Make a Move, Sunny Park!

Korean American seventh grader Sunny Park loves to dance, especially to music from her favorite K-pop group, Supreme Beat. Her white best friend Bailey thinks Supreme Beat is immature, which doesn’t surprise Sunny—Bailey often makes snap judgments and will rarely change her mind once it’s made up. Despite Sunny’s stage fright, she agrees to audition for the school dance team with Bailey, but things don’t go as planned when only Sunny makes the cut. Sunny’s decision to carry on dancing with the team alienates Bailey further, as do Sunny’s budding friendships with fellow teammates and Supreme Beats fans Jadyn, who is Filipino, and Bea, who reads as Greek. Though Sunny wants to fix her relationship with Bailey, she also enjoys hanging out with her new friends, prompting conflicting feelings about how to spend her time. But communication lessons from her dance partners and “no-filter” Halmoni help Sunny shore up the confidence to advocate for herself in relationships. While some plot points don’t fully coalesce, sensitive portrayals of anxiety define this joyful novel. With unmitigated and endearing honesty, Kim (Stand Up, Yumi Chung!) proffers myriad interpretations of friendship and what it means to be a true friend. Ages 9–12. (Aug.)