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386 pages
First published September 30, 2008
Albert Kim is living the loser's life at Bern High, and he is having some major social issues. But, he finds this amazing girl who just happened to break up with her jock boyfriend, and things seem to be working out. This, to me, sounds like a somewhat typical viewpoint of a high school guy. I believe that David Yoo, the author, wrote this story so he could relate some of the problems he faced growing up as an Asian American in an American high school. The entire story is aimed towards teenagers that face the same problems such as dating, making and keeping friends, and keeping up with school. The author's view on things in a high school setting was slightly pessimistic, but that is explained by Albert in the story. Albert, page 7: 'My parents' desire to keep me busy and miserable isn't so much the result of their wanting the best for me, but rather their immaturely wanting me to experience what it was like to be them when they were my age so I can feel sorry for them.' Albert's parents grew up in Korea, and have very different views as to what is and is not acceptable in an American household. As mentioned before, David Yoo is Asian as well, so it is safe to assume that he probably experienced many of the same difficulties as Albert did in the story.
The main theme for the book is probably, 'You don't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.'-Mick Jagger. Albert is always wishing for something that's impossible to accomplish: 'My fantasy dream girl at the time was an animated mouse, Mrs. Brisby from THE SECRET OF NIMH, so it actually worked in Mia's favor that she was so adorably mousy looking.' Albert, page 98. The author is trying to get the point across that if you want something good to happen, you either have to be assertive and get it done yourself, or be incredibly lucky. Albert just happens to meet and start dating Mia as a stroke of luck, but even still he has to work to even become friends with her. It didn't just come naturally. Before Albert met Mia, he didn't talk to anyont at all, and he refused to have an kind of social life at all. Thus, he had no friends, a negative outlook on everything, and got rejected from everything at school. After he worked to become friends with Mia, he gained a circle of friends, and he attended more social gatherings. David Yoo is straining to tell readers that they have to be the ones to jump start their life, they can't just wait for good fortune to plop itself into your hands. You have got to start it yourself, otherwise, what will you have done to deserve a sudden good turn of events?
The main style that the story was written in was a pessimistic, love-struck, teenage male who was stuck on the bottom of the social chain. The book was almost more of a narration of what David's thoughts and feelings were at the age of 16 than an exposition or description. The book does somewhat describe a more modern lifestyle and school setting, along with family life and social hierarchy. 'During sixth period Shauna now regulary hijacked Mia away from me so Mia could watch her smoke cigarettes in the girl's locker room and listen to her prattle on about how sl**ty the freshman bi*c*es all were, etc.' Albert, page 276. Now, I am not saying that we have this problem at all high schools, but I know for a fact that some schools are plagued with substance abuse and questionable behaviors. Plus, that is a key to showing gossip and jealousy and how much of a role they play in teenage lifestyles. The author uses slang, profanity, and situations that are found in high sschools across the world to help young adult readers relate to Albert Kim's story. Albert is nervous about being alone in a hotel room with a girl, even though all they are doing is cleaning the room. Still, he reverts to swearing to let off steam. 'No fu**ing problem, just wait a go**amned second while I put my stupid-a** dust mask back on. There, now the cheap-a** mask is back on my face; now where the he** is this rat ba**ard table you need me to move, go**amnit?' Albert, page 51. Hopefully, the language would not be so strong in a similar situation for someone, but the message is clear: people get stressed when they are in an uncomfortable situation. In Albert's case, he isn't used to being around other people, especially a really hot girl in a hotel room. This just goes to show the reader that David Yoo wrote this book in the style of a teenage male struggling to become someone.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but it doesn't make it into my all-time favorites' list. The book started off great and had a great introduction and exposition, but the plot started to lose steam about halfway through. David managed to wrap up the story fairly well, but he left a few loose threads hanging and I was wondering "What next?" I liked that the author used a more suburban slang when writing the book, and Albert had many of the same thoughts and feelings as an adolescent guy. One thing I didn't like was that Albert focused more on emotions and feelings rather than the physical aspect of growing up, but he still managed to keep me interested enough to read the story. If I could chang something about the novel, I wouldn't have Albert be such a social loser. I mean, Albert says that he is an international loser, and he has no friends whatsoever. I don't know anyone quite like that, so it is harder to relate to Albert that way, but other than that, David Yoo did a good job in writing Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before. This story reminded me of another one called Zen and the Art of Faking It, for in both cases, the main character starts out as a loser and slowly rises up to popularity in ways normally unimaginable. So, David Yoo tells readers why you need to do your own $%@& work, shows a litle bit of an American high school, and relates a hilarious story of an 'international loser' to bits and pieces of his own life. 'Regardless, I get to start this where I want to start it because, like I said, this is my story, and what is a story, really, but a narrator's defense?' Albert Kim, page 4.