A cool new book that's been getting some impressive attention is Miles from Nowhere
, the debut novel from Nami Mun. It's about a Korean American immigrant teen living in the Bronx in the 1980s, who goes through some crazy ass stuff, trying to survive as a runaway on the street. Here's the official description from the publisher:Teenage Joon is a Korean immigrant living in the Bronx of the 1980s. Her parents have crumbled under the weight of her father's infidelity; he has left the family, and mental illness has rendered her mother nearly catatonic. So Joon, at the age of thirteen, decides she would be better off on her own, a choice that commences a harrowing and often tragic journey that exposes the painful difficulties of a life lived on the margins. Joon's adolescent years take her from a homeless shelter to an escort club, through struggles with addiction, to jobs selling newspapers and cosmetics, committing petty crimes, and, finally, toward something resembling hope.The book is one Amazon.com's Best Books of January
. I'm actually only a few chapters in, but so far I'm really enjoying it. Dark, moving, and beautifully written, I have no idea where this is going, but I have a feeling it's going to get a lot worse for Joon before it gets better. And I can't wait to find out. Here's a good interview on Chicagoist with the author: Interview: Nami Mun. Once a teen runaway herself, Mun's jobs have included being a bartender, a photojournalist, a street vendor, an Avon Lady, and a criminal investigator. To learn more about the book, visit Nami Mun's website here, which also includes a Q&A here.