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Pippa Park Raises Her Game
by
A Contemporary Reimagining of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for Middle Graders
Life is full of great expectations for Korean American Pippa Park. It seems like everyone, from her family to the other kids at school, has a plan for how her life should look. So when Pippa gets a mysterious basketball scholarship to Lakeview Private, she jumps at the chance to reinvent ...more
Life is full of great expectations for Korean American Pippa Park. It seems like everyone, from her family to the other kids at school, has a plan for how her life should look. So when Pippa gets a mysterious basketball scholarship to Lakeview Private, she jumps at the chance to reinvent ...more
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Dec 11, 2019
Kailey (BooksforMKs)
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
favorite-middle-grade-and-ya,
owned-books
When Pippa Park gets a basketball scholarship to a fancy private school, she feels pressured to pretend like she's rich and cool so that she can fit in with her elite classmates. But how long can she keep up the farce, when her Korean family owns a laundromat and Pippa barely has money to buy a slice of pizza at the school cafeteria? With her grades slipping and her relationships in turmoil, Pippa begins to realize that some of her new friends have family secrets of their own.
This retelling of D ...more
This retelling of D ...more
Korean-American seventh grader Pippa Park's is a juggler: living with her older sister and brother-in-law, rather than her Mom, in Korea, she juggles the weight of their expectations; she juggles her responsibilities at home and school, and she juggles schoolwork with her first love, basketball. She receives an unexpected basketball scholarship to an affluent private school, Lakeview Private, and decides to reinvent herself: she doesn't want to stand out as the "scholarship student", especially
...more
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. It’s an interesting book that looks at what it means to follow your dream when everyone else wants you to live by their dreams
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Pippa is a likable character, as is her friend Buddy. Her struggles to fit in at a new school are authentic as are the situations she experiences. I liked that some of the students at the expensive private school were portrayed as kind and true friends as well, dispelling the stereotype that all rich kids are spoiled. I am looking forward to sharing this story with my students.
Pippa Park Raises Her Game is a very good and entertaining debut novel by author Erin Yun. My wife couldn't put the book down when she began reading it one day last week, and read the entire 262 inviting, easy-reading pages in one night. I was also pulled in once I began reading, curious to remain by Pippa's side to see how her life unfolded at the prestigious Lakeview Private School, after being awarded a scholarship and transferring there from the less esteemed Victoria Middle School.
As anyon ...more
As anyon ...more
A play on Great Expectations with some fast-paced moves of its own, Pippa Park Raises her Game is the story of a seventh grade girl from a local public school who receives a mysterious scholarship to the prestigious private school in her town to help the basketball team put one in the win column over their rivals. And the rival just happens to be the school from which Pippa transferred. Wanting to keep her roots as a first generation Korean American who works at her family's laundry a secret fro
...more
Pippa Park is a plucky heroine and I love having a new middle grade novel with basketball and Korean culture for readers. Pippa is awarded a scholarship to an elite school with the condition that she keep her GPA at 3.0 and above. Immediately she feels the pressure in keeping up with practice, homework, and helping her sister with the family business. On top of that are the difficulties of finding real friends in her new school. She has real concerns about sharing her life with them as she sees
...more
This book was such an enjoyable read and Pippa Park was such a great protagonist. The novel hit all the marks aimed at the target market in a very modern way. The author brought together an immigrant story with the typical themes of friendship and fitting in at school in a masterful way.
I want to thank Fabled Films Press for sending an advance copy.
I want to thank Fabled Films Press for sending an advance copy.
Feb 14, 2020
Nicole M. Hewitt
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
fiction-addiction-read,
donated-to-bernie-s
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
To sum this book up, it’s Mean Girls for middle graders with the addition of basketball and a big lie that threatens to blow up everything!
