story about friendship and identity becomes a crime mystery/political thriller/cultural criticism story with a little magic realism and a good bit of humor thrown in.
This was a very satisfying read for me. It kept me up at night and it kept me thinking. The roller coaster kaleidoscope ways of this novel seemed to me to be a meta-metaphor for the situation of transracial and international adoptees whose lives, like all adoptees' lives, begin with the emotional whiplash of family separation and are further complicated by the cultural whiplash of being raised by a family that is obviously not their family of origin.
This was a very satisfying read for me. It kept me up at night and it kept me thinking. The roller coaster kaleidoscope ways of this novel seemed to me to be a meta-metaphor for the situation of transracial and international adoptees whose lives, like all adoptees' lives, begin with the emotional whiplash of family separation and are further complicated by the cultural whiplash of being raised by a family that is obviously not their family of origin.
December 9, 2018
I think this might be the first book I have ever read that talked about adoption and was actually written by someone who was adopted. It is like someone took all of the thoughts that go through your head - about identity, about biology, all the "what ifs" about your birth parents - and took them to the utmost, fun, disturbing, terrible, amazing extreme. Our experiences weren't exactly the same, but I still identified with the protagonist/writer so much. I like how in examining identify and our parents role in it, she also examined control. How our parents can control us. How we can control our parents. How much are we supposed to conform for/to each other? How much do we change depending on the people we are around. Also, it is just a fun story. Though I would be curious to hear what someone who actually knows anything about North Korea thinks.
November 23, 2018
A masterful debut novel --and why do I say this? I don't say this lightly. The story is about an adoptee, Lisa Pearl, who returns to South Korea, the land of her birth, and is ultimately kidnapped. I will not offer spoilers, but it is a fabulous coming-of-age story, of learning not only who one is, but what matters in life. Top off a story about adoption from the adoptee point of view, (the author was adopted as a very young child from Korea), with beautiful language about who and what makes us who we are--and with commentary and insights into the hidden parts of North and South Korea-- and you have a novel that should engross many a reader and many a book club group-- it did me!
My quibble with the novel-- so you can see that I thought long and hard about this fabulous work-- the ending felt a bit rushed, and one character, "Cookie" -- the chef at the compound in North Korea, I viscerally disliked. However, I disliked him even as I recognized that he was an extremely well-written character. I sympathized with him while hating the fact about who he was (I know I'm evasive to the details, but you read and see why). In fact, Stephens has several characters in this debut that one can love and hate at the same time, and maybe that's why I liked this novel so much: it's layered and compelling.
Ultimately, Famous Adopted People, divided into sections with quotes from real famous adopted people (from Steve Jobs to Debra Harry to Edward Albee), is thought-provoking and worth reading for its sense of adventure and for its literary feats as well as for its big themes about adoption and family and love. Kudos to Alice Stephens!!
My quibble with the novel-- so you can see that I thought long and hard about this fabulous work-- the ending felt a bit rushed, and one character, "Cookie" -- the chef at the compound in North Korea, I viscerally disliked. However, I disliked him even as I recognized that he was an extremely well-written character. I sympathized with him while hating the fact about who he was (I know I'm evasive to the details, but you read and see why). In fact, Stephens has several characters in this debut that one can love and hate at the same time, and maybe that's why I liked this novel so much: it's layered and compelling.
Ultimately, Famous Adopted People, divided into sections with quotes from real famous adopted people (from Steve Jobs to Debra Harry to Edward Albee), is thought-provoking and worth reading for its sense of adventure and for its literary feats as well as for its big themes about adoption and family and love. Kudos to Alice Stephens!!
May 10, 2019
Usually when I start a book, I can pretty much guess what’s going to happen in it. Maybe not EXACTLY what will happen, but I expect it to hit certain beats and deliver what I expect.
