- Overview
-
What happened to Hayoung? What did she grow up to become?
- Book Intro
-
"Why am I sad and upset, you ask? Because of adults like you. Do you still see me as a child? I’m 16 years old!" (from page 58)
Five years after the incident with the serial killer Lee Byung-do, Hayoung is now 16 years old and is in therapy to try to overcome the trauma of all those years ago. But as a teenager going through puberty, she feels a sense of chaos. When she has to move suddenly, Hayoung is forced to transfer to a new school. The violence she witnesses there stimulates her. In coming to terms with her dark self, Hayoung must make a choice.
This book is the follow-up to All Secrets Have a Name and Good Night Mom. In these earlier works, Hayoung was an 11-year-old girl, and readers were faced with the question: Are psychopaths born or bred? In this sequel, readers explore the questions: What happened to Hayoung? What did she grow up to become? Now 16 years old and in her puberty years, Hayoung finds herself shaken by her changing surroundings and starts doubting her own identity. She realizes the things she didn’t understand as a child are coming back to haunt her, and starts responding to external forces instead of internal turmoil. These changes allow readers to focus on the choices Hayoung must make.
- About the Author
-
Seo Mi-ae
As a child, the author loved reading more than playing with friends; in the end, she grew up to become a writer. While in college, at the young age of 20, her work was selected in a Spring Literary Contest, which launched her career as an author. She also became involved in TV broadcasting.
When Suh turned 30, she began writing for TV dramas and mystery novels; her somewhat shockingly titled Thirty Ways to Kill Your Husband garnered her a Spring Literary Contest award. Since then, for over 20 years, she has worked in various media including TV, mystery novels, and film before establishing herself as a professional mystery author. She prefers Miss Marple over Sherlock Holmes, and psychological crime thrillers over tricks. These preferences are evident in her works.
Suh’s major works include The Night Your Star Disappeared; The Only Child; and the short story collections A Welcome Murderer; Thirty Ways to Kill Your Husband; and The Orbit of the Stars. For The Doll’s Garden, she received the 2009 Korea Mystery Literature Award. Some of her works including A Welcome Murderer and Thirty Ways to Kill Your Husband have been adapted for television, film, and theater.