I know this is a Great Expectations retelling, but honestly, as I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think of Mean Girls often—it just has that vibe (I guess I’d forgotten most of GA, which I read in my high school days, but that didn’t cut down on my enjoyment of the book). Pipp ...more
To sum this book up, it’s Mean Girls for middle graders with the addition of basketball and a big lie that threatens to blow up everything!
I know this is a Great Expectations retelling, but honestly, as I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think of Mean Girls often—it just has that vibe (I guess I’d forgotten most of GA, which I read in my high school days, but that didn’t cut down on my enjoyment of the book). Pipp ...more
What a fantastic book! Discussing topics such as socioeconomic status, scholarships, immigration, and loyalty, Pippa Park Raises Her Game makes an incredible statement on what it means to deal with all of these and only be in middle school. Pippa misses her mother dearly, who she hasn't seen since her mother was deported, and now she must deal with her older sister being her caretaker--awkward, right? Her sister wants nothing but the best for Pippa, and wants her to take every opportunity tha
...more
I feel like I've seen some version of this a million times in Young Adult novels, but not in Middle Grade. I was very excited to see what this book had to offer and I wasn't disappointed!
I loved getting to know Pippa. She made a lot of mistakes during the book and it was interesting to be inside her head to see why she did and said the things she did. Throughout the book, she just wants to fit in and be more than she was at her old school. I think we can all relate to that feeling of wanting to ...more
I loved getting to know Pippa. She made a lot of mistakes during the book and it was interesting to be inside her head to see why she did and said the things she did. Throughout the book, she just wants to fit in and be more than she was at her old school. I think we can all relate to that feeling of wanting to ...more
Super cute middle grade retelling of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
Three words, Best Book Ever!!!!
Aug 11, 2019
Lori
marked it as to-read
Disclaimer: I got an e-ARC from Edelweiss. This does not affect my review.
4.25/5 stars
ARC provided by Edelweiss and Fabled Films Press.
Pippa Park Raises Her Game is a middle grade retelling of Great Expectations. In this retelling we follow sixth grader and talented basketball player Pippa Park who’s just been recruited into the most prestigious middle school she knows of and her current school’s rival, Lakeview Prep. Pippa jumps at this chance, getting to be at the same school as her crush and math tutor and leaving behind her best friend.
I’ve never read Great Expec ...more
ARC provided by Edelweiss and Fabled Films Press.
Pippa Park Raises Her Game is a middle grade retelling of Great Expectations. In this retelling we follow sixth grader and talented basketball player Pippa Park who’s just been recruited into the most prestigious middle school she knows of and her current school’s rival, Lakeview Prep. Pippa jumps at this chance, getting to be at the same school as her crush and math tutor and leaving behind her best friend.
I’ve never read Great Expec ...more
Everyone seemed to have great expectations for Pippa, but she was struggling to live up to them.
Pippa was disappointed, that her sister Mina made her give up her beloved basketball, when her math grade drops. Then fate intervened, and Pippa was offered a basketball scholarship from the local prep school. Not only did they expect her to help them break their losing streak, but she had to maintain a 3.0 GPA, and start over in a new school. Being a "have-not" among the "haves", Pippa hid parts of ...more
Pippa was disappointed, that her sister Mina made her give up her beloved basketball, when her math grade drops. Then fate intervened, and Pippa was offered a basketball scholarship from the local prep school. Not only did they expect her to help them break their losing streak, but she had to maintain a 3.0 GPA, and start over in a new school. Being a "have-not" among the "haves", Pippa hid parts of ...more
In this fun, fast-paced homage to Great Expectations, middle-schooler Pippa Park is struggling to find balance. She has the opportunity of a lifetime at a new school, but it also means new challenges and new insecurities.
Anyone who has ever struggled to fit in, meet family expectations, or to maintain their cool in front of their crush will easily be able to relate to Pippa as she tries to navigate a new situation and her attempts to live up to her newly-created persona start to spiral out of c ...more
Anyone who has ever struggled to fit in, meet family expectations, or to maintain their cool in front of their crush will easily be able to relate to Pippa as she tries to navigate a new situation and her attempts to live up to her newly-created persona start to spiral out of c ...more
An homage to GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens, what a feat (!), I just loved this!