Not this book. It took me in a completely different direction than I thought it would at the beginning. It went from being interesting to being riveting. I can honestly say there were a couple points in it that shocked me to the extent that I was left momentarily breathless. I won’t tell you anything about the book. Don’t read the description. Let the surprise wash over you like it did for me. It was the kind of thing where I said, “I’ll go to bed after this chapter,” and then at the end of the chapter I was like “HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE HELL?” And then I’d read another chapter.
Was the book perfect? No, I guess not. It’s probably more of a 4.5 star book. My biggest complaint is that I wanted more of an afterward than I got. But that complaint is A) exactly the kind of thing people say about really good books (“I wanted more!”) and B) soooo me. When I was a kid, my older sister would sometimes, if I asked her, make up new endings to things that either ended with me wanting to know more or that ended so sadly I couldn’t bear it. She wouldn’t change what was there, she’d just add more for me, so I could sleep at night. Maybe I can get her to read this book so she could do that for me. In any case, I suspect this issue is mine and not the book’s, so I gave it its 5 stars.
Not this book. It took me in a completely different direction than I thought it would at the beginning. It went from being interesting to being riveting. I can honestly say there were a couple points in it that shocked me to the extent that I was left momentarily breathless. I won’t tell you anything about the book. Don’t read the description. Let the surprise wash over you like it did for me. It was the kind of thing where I said, “I’ll go to bed after this chapter,” and then at the end of the chapter I was like “HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE HELL?” And then I’d read another chapter.
Was the book perfect? No, I guess not. It’s probably more of a 4.5 star book. My biggest complaint is that I wanted more of an afterward than I got. But that complaint is A) exactly the kind of thing people say about really good books (“I wanted more!”) and B) soooo me. When I was a kid, my older sister would sometimes, if I asked her, make up new endings to things that either ended with me wanting to know more or that ended so sadly I couldn’t bear it. She wouldn’t change what was there, she’d just add more for me, so I could sleep at night. Maybe I can get her to read this book so she could do that for me. In any case, I suspect this issue is mine and not the book’s, so I gave it its 5 stars.
November 27, 2018
This is one wild ride . . . I can see a film version in the future!
December 14, 2018
This was such a weird book.
Spoilers abound.
I considered dropping it, and I'm glad I didn't, but damn if it doesn't take 80 pages for the plot to actually kick in. For the first 80 pages, Lisa just... exists and follows Harrison around, and I know she's supposed to get kidnapped to North Korea, but like GET ON WITH IT already.
Then the North Korean bits happen, and the whole thing is so surreal and weird and terrible, but it makes for some fascinating reading. (Full disclosure: I had to skip over a surgical procedure described in the book. I just don't have the stomach for that sort of body horror.)
My biggest complaint though is that after ALL OF THAT SET UP - her relationship with her biological mother and half-brother (who is literally KIM JONG-UN), her estrangement from her best friend and her family, her dealings with the Gang - the book just kind of... peters out. Lisa escapes with the maid, and NONE of those plotlines are resolved in any way. It feels like the author couldn't figure out how to end the book, so just handwaves an escape, the end.
After over 300 pages of trying to give Lisa agency, she ends the book exactly where she started. No growth, no agency, no real change.
And yet, there's a lot of promise in the set up. The author has talent, and I'd want to read her next book.
Spoilers abound.
I considered dropping it, and I'm glad I didn't, but damn if it doesn't take 80 pages for the plot to actually kick in. For the first 80 pages, Lisa just... exists and follows Harrison around, and I know she's supposed to get kidnapped to North Korea, but like GET ON WITH IT already.
Then the North Korean bits happen, and the whole thing is so surreal and weird and terrible, but it makes for some fascinating reading. (Full disclosure: I had to skip over a surgical procedure described in the book. I just don't have the stomach for that sort of body horror.)
My biggest complaint though is that after ALL OF THAT SET UP - her relationship with her biological mother and half-brother (who is literally KIM JONG-UN), her estrangement from her best friend and her family, her dealings with the Gang - the book just kind of... peters out. Lisa escapes with the maid, and NONE of those plotlines are resolved in any way. It feels like the author couldn't figure out how to end the book, so just handwaves an escape, the end.
