Lexile = 1000 (guess)
Island of Sea Women is a look at a part of history that I have never heard of. The Haenyeo are the women who work as divers for their Korean community on Jeju Island. The story begins in the 1930s. Young-sook was born into a long line of matriarchal haenyeo and will eventually inherit her mother’s position as chief of all the divers. The chief makes all the decisions about where to dive, how much to harvest from the sea and who can dive. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and although Mi-ja and Young-sook are the best of friends, almost like sisters, their relationship will be stretched and tested in unimaginable ways over the many years of their lives.
Now, you might be thinking... "Is there really a story here?" or "Who cares about divers in Korea nearly 80 years ago?" But this is a REAL THING! The story of the divers is amazing enough, and then add details about how Korea fit into the Japanese part of World War II AND the friend dynamic as the author uncovers the rift between Young-sook and her Mi-ja.
Ever since I posted this on my Instagram account, both copies of this novel have been checked out constantly. Everyone passes it on to a friend and it never comes back.
Find out more about this fascinating culture HERE.
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