Pippa Park Raises Her Game

Pippa Park Raises Her Game, the first book in the Pippa Park series, follows a Korean American seventh grader as she navigates a new school, a complicated family life, and the pressures of fitting in.

Pippa Park lives in a small apartment in Victoria, Massachusetts, with her older sister, Mina, and Mina's husband, Jung-Hwa. Mina is Pippa's legal guardian: Their mother, Ji-Min, whom Pippa calls Omma, returned to South Korea after being unable to renew her work visa, and Pippa's father died when she was an infant. Mina runs the Lucky Laundromat, while Jung-Hwa works at a factory. Money is tight. Mina barred Pippa from the Victoria Middle basketball team the previous spring after her grades dipped. When Pippa brings home a D on an algebra quiz, Mina enrolls her in a free tutoring program at the Lakeview School, an elite private school across town.

One evening, Pippa encounters a teenage boy in a green hoodie at her local basketball court. He emerges from the nearby woods carrying a bulky black case and asks her not to tell anyone he was there. Pippa gives him a Korean snack cake and tells him her name before he disappears.

Pippa's tutor turns out to be Eliot Haverford, a handsome eighth grader who lives in a grand but neglected Victorian mansion. Eliot is brilliant but cold, and Pippa develops an intense crush on him. A neighbor shares the Haverfords' tragic history: Eliot's grandparents died in a car accident while driving to see his great-aunt Evelyn perform with the Boston Symphony. Evelyn's father died shortly after, blaming her for the deaths. Evelyn, known as Miss Haverford, has since forbidden any music in the household.

Pippa's life changes when Lakeview offers her a full basketball scholarship contingent on maintaining a 3.0 GPA. Assuming Eliot recommended her, Pippa buys a copy of Tween Things magazine and studies its "Rules of Cool" to reinvent herself for her new school. On her first day, Pippa catches the eye of Helen Pelroy in math class and impresses Coach Ahmad at her first basketball practice. Learning that Eliot's father, Mr. Haverford, is the headmaster deepens her belief that Eliot arranged the scholarship.

Helen invites Pippa to sit with the Royals, Lakeview's most popular clique, led by Bianca Davis and including Caroline Bingham, Winona (Win) Hussein, and Starsie. Pippa leaves behind Olive Giordano, a student ambassador who befriended her during the campus tour, and Olive grows resentful. The Royals quiz Pippa about her background. Pippa allows them to assume she attended a prestigious school in Boston, concealing her public-school origins. Bianca announces her crush on Eliot, and Caroline warns Pippa to stay away from him.

Pippa's double life strains her closest relationship. When the Royals encounter Buddy Johnson, Pippa's best friend from Victoria Middle, at a local diner, Pippa is embarrassed and rushes him away. Bianca mocks Buddy afterward, and Pippa does not defend him. Buddy overhears and stops responding to her texts. Pippa also declines to invite any Lakeview friends to her family's Chuseok celebration, a Korean harvest holiday, fearing they will judge her apartment. She borrows money from Helen and racks up expenses to keep up appearances.

Around this time, Pippa begins receiving anonymous threatening messages from an account called Throwaway74312, warning her not to "get too comfy" and promising that everyone will learn about her lies. Pippa suspects various classmates but cannot identify the sender.

When Pippa's mother is hospitalized in Korea after a serious car accident, Mina flies overseas, leaving Pippa and Jung-Hwa to manage the household and fulfill the laundromat's linen orders. Pippa is overwhelmed: She must study for a critical math test, handle the laundry, and worry about Omma, all while Throwaway's threats persist.

One evening at the park, Pippa hears violin music from the woods and discovers that the boy in the green hoodie is Matthew Haverford, Eliot's older brother. Sent to military boarding school after rebelling against his family, Matthew practices violin secretly because Miss Haverford, his great-aunt Evelyn, forbids music in the house. Matthew reveals that he, not Eliot, arranged Pippa's scholarship: After seeing her play basketball and receiving her kindness, he recommended her to Coach Ahmad, who worked with Mr. Haverford to extend the offer. Pippa offers Matthew the closed laundromat as a practice space and gives him a spare key.

During a tutoring session, Pippa accidentally mentions Matthew's conservatory audition within earshot of Miss Haverford, who discovers the hidden violin, threatens to block Matthew's scholarship, and orders Mr. Haverford to confiscate the instrument. As Pippa leaves, she impulsively takes the violin case from Mr. Haverford's study and hides it at the laundromat for Matthew to retrieve. Matthew picks it up and returns to school, assuring Pippa he will take the blame.

Pippa's academic situation deteriorates. Her math teacher, Mrs. Rogers, warns that missed assignments are jeopardizing her standing. Throwaway sends a final message: "The wait is finally over." Exhausted, Pippa leaves several questions blank on the math test and snaps at Caroline at lunch, calling her "Bianca's attack dog."

That same day, Olive posts an article titled "Just Who Is Pippa Park???" on the school blog, featuring secretly taken photos of Pippa at her apartment and at the laundromat holding the violin case. The article reveals her public-school background and accuses her of planning to throw the game against Victoria Middle. Mr. Haverford dismisses the sabotage accusation but recognizes the violin case and suspends Pippa for theft. In the lobby, Pippa identifies Olive as Throwaway after recognizing a missing charm from Olive's bracelet. Olive admits she acted out of resentment, feeling Pippa used their friendship as a stepping stone to the Royals.

During her suspension, Pippa confesses everything to Jung-Hwa: her lies, her shame, her mistreatment of Buddy, and the theft. Jung-Hwa listens without judgment and assures her his love is unconditional. Pippa writes Buddy a heartfelt apology and calls Mina, who surprises her by admitting she has focused too much on Pippa's shortcomings. It is the most honest conversation the sisters have ever had.

At the disciplinary hearing, Mr. Haverford reveals that Matthew explained Pippa's true intentions with the violin and that numerous people advocated for her, including Helen, Win, Bianca, Mrs. Rogers, Coach Ahmad, both Haverford brothers, and Mina. He lifts the suspension, grants Pippa a make-up math test, and asks her to play her best in that evening's season opener. Olive has been separately suspended for cyberbullying. In the locker room, Win quietly confides that she, too, is a scholarship student whose mother cleans houses, reassuring Pippa she is not alone.

The game against Victoria Middle is tightly contested. In the final seconds, trailing by one point, Pippa draws defenders and passes to captain Bianca, who sinks the winning shot at the buzzer, 34-33, ending Lakeview's seven-year losing streak. In the bleachers, Pippa spots Jung-Hwa and Buddy, whose presence confirms Buddy has forgiven her. Eliot reveals that Bianca is not his girlfriend and adds that he does not date seventh graders. Pippa laughs, realizing her crush has faded. She invites her friends, including Helen, Win, and Buddy, to her apartment for Jung-Hwa's cooking, openly embracing her real life and feeling, at last, authentically herself.