As usual Gina Chung does not fail to deliver. I found each story captivating, and in some cases looking up the fairy tale it may have been based on. I love finding authors who continue to make my love of contemporary fiction grow.

Both 'Rabbit Heart' and 'Honey and Sun's were my favorites. I cannot wait to pick up a physical copy of this book to add to my collection.

A set of short stories, delving into fantasy, fiction, magical realism and everything in between. Something for everyone, animals, sci-fi, mythology and all still very human. Lots of emotions and deep thoughts with a lot of these, poignant and beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I really tried to get into this and enjoy the stories for their weirdness, but I just couldn't. It's one of those cases where I'm just not vibing with the writing style and the themes of the stories. I don't know, this just didn't work for me at all and it could definitely be a case of I'm just not the right audience for this. I can enjoy weird stories but I like them to have substance or make me feel something, these just didn't, but I still appreciate the talent and I think other readers will find the enjoyment I couldn't.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the publication of 'weird' short story collections, and unfortunately, Chung's<i> Green Frog</i> is a lacklustre addition to this trend. The ‘quirky’ tone and the use of absurdist and surreal elements felt almost formulaic as if Chung was following a checklist or creative writing prompts rather than genuine narrative experiences rather than genuinely experimenting with her storytelling.

The choice of the opening story was particularly baffling; it’s basically a series of instructions, not a story at all. To place this as your ‘opener’...it’s an odd choice. It was almost off-putting in a way. Usually collections like these open with a banger (and then fizzle out). But still, I moved past it hoping that the following stories would at least deliver on the themes promised by its summary. Sadly, they didn’t. Not only did they lack substance, but the style they prioritized felt derivative and not particularly compelling. Characters fail to register their presence on the page, and the story’s ‘quirks’ were entirely gimmicky. The only truly memorable one was the story about an amorphic praying mantis, but this story is really cut short and doesn’t really do anything (thematically or stylistically). They just washed over me. Neither bad, nor good, but certainly surface-level and forgettable. This is a pity as they promised to blend real-life struggles, specifically of Korean American women, with fantastical elements. However, I found the author’s exploration of bodies, desires, and memories to be tedious.

While I didn't love Chung's debut, it had an earnestness that I couldn't help but admire. In comparison, <i>Green Frog</i> feels rather contrived. Maybe if you have just started reading weird short stories you might find yourself able to appreciate<i> Green Frog</I> in ways that I was unable to.

Green Frog (June 2024) by Gina Chung is a collection of short stories focusing on the Korean American experience as her characters deal with motherhood, death, grief, regret, and more.

Having read Chung's debut novel Sea Change before, I had looked forward to more of her works. I feel this collection is such a reward, because not only we readers get to read a new story but we are presented with the opportunity to read 15!

The stories are unique, some are slice-of-life tales, some with a touch of magical realism, some folklore-ish, some with futuristic elements. They explore the complicated relationships between family members and loved ones.

Each story transported me into different realms, filled with vividly imagined characters and scenery. The stories are emotionally charged, and the characters are morally complex. While I don't fancy some of the characters, I could feel for their situations.

For me, most of the stories are strong and memorable, but as usual, there are a couple of misses. My favourites were 'Rabbit Heart', 'The Sound of Water', 'Names for Fireflies', and 'Honey and Sun'. I particularly love 'Rabbit Heart' for the granddaughter-grandmother relationship, as it's very poignant.

I thank #NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was read and reviewed for Mslexia's What's New in Short Stories review column - thank you for the advance copy!

A unique collection of stories that will hit you in the feels. Many aspects of these are relatable. Told through varying situations that put the characters in each story in difficult situations. It describes them navigating life under cultural and societal expectations and them making the choices that are right for them. Blending sci fi and thrilling tropes this was a great collection to experience.

I absolutely loved this gorgeous collection of short stories about how womanhood connects to nature and the world around it. I’d love to go back and read this and appreciate the stories in different ways. I loved the different points of view, story formats and themes, and loved the way they’re all stand alone but read beautifully as a collection.

Green Frog by Gina Chung is a lyrical and creative, varied and diverse collection of short stories - an interesting mix of genres and styles.

