the time, the place, and--more subtly--the deep-running emotions that these people, bound by customs and besieged by troubles, were so rarely free to acknowledge."--Kirkus Reviews, pointer review "Ms. Choi writes of social, political and personal hurts in a context few young Americans today have experienced. Yet she tells of more than dislocation: she tells of Sookan's personal growth, indeed her triumph."--New York Times

Sookan, the unforgettable heroine of Year of Impossible Goodbyes, is now fifteen years old and a refugee in Pusan, a city in a southern province of Korea. The Korean War is raging, and she once again has been separated from her father and brothers. Anxiously awaiting any news of them, Sookan imagines a time when she can return to a normal life in Seoul. In the meantime, though she often feels sad, alone, and scared, she finds solace in a forbidden friendship and from the mysterious "shouting poet" who offers her and her fellow refugees inspiration each morning.