Not Your Average Jo

Gr 7-10–Tyo—a transracial Korean adoptee—is quickly becoming an Asian voice of choice, her audio performances buoyed by her award-winning credits on stage as she again convincingly, expertly assumes genders, ages, and backgrounds. Riley Jo wants out of her hometown, Bentonville, AR, where she’s lived her whole life with constant racist othering for being Asian American in a non-diverse community. She grabs the chance to spend senior year at a renowned arts academy in Los Angeles, providing her the opportunity to seriously pursue music. But the all-boy band she joins isn’t exactly accepting, although they have little problem appropriating her suggested band name and even her latest song. Still, getting noticed by industry gatekeepers is very real—albeit much more difficult if you don’t look the part.