After over 300 pages of trying to give Lisa agency, she ends the book exactly where she started. No growth, no agency, no real change.
And yet, there's a lot of promise in the set up. The author has talent, and I'd want to read her next book.
May 15, 2021
A wild ride! This surprising book had me turning pages faster than I expected. The protagonist is extremely self-destructive and may be relatable to some adopted people of the choices they may want to make, but hopefully have avoided in real life. There are some stirring passages about adoptee rights and advocacy topics that adoptees will likely appreciate. Far-fetched fiction yet an enjoyable ride that kept me guessing all the way to the end. I enjoyed reading something very different than the usual adoptee memoir genre.
*spoilery comments to follow:
Adoptee advocates may find some deeper meanings with regards to name changes, facial reconstruction, forced confinement, and those dreams of 'what if my first parents are rich or famous?'.
Alice Stephens is a guest on the Adoptees On podcast here: https://www.adopteeson.com/listen/170
*spoilery comments to follow:
Adoptee advocates may find some deeper meanings with regards to name changes, facial reconstruction, forced confinement, and those dreams of 'what if my first parents are rich or famous?'.
Alice Stephens is a guest on the Adoptees On podcast here: https://www.adopteeson.com/listen/170
January 7, 2019
This book was a delightful, twisty, surprising story that raises important questions about parentage, parents, and identity. I enjoyed Lisa's improbable -- but utterly believable -- misadventures in Korea, and I look forward to Stephens's next book.
October 17, 2022
Other reviewers seemed to find this novel amusing - I did not. Little is known about real life in North Korea - we are told that the dictator lives in opulence whilst his people starve. A biography I read certainly reinforced this idea and the general population are convinced that America/Europe are all depraved. I found this book disturbing, I didn’t care for the characters but I don’t think you were meant to. Lisa, the central adopted daughter of a divorced USA couple had a very large chip on her shoulder and had made some interesting life choices whilst struggling to find her identity. I can’t decide if the ultimate message was be careful what you wish for, was condemning of adoption or just strive to be the best person you can be given your circumstances. It developed into ridiculousness, had a happy ending of sorts.
January 20, 2019
Since I’m adopted, I’m a sucker for a good adoption story. But this wasn’t it. The first part of the book was interesting enough: I enjoyed the exploration of Lisa’s character and her trying to find herself, and her interaction with best friend Mindy. But then the book just went off. the. rails. Like wacky. I enjoyed the book for a few pages after that point (you’ll know what it is) in a “this should be interesting” kind of way, but then after that, it was just dreadful. After a couple of particularly gruesome scenes I considered not finishing it, but then I was wondering where it would go. The answer is “not really anywhere interesting.” And then maybe the ending is setting up a sequel, but it too left me hanging and continuing to rue my decision to finish.
November 13, 2018
Transracial adoption is when someone is adopted into a family of a different race than their own which is the situation of the author of Famous Adopted People, Alice Stephens, as well as her protagonist, Lisa. Her story takes Lisa back to North Korea, her birthplace and reunites her with her abhorrent birth mother which turns into a horrifying romp where all Lisa wants is her old life in America back. Told with clever wit, Alice has written an adoption story told from the adoptee’s perspective.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2018
Beautiful writing, a clever story full of surprises with a lot of insight into adoption and identity.
March 4, 2021
Totally Bonkers!! I can’t really recommend this book but I was entertained. Listened to the audio/ I think I may have bailed in print. The premise was good and the epilogue insightful but the majority of this story was outlandish. Lisa Pearl, a multiracial adoptee, finds herself in South Korea hoping to discover who her birth mother is. Her discovery is NOT at all what she could ever imagine. Contemporary satire? Comedic Thriller??
