Won Lee, the protagonist of the novel The Sense of Wonder, is the only Asian American player in the NBA. But as was true for real-life basketball star Jeremy Lin, things can get very ugly – and very racist – very quickly. In today's episode, author Matthew Salesses explains to NPR's Leila Fadel how he tried to balance his main character's "happy to be here" energy with the need to push back and stand up for himself. He also tells Fadel about his deep love for Korean dramas, and how that passion found a home in the novel, too.

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