‘Green Frog’ is such a beautiful collection of short-stories that it is hard to even pick stronger texts than others. The writing is the most outstanding part of the book, the dialogues are so heartfelt that characters that we only meet for ten pages feel like real-life people. Although there are many surreal elements, the authenticity of the emotions they experience feels undeniable. The heart is at the centre of the collection, not only does it appear in three titles, but all the stories are about facing one’s most honest truths. Motherhood, brotherhood, loss, death, think about the most popular themes in fiction, they are all here, but tackled with such emotional intelligence that it will move many readers. In this ethereal piece of literature, event bats can be heartbroken.
To compare it to some contemporary authors, it has the weirdness of Bora Chung’s ‘Cursed Bunny’ (without its creepiness), and the mundane softness of Sayaka Murata’s works, all the while being very unique. Gina Chung has such a beautiful voice that I sincerely hope that this book will allow her to be deservedly noticed.

Green Frog is a brilliant array of short stories, all centred around the Korean-American experience, dipping into varying genres such as folklore, sci-fi, contemporary, literary, and horror, to name just a few.

Each story is beautifully handled, whether Chung is writing a guide on how to eat your own heart, exploring the concept of replacing your dead daughter with a robot, folklore based kumhio’s seeking revenge, or tangled family relations in our present world.

When writing reviews for short story collections this is the point where I would usually highlight a few of my favourites - but that’s quite impossible to do, as practically every single story stands out and shines in its own way. I implore you to read this book, to see exactly what I mean. Chung easily sinks her teeth into her varying chosen genres, and these stories speak for themselves.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

I had liked Gina Chung's first novel, Sea Change, and I loved these short stories. There's a good variety of them, some magical, some more mundane, but I found them all enjoyable. She is great at writing about mothers and daughters, and she is great at exploring regret and loss. I especially liked 'Attachment Process', where a couple decides to buy a robot replica of their deceased daughter (with a consciousness powered by AI) but elect yo replicate their daughter Elly as a five year old rather than a teenager; 'After the Party' where a woman discovers something about her husband, and 'Names for Fireflies ' where two naughty little girls are sent by their single mother to live with a strict uncle who collects insects. They were all quite moving and memorable.

You can never have too many stories about women! We’ve all gone through something… and we will all go through something like these women. These stories were well-told. I do love a short story collection!

Green Frog manages to pull off a feat that few short collections are able to do successfully: almost every piece is able to stand alone (marked by a unique array of characters, narrative, and stylistic voice), and yet the whole thing works as a complete, interconnected composition - Chung's engagement with the tradition of Korean folktales, the complicated dynamics of families and romantic relationships, and her concern with the myths of the past, present, and future are the common threads which run through each individual story.

Chung's writing is strong - easy to read, but still flecked with glimmers of experimentation and wit - and I appreciated her willingness to play with form; I liked how several of the stories were written from interesting and unusual perspectives (switching from second- and fourth- person, for example). That being said, some aspects of her authorial style just weren't to my particular taste - I soon became aware of her propensity to lean on simile and metaphor, to the point that it came across a little repetitive (thus lessening the impact of such techniques). Furthermore, some of dialogue rang slightly hollow to me - the secondary characters, in particular, often seemed quite stereotypical or underdeveloped. Overall, I did enjoy the collection, and would definitely like to read more from Chung (perhaps a whole novel, as I wanted to read more about some of the characters introduced in this book)!

Thank you to NetGalley and Picador for this free e-ARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Picador for providing an advance reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Green Frog by Gina Chung is a short story collection which borders on reality and magical realism. Each story was quite different from each other and they all had distinct voices. The writing was very easy to follow and I was impressed by the language and the word building. The stories were a mixed bag for me. I loved some a lot and some felt lukewarm. Each story evoked a different emotion in me. Some were futuristic, some were set in the present and overall they were highly enjoyable. Chung was able to express emotions very well in her stories very well and that elevated them a lot.

This is one of the most interesting short story collections I've read in a while. Would recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Green Frog' by Gina Chung.

'Green Frog' is a collection of short stories by Gina Chung and honestly, it was a mixed bag for me. Some of the stories I really didn't like but then you'd encounter one you madly fell in love with and would want an entire novel about. Gina Chung has such a witty way of writing books and I feel like she is definitely underrated and slept on.