May 30, 2020
Lisa is a train wreck and the beginning of the story is so real; definite moments of “been there done that!” But then it takes a twist SO bizarre and at times horrifying that you can’t put it down. I almost gave this a 3 as the ending kind of just happened and left a ton of loose ends but until then, it was quite the page turner!
December 11, 2018
In her superb debut novel Famous Adopted People, Alice Stephens breaks down the complicated relationship between adoptees and their birth parents, as well as the struggles adoptees face whilst growing up in an environment where they're treated differently for who they are.
The novel follows the story of Lisa, who was originally born in Korea and raised in America after being adopted by an American couple. Urged by her friend Mindy, she signs up to an agency to help find her birth mother. Due to a lack of paperwork, the agency fails to find Lisa’s birth mother. She’s then lured by a handsome local named Harrison, which ultimately results in her being drugged. She wakes up inside an underground compound that's close to Pyongyang, North Korea — Lisa is pulled into a life full of wealth and prestige but remains prisoner to an image-obsessed and narcissistic woman called Honey.
Famous Adopted People contains so many twists and turns that you won’t be able to predict what’s happening next. Whenever I expected something to happen, something else more bizarre would occur — the unpredictability of the book made it enjoyable to follow.
The character development of Lisa was also another intriguing part of the book. Before being kidnapped, Lisa had a long history of messing up and acting recklessly. She dabbled in drinking and drugs and broke the rules of her teaching contract in Japan by being involved in an illicit relationship with a pupil. Her troubles are slowly revealed throughout the book, weaving into the present where she is being held captive. Learning more about Lisa’s past through a series of flashbacks plays an important role in showing the shift in her overall outlook. Her character undergoes a massive change in the book and the author’s use of flashbacks plays a crucial role in this.
The novel’s only flaw is that ending appeared rushed, and I would have liked another 30 pages or so that detailed the final events in the narrative. Perhaps I was enjoying the novel so much that I didn't want it to end.
Famous Adopted People is a witty and enthralling debut by Stephens and one that provides a unique story on the nature of adoption.
The novel follows the story of Lisa, who was originally born in Korea and raised in America after being adopted by an American couple. Urged by her friend Mindy, she signs up to an agency to help find her birth mother. Due to a lack of paperwork, the agency fails to find Lisa’s birth mother. She’s then lured by a handsome local named Harrison, which ultimately results in her being drugged. She wakes up inside an underground compound that's close to Pyongyang, North Korea — Lisa is pulled into a life full of wealth and prestige but remains prisoner to an image-obsessed and narcissistic woman called Honey.
Famous Adopted People contains so many twists and turns that you won’t be able to predict what’s happening next. Whenever I expected something to happen, something else more bizarre would occur — the unpredictability of the book made it enjoyable to follow.
The character development of Lisa was also another intriguing part of the book. Before being kidnapped, Lisa had a long history of messing up and acting recklessly. She dabbled in drinking and drugs and broke the rules of her teaching contract in Japan by being involved in an illicit relationship with a pupil. Her troubles are slowly revealed throughout the book, weaving into the present where she is being held captive. Learning more about Lisa’s past through a series of flashbacks plays an important role in showing the shift in her overall outlook. Her character undergoes a massive change in the book and the author’s use of flashbacks plays a crucial role in this.
The novel’s only flaw is that ending appeared rushed, and I would have liked another 30 pages or so that detailed the final events in the narrative. Perhaps I was enjoying the novel so much that I didn't want it to end.
Famous Adopted People is a witty and enthralling debut by Stephens and one that provides a unique story on the nature of adoption.
April 25, 2021
Fun, adrenaline pumping, out of the box novel. Great portrayal of adoptee experiences.
January 10, 2019
This was not a good book to start my 2019 reading off with. I accidentally read a little bit of a review at one point that said this was a really weird book and dismissed it thinking they didn't understand the intricacy of being adopted like me and the author. But no. This book was weird and not in a good way. I hated the characters and the plot. I only read it because it was the only book I bought on vacation unfortunately. I wish I could recommend this book because I love the title. But those looking for a good book about the adoption narrative look elsewhere.
