Min Jin Lee’s Contemporary Epic American Hagwon Selected as Amazon’s Best Book of 2026

Sarah Gelman, Editorial director, Amazon Books

“From a buzzy novel about influencer tradwives to a scorching memoir of a marriage gone bad, this year's books penetrated culture far beyond book clubs. But the one that we can't stop talking about is Min Jin Lee's extraordinary and magnetic American Hagwon”

Sarah Gelman, Editorial director, Amazon Books

“We had big expectations for the next installment in her planned quartet of novels exploring the Korean diaspora, and she exceeded them more than we could have ever hoped. American Hagwon is a powerful story about what families sacrifice in the name of their children's futures and whether the promise of formal education is worth the price. We couldn't put it down.”

Min Jin Lee, best-selling author of American Hagwon, Pachinko, and Free Food for Millionaires

“I began writing American Hagwon to figure out why education is so important to a people, and in the decade that it took for me to finish, I ended up learning more about wisdom and why we need it to survive and flourish”

Min Jin Lee, best-selling author of American Hagwon, Pachinko, and Free Food for Millionaires

“Writing this novel taught me many lessons, and chief among them is that the constant of our lives is a steady stream of both trials and treasures. That Amazon’s Editors have selected American Hagwon as the No. 1 Book of the Year is an unexpected gift, and I am deeply grateful for this honor.”