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I Leave It Up to You
I Leave It Up to You: A Novel | Jinwoo Chong
5 posts | 2 read | 1 reading | 9 to read
From the award-winning author of Flux comes a dazzling novel about love, family, and the art of sushi that asks: What if you could return to the point of a fateful choice, wiser than before, and find the courage to forge a new path? A coma can change a man, but the world Jack Jr. awakens to is one he barely recognizes. His advertising job is history, his Manhattan apartment is gone, and the love of his life has left him behind. Hes been asleep for two years; with no one to turn to, he realizes its been ten years since he last saw his family. Lost and disoriented, he makes a reluctant homecoming back to the bustling Korean American enclave of Fort Lee, New Jersey; back into the waiting arms of his parents, who are operating under the illusion he never left; and back to Joja, their ever-struggling sushi restaurant that he was set to inherit before he ran away from it all. As he steps back into the life he abandonedlearning his Appas life lessons over crates of tuna on bleary-eyed 4 AM fish runs, doling out amberjack behind the omakase counter while his Umma tallies the night's pitiful number of customers, and sparring with his recovering alcoholic brother, Jameshe embraces new roles, too: That of romantic interest to the male nurse who took care of him throughout, and that of sage (but underqualified) uncle to his gangly teenage nephew. There is value in the joyous rhythms of this once-abandoned life. But second chances are an even messier business than running a restaurant, and the lure of a self-determined path might, once again, prove too hard to resist. Why do we run from those we love, and why do we still love those who run from us? A highly entertaining and poignant story about second chances and self-discovery, I Leave It Up to You navigates loss, love, and the absurdity of finding ones footing after the ground gives way.
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boozybookworm
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Just started (physical and audio)

#currentlyreading #readingupdates

21 likes1 stack add
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Reggie
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Pickpick

Jack Jr. awakens from a 2yr coma in which Covid has happened, his bf/fiancé has left him, and he is taken back home by the family he hasn‘t really talked to in years. Back to work at the Korean-Japanese restaurant he was raised in but escaped. This was slice of life, lots of sushi, forgiveness, family, parents. What do you do when one day your whole life has changed? I chuckled, just read along, chuckled again and would tear up so often. Pick!

CarolynM Sounds great! Stacked🙂 4mo
kspenmoll Stacked! 4mo
sarahbarnes This sounds really sweet. 4mo
Reggie @sarahbarnes I liked it and it just felt real. 4mo
Amor4Libros Loved this one! 🤗 4mo
61 likes5 stack adds5 comments
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Amor4Libros
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Pickpick

I loved this book so much that I read it at a slower pace to savor it.

The story revolves around Jack Jr. and his family after he wakes up from a 2-year coma and everything has changed. I loved the family dynamics, how they rallied around each other even though they had a lot of issues under the surface. Jack Jr. and Emil‘s relationship trajectory was one of the most well executed I‘ve seen in a bit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc Pub Date: 3/4/2025

38 likes1 stack add
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Amor4Libros
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Started this earlier, took a nap and immediately picked it back up upon waking…And I‘m only on Chapter 1!

#arc

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Amor4Libros
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I‘m so excited for this one! Sometimes it is hard to wrap my head around being sent all these wonderful books. #arc #NetGalley ❤️