March 13, 2019
What the heck did I just read? This book was crazy and out there but entertaining-ish. It was a wild ride of crazy situations and speculative fiction about North Korea.
Apparently I am in the minority as an adoptee who isn't bitter and angry. I perhaps foolishly believed that it wasn't a big deal to be adopted. I was wrong. If you're adopted and you have feelings of abandonment or anger or that you just don't fit in, then this book is for you.
Apparently I am in the minority as an adoptee who isn't bitter and angry. I perhaps foolishly believed that it wasn't a big deal to be adopted. I was wrong. If you're adopted and you have feelings of abandonment or anger or that you just don't fit in, then this book is for you.
June 1, 2021
An adoptee novel written by an actual adoptee! Hooray, for #ownvoices and this refreshing perspective of a Korean adoptee. I really enjoyed this novel through the eyes of Lisa, a rebellious young adult who keeps getting into problematic situations during her ambivalent, yet turbulent, search for her Korean birth mother. Full of unexpected plot twists, well-researched information about North and South Korea, and exquisite literary prose.
March 1, 2025
****Should come with a trigger warning for: addiction, drugging, non -consensual in detail surgery, sexual harassment, physical abuse, emotional abuse, public humiliation, kidnapping.
I absolutely do NOT recommend this book.
I absolutely do NOT recommend this book.
June 21, 2021
This was such a weird book... It started off in a pretty usual way: two adoptees travel to Korea to meet the birth mother of one of them. The other one (our main character and narrator) is left bitter because her birth mother is nowhere to be found. It sounds like a beginning of a very typical story that provides a commentary on adoption and the adoptees' journey to rewrite their own narrative. BUT the direction in which this novel progresses is so random, so abstract that I was left feeling very confused and really pulled out from the story and, what I think, the author was trying to achieve in it. It was a confusing mixture of weird things happening one after the other, but also nothing really happening, whilst an excessive number of descriptive words were being used to describe everything and every action.
I understand that not all main characters have to be likeable and relatable, but our main character here was just insufferable. At the age of 28, she behaved like a teenage at the peak of her teenage rebellion. I understand hurt, disappointment and envy, but she honestly behaved like such an ass. It's not like she didn't have a loving family that adopted her and gave her everything they could. All the decisions that she made were made in the depths of her emotions, which shouldn't even be there in the first place, and definitely not be the driving force of her actions (and hence, the plot itself).
It also felt like the author decided to shift the focus of the story half way through the book towards a more political-focused commentary, which only made the novel touch on the two subject without really extensively discussing either one of them.
A promising beginning but a lost potential.
I understand that not all main characters have to be likeable and relatable, but our main character here was just insufferable. At the age of 28, she behaved like a teenage at the peak of her teenage rebellion. I understand hurt, disappointment and envy, but she honestly behaved like such an ass. It's not like she didn't have a loving family that adopted her and gave her everything they could. All the decisions that she made were made in the depths of her emotions, which shouldn't even be there in the first place, and definitely not be the driving force of her actions (and hence, the plot itself).
It also felt like the author decided to shift the focus of the story half way through the book towards a more political-focused commentary, which only made the novel touch on the two subject without really extensively discussing either one of them.
A promising beginning but a lost potential.
December 20, 2024
This book is really an unpredictable RIDE, and that is what makes it a five-star for me.
There isn’t a lot I can say without spoilers, but here’s what I can say: it is a book written by a Korean adoptee, about two Korean adoptees, who are best friends but have very different views on their adoptions, and different life paths. One of them, “guided” by her adoptive parents, is on what might be called a very traditional, high-achiever path.
The other one is our impulsive, irresponsible protagonist, Lisa, and we basically start right in the middle of her story. I’ve tried, and I really can’t say more without spoilers. It’s told in the first person, both how she gets to the opening chapter, and what happens after that.
