The Last Story of Mina Lee is a powerful and emotional novel that explores the complicated bond between a mother and daughter. When twenty-six-year-old Margot Lee stops hearing from her mother, Mina, she returns to her childhood apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles—only to discover her mother dead inside. This heartbreaking moment sets Margot on a journey to uncover the secrets Mina kept hidden throughout her life.

“She wondered how many women had been trapped – in terrible marriages, terrible jobs, unbearable circumstances – simply because the world hadn’t been designed to allow them to thrive on their own. Their decisions would always be scrutinized by the lives at which they were able to sacrifice themselves, their bodies, their pleasures and desires. A woman who imagined her own way out would always be ostracized for her own strength.”

Told through a dual timeline, the novel alternates between Margot’s investigation in the present and Mina’s story years earlier, from her immigration from Korea to building a life in Los Angeles as a single mother. I absolutely adored this novel—it felt deeply personal and moving. The relationship between Mina and Margot is both tender and filled with tension. I loved how the story captures the struggles of immigrant mothers who sacrifice everything for their children, and the misunderstandings that often arise between generations, trying to bridge two cultures.