I loved the character of Pippa,,,her outlook,,,her amazing basketball skills,,,her love for her Korean family,,,her growth in this book. The lesson is simple, being rich does not guarantee happiness. And conversely, you can seem to have very little and actually have a lot. The adventure to getting to these conclusions involves Pippa getting a scholarship to a swanky school who would like her basketball talents ...more
I loved the character of Pippa,,,her outlook,,,her amazing basketball skills,,,her love for her Korean family,,,her growth in this book. The lesson is simple, being rich does not guarantee happiness. And conversely, you can seem to have very little and actually have a lot. The adventure to getting to these conclusions involves Pippa getting a scholarship to a swanky school who would like her basketball talents ...more
I loved this!!! We need more great books with girls as athletes and this fits the bill!! Pippa is so lovable-flawed in such a realistic way. It is engaging right from the beginning. My middle schoolers will love this!
Ugh, Pippa is a brat! And her brattiness is exhausting. Read my full review here: https://agoodreid.blogspot.com/2020/0...
...more
Mar 05, 2020
Carol Szczechowski Makuch
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
ALL
Recommended to Carol by:
family member
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book by a young author. The style and flow made it so easy to read - took me less than a week to finish. The story line and humor kept me glued so much so that I could not put the book down. I couldn't wait to see what would happen in each progressive chapter. I hope there is a Pippa part 2 or maybe another similar book by this author from another students' perspective from the same school. I am a middle-school principal and cannot wait to put a number of copies o
...more
3.5 Stars. A loose re-telling of Great Expectations, though it’s the original aspects like Pippa’s family where this shone brightest.
There still aren’t that many books that feature female athletes, so it was great to see Pippa participating in this sport she loves, playing basketball with the aggression of a star player yet at the same time being a good teammate.
Since Pippa spends much of the novel pursuing popularity at the expense of friends and family, she makes plenty of choices along the w ...more
There still aren’t that many books that feature female athletes, so it was great to see Pippa participating in this sport she loves, playing basketball with the aggression of a star player yet at the same time being a good teammate.
Since Pippa spends much of the novel pursuing popularity at the expense of friends and family, she makes plenty of choices along the w ...more
Check my review on my blog : here.
An e-ARC was provided by the publisher Fabled Film Press in exchange of an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
PIPPA PARK RAISES HER GAME is a straight-forward middle-grade story about a girl, Pippa, who ends up in a private school where rich kids go. She takes it as an opportunity to renew herself, to become the cool kid and be part of the popular one while becoming the star player of her new school’s basketball team.
You know what I like t ...more
An e-ARC was provided by the publisher Fabled Film Press in exchange of an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
PIPPA PARK RAISES HER GAME is a straight-forward middle-grade story about a girl, Pippa, who ends up in a private school where rich kids go. She takes it as an opportunity to renew herself, to become the cool kid and be part of the popular one while becoming the star player of her new school’s basketball team.
You know what I like t ...more
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Pippa loves to play basketball and struggles a tiny bit in school. She lives with her much older sister, Mina, and Mina's husband, and works in her sister's laundry to help out. Her mother's visa has expired, and she has returned to Korea. Mina pressures Pippa to do well in school, and when Pippa gets a letter that she is invited to attend Lakeview, a local private school on scholarship for her basketball skills, she is very pleased. Even though it means leaving h ...more
Pippa loves to play basketball and struggles a tiny bit in school. She lives with her much older sister, Mina, and Mina's husband, and works in her sister's laundry to help out. Her mother's visa has expired, and she has returned to Korea. Mina pressures Pippa to do well in school, and when Pippa gets a letter that she is invited to attend Lakeview, a local private school on scholarship for her basketball skills, she is very pleased. Even though it means leaving h ...more
I am a huge fan of sports, but I never played. Both of my girls have, and after reading Pippa Park, I have a better understanding of the pressures that were put on them in middle school because they played.