Make no assumptions going in about how you think a twenty-something, female, Korean, international adoptee “should” act. The truth is, every adoptee has their own story, their own point of view. Sometimes, even the stories we are told, or tell ourselves, don’t come close to the truth. And sometimes, we can’t figure who we are until we are faced with that truth. Once we do know, we finally understand that we get to tell our own story as the main character, rather than being a secondary character in someone else’s story.
There isn’t a lot I can say without spoilers, but here’s what I can say: it is a book written by a Korean adoptee, about two Korean adoptees, who are best friends but have very different views on their adoptions, and different life paths. One of them, “guided” by her adoptive parents, is on what might be called a very traditional, high-achiever path.
The other one is our impulsive, irresponsible protagonist, Lisa, and we basically start right in the middle of her story. I’ve tried, and I really can’t say more without spoilers. It’s told in the first person, both how she gets to the opening chapter, and what happens after that.
Make no assumptions going in about how you think a twenty-something, female, Korean, international adoptee “should” act. The truth is, every adoptee has their own story, their own point of view. Sometimes, even the stories we are told, or tell ourselves, don’t come close to the truth. And sometimes, we can’t figure who we are until we are faced with that truth. Once we do know, we finally understand that we get to tell our own story as the main character, rather than being a secondary character in someone else’s story.
February 16, 2024
I am surprised that I made it to the end of Famous Adopted People but I'm glad I did because the epilogue was my favorite part. It brought me closer to the humanity of the main character than the strange and violent machinations of the previous 300 pages. This is the story of a young, adopted, biracial American woman. The back of the book says this is an exploration of identity. The main character has a history of substance abuse and keeps the reader at arm's length like an addict hiding her addiction from family and friends. It's hard to care about characters who wander through the pages only discussing the external, visible facts. She never worries about family, friends or anyone other than herself, creating this feeling of one messed up person wandering through a messed up landscape. I want to read the book described on the back cover and I want Alice Stevens to write it because she has the skill to write a sweeping, complicated narrative.
January 10, 2019
This is a terrific novel about friendship, being adopted vs. adopting, and feeling victimized vs. being a victim! Stephens wrote the book from the point of view of a transracial adoptee, maybe the first novel to take that on. When Lisa Pearl tutors her Japanese student on the passive versus active voice in English, she uses the examples: The child was adopted (passive) and They adopted the child (active). That distinction speaks volumes about the lack of agency Lisa feels as an adoptee. Stephens bravely lets Lisa self destruct again and again, starting with destroying her relationship with her best friend, who is also a Korean-born adoptee. When the plot takes a surreal turn, I wondered how Stephens could pull this off, and I'm happy to say she sticks the landing! Insightful and entertaining.
June 5, 2021
I tried so hard to like this book. I think if it wasn't for the great job of the voice actor doing the audiobook I would have DNF'd this much earlier than I did. The first 3 chapters were very interesting. I didn't like Lisa, but I could understand her jaded and immature edges. Then things started to change in a way that seemed too unbelievable. Lisa was far too gullible for my liking. There has to come a point where "stranger danger" means something in a foreign country. I held on until half way through chapter 10 when I realized this book was going nowhere and the questions I had were not going to be answered. This was a frustrating book that I thought was beautifully written in prose and had potential but in the end couldn't capture my attention.
July 31, 2021
Wow. This book is not just about a Korean born adoptee's journey, it is so much more. Creative, poignant, witty, and different--this book has it all. The setting, the outrageous characters, and the ever present twists and turns in the plot kept this reader on her toes, turning the pages into the wee hours of the night. You cannot help but fall for the protagonist, Lisa, and you will be cheering for her as she faces one challenge after another. All the while Lisa is growing and changing ( in spirit and in appearance). I finished Famous Adopted People last night and then dreamed about it afterward. A great read with underlying political satire and thoughtful introspection regarding being an adoptee and life in general. Excellent!
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