This was a really interesting collection of short stories which was equal parts fantastical and realism. The stories were beautiful, heart-breaking and full of happiness too all centred around Korean American characters. The writing was so warm and gripping that I sped through the novel; a must read.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

The title immediately grabbed me because it was odd and I like odd titles. I got even more excited when I saw it was a series of short stories and by a Korean author. 15 stories, about women, that were so different. I thought it might get a bit ‘samey’ but I ploughed through this. Each story raised a different set of emotions - ‘How to eat your own heart’ was a great story to start with and it set the tone of what was to come, ‘You’ll never know how much I loved you’. was quite sad and very real but the saddest was ‘The Arrow’ - about a woman and her mother reuniting over a pregnancy. ‘Attachment Processes’ made me feel uneasy because it’s so futuristic but actually not that far away. I can’t fault any of the stories because they took me on a fabulous ride and I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for future publications from this author. The scope of the author’s imagination was brilliantly captured in these pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Picador for this ARC. I loved it.

Thank you to Pan Macmillian for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley. This is my honest review, featuring quotes from the ARC.

“A mother should know better than to shatter into fragments when that child tells her she hates her. A mother should be able to track and chart the changing patterns of her daughter’s mind and, even if she doesn’t understand them, love them anyway. A mother should know to be better than her own fears and rages.”

I used to avoid short stories. Believing them too short to earn my investment, but short stories have some of the best writing ever. I’m always excited to experience their magic now. Their strong focus and direction create poignant pieces of literature that don’t need hours to change you, they succeed in a matter of minutes. The stories offer emotional intelligence, transformation and perceptive awareness. As Zadie Smith said “You become a different writer when you approach a short story. When things are not always having to represent other things, you find real human beings begin to cautiously appear on your pages.” I can confidently say Green Frog by Gina Chung is a short story collection that makes you believe in this magic.


A collection of fifteen stories that throw you into different scenarios. From stories imbued with magical realism to push the boundaries of grief and childhood trauma, to hearts breaking in varying ways to their blind audiences. Each story offers something different, so you can’t predict what the next story will include. I enjoyed this variety of story-telling. It made for a memorable collection, especially through the pointed use of fantasy that conveyed emotions in unique ways. Ways that succeeded in expressing the hard-to-express; this book did not ignore conflicting natures or the unexplainable for ease. I liked how it got me thinking as a reader too. If these things were possible, what would I do? Books that leave you with these thoughts are always hard to forget for the right reasons.


Whilst all the stories were different, the emotional thought was evident in each one. Chung expressed situations of high emotion, such as divorce, death or dignity. They were stories of finding your place amidst these changes in life or rather because of them. Due to this nature, you can presume a lot of the weighty emotions that would follow, but Chung went one step further. She was able to explore small details in the characters’ past and think about how what once happened would make them react in a specific way to the present moment. It was this level of thoughtfulness that made me invest in characters. I grabbed the tender details of their life and thought deeply about the personal meaning that lay in the words.


Each story had a clear-cut lesson at the end of it. Once again, it gave you something to take away from the story. To not just see a reflection within the words, but a meaning to hold close. What I really enjoyed was how the morals weren’t necessarily written as stories of success, but stories of realisations. I noticed how the stories often featured characters of stillness, or worse, stagnation. The moral was not forced, but a dawning moment achieved throughout the course of the story. There is, of course, success in reflection but these short stories highlighter the confusing nature of life and the strength needed to realise the change best for you, then the strength to go after that change.


The writing was easy and to achieve that ease is no small feat, especially with the thoughtful nature of this book. The style suited the subject matter, not one to over-embellish but touching all the same. The writing makes small details noticeable because they are placed with care into the story. Sometimes by saying less, you mean more. Readers pick up on this and it serves the emotional journeys beautifully. I saved many quotes from this book and every time I read them, I fall in love with them a little more. The painful truths and insightful moments as Chung takes intimate notice of what it means to be alive and dreadfully human. An intriguing read for literary fiction fans.

“I am here, I remind myself. And maybe it’s time I did something about it.”

I enjoyed this collection - there were a lot of good messages in it. Each story was well written and the characters were quite developed. There was a mix of real life and mythological elements which I loved. I don’t think I could relate to some of the stories that were more about motherhood but the ones I could relate to I really liked. Some of the themes were repeated in each story which got a little repetitive.

My favourites were:
• Rabbit Heart - Short and sad.
• Attachment Process - A really interesting concept which I would love a full novel of!
• Names for Fireflies - Just wow.
• The Love Song of the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat - Relatable for me and I loved it.

I recommend this collection to fans of literary fiction and stories about women. I think you could get even more out of it if you relate to some of the themes more than I do.