Fourteen-year-old Korean adoptee Joseph Calderaro is stumped when his social studies teacher assigns an ancestry essay. Joseph knows very little about his background (and his parents are not very forthcoming with details), so he pretends that Olympic marathoner Sohn Kee Chung was his grandfather, and creates an award-winning essay to that effect. Once his lie is unmasked, however, Joseph must redo the assignment, which prompts him to begin a committed search for his birth family. Kent’s debut novel humorously captures the feelings of a young teen who thoroughly enjoys his Italian-American family but still wonders about his birth parents and the circumstances that led to his abandonment. His search ultimately leads him to a young woman who may be his cousin. Subplots involving Joseph’s younger sisters, crushes on several girls in his class, and a new Korean friend round out the action and keep the story light. This will have special appeal for adoptees, but the questions about family roots that Kent raises are universal. Kay WeismanCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.