Jane Under Pressure

Jane is ten years old but doesn't do things most children her age do. Instead of playing with friends and having fun, Jane spends most of her time studying.

In her book, Jane under Pressure: The Life of a Korean American Schoolgirl, author Sun Min shares Jane's dilemma. She feels the stress of school and the pressure to get stellar grades. Outside school, Jane takes cello, taekwondo and extra math lessons. For her, it is more than simply wanting to do well. She wants--needs--to do well to make her family proud. But when she falls short of her expectations, Jane learns what is most important.

Sun Min's story is of a young girl juggling the demands of being an American schoolgirl and her family's culture. While her story is not unusual, it is not always understood, even among those involved.