This book is more than just about playing sports. It touches on just about every conceivable pressure a child faces in middle school and junior high: going to a new school, trying to fit in, trying to be popular, just having friends, choosing new friends over old friends, struggling to get goo ...more
This book is more than just about playing sports. It touches on just about every conceivable pressure a child faces in middle school and junior high: going to a new school, trying to fit in, trying to be popular, just having friends, choosing new friends over old friends, struggling to get goo ...more
Pippa Park, a Korean American, has a lot of changes in her life as a middle-schooler. She is living with her sister and brother-in-law while her mom is back in Korea. She has just received a mysterious scholarship to go to a fancy private school and she made the basketball team and will play against her former middle school. She doesn’t feel like she belongs at the private school with all the other kids since she is there on scholarship and lives in a small apartment above the laundromat her sis
...more
Review Copy: Digital ARC via Edelweiss
I'm not a sports fan so realistic sports novels aren't usually my first pick. I have to admit sports are a bit of a reading gap for me. Many times though, the stories are great and I end up wondering why I don't read more of them. Pippa Park is one of those books. Basketball isn't why I picked it up, but it also didn't make me stop reading. When a character is passionate and enthusiastic about any one thing, it makes me want to stick with them and see where ...more
I'm not a sports fan so realistic sports novels aren't usually my first pick. I have to admit sports are a bit of a reading gap for me. Many times though, the stories are great and I end up wondering why I don't read more of them. Pippa Park is one of those books. Basketball isn't why I picked it up, but it also didn't make me stop reading. When a character is passionate and enthusiastic about any one thing, it makes me want to stick with them and see where ...more
Pippa Park's spunk, determination and heart make her a character to love as she dribbles through all sorts of unexpected troubles.
Pippa Park might be great at basketball, but math is not her thing, and that causes some major troubles. Being raised by her older sister and her husband—since their mother had to return to Korea due to a lack of a green card—life wouldn't be too bad, but her older sister is strict. That means no basketball until Pippa gets her grades back up. When she's suddenly info ...more
Pippa Park might be great at basketball, but math is not her thing, and that causes some major troubles. Being raised by her older sister and her husband—since their mother had to return to Korea due to a lack of a green card—life wouldn't be too bad, but her older sister is strict. That means no basketball until Pippa gets her grades back up. When she's suddenly info ...more
Pippa Park Raises Her Game is a charming, relatable, and occasionally painful middle grade retelling of Great Expectations. When Pippa—a first-generation Korean-American being raised by her sister ever since her mother had to return to South Korea—is offered a basketball scholarship to a prestigious and expensive private school, she jumps at the chance to start over as a new person in a new place. Following the "Rules of Cool" that she learns from a tween girls' magazine, she becomes the confide
...more
*Thank you to Fabled Films Press and Media Masters Publicity for a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Erin Yun has created a modern day twist on Great Expectations with Pippa Park Raises Her Game. It adds a nice twist to compare it to the original, but Pippa stands on her own. A quality look at the challenges of being a teen, especially being one who doesn't quite fit in for whatever the reason. Pippa struggles with feeling the need to hide who she really is, where she previously ...more
Erin Yun has created a modern day twist on Great Expectations with Pippa Park Raises Her Game. It adds a nice twist to compare it to the original, but Pippa stands on her own. A quality look at the challenges of being a teen, especially being one who doesn't quite fit in for whatever the reason. Pippa struggles with feeling the need to hide who she really is, where she previously ...more
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Erin Yun grew up in Frisco, Texas. She received her BFA in English from New York University and served as president of its policy debate team. This experience came in handy when she became the debate consultant for the Tony-nominated Best Play on Broadway—What the Constitution Means to Me. Erin is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and has written reviews and artic
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