• Classroom Exercise: Character Traits

Tae's Sonata can be ordered from your local bookstore. Interested in purchasing an autographed copy? Please submit your request in the Guestbook.

Get an in-depth glimpse into Tae and the story's plot here.

• 2000 Lamplighter Classic Award (National Christian Schools Association)

• American Booksellers Pick of the Lists - "This is a jewel of a book."

• NCSS/CBC 1998 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

• 1999 Maine Student Book Award Nominee

"Balgassi paints Tae's struggle without sensationalizing it, personalizing every incident so that it's not just an example of how to fit in, but part of the universal struggle of all adolescents to find their friends, their place, and their connection to the world. Strong characterizations and believable emotions make this stand out from other early young adult fare." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"... Balgassi [offers] insight into the struggles of Tae's Korean American family. Tae's unique background and perspective add depth to this account, which will also satisfy romantics who crave sympathetic heroines and easy, upbeat solutions to heartache." - Publishers Weekly

"The characters are familiar and believable... and aspects of Korean life are well incorporated into the story... well written and appealing." - School Library Journal

"There's social intrigue aplenty, middle-school style, in this readable novel that seems to bridge the gap between middle grade and YA. Tae is a likeable heroine, her voice is a convincing one, and the author's habit of sketching in the trivia of AsAm life lends sparkle to an otherwise basic plot." - Uma Krishnaswami, Children's Literature

Mrs. Hinchon is seventy-two years old, and for a piano teacher she really can't play worth beans. I mean, she can hit all the right notes and everything, but she pounds out every chord like the whole neighborhood has to hear her.

Umma heard her play once and tried hard not to wince, and I thought for sure that she would say I wouldn't have to go for lessons anymore. But instead she said, "Mrs. Hinchon is perfectly capable of teaching you how to play the notes, Taeyoung. No one can teach you how to feel the music. You have to do that yourself."

So far, I haven't taught myself anything. Last year, I secretly practiced "Danny Boy," my mother's favorite song, for over a month, and surprised her with it on Mother's Day. When I was done, she said, "That was good, Taeyoung. But you have to put your heart into it. You have to feel the music when you play."

I didn't know what she was talking about. I'd felt the music just fine. And I hadn't stumbled on a single note. Why didn't she say anything about that?

Sometimes I think I'm a huge disappointment to my mother. Mrs. Park has her David at Yale, but Umma just has me and Mrs. Hinchon.