Meet Anise Kim: Books Columnist

Meet Anise Kim, a 15-year-old sophomore and clay’s book columnist! The youngest of three, Anise was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and lived there for four years before moving to France for a year. Then, it was off to Mali, West Africa, where she has been living ever since with her two dogs, Boots and Rey, and her cat, Ciby.

A year after moving to Mali, Anise started homeschooling and is looking forward to her 5th year with TPS, during which she will be taking Algebra 2 (Honors), U.S. Government (Civics) and Economics, AP Art History, Chemistry (Honors), Theology Matters, English 4/5/6 Lit Survey and Composition (Honors), and French 4. Despite her rigorous load, Anise is excited to be returning to clay for her third year as a columnist, her past positions being MK & TCK Spotlight Columnist and Book Columnist, both of which she really enjoyed! Anise says that she wanted to be the book columnist again because she has a passion for books and finds writing about them for clay a welcome break from schoolwork.

Along with writing for clay, Anise enjoys writing her own books and poetry (when the “creative juices are juicing”), playing piano, listening to music, and photography. In fact, her favorite TPS class so far was Photography: Beginner to Brilliant, which she took in 8th grade. Her favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, and her favorite author is L. M. Montgomery, whose  “personal” and “intimate” writing style she would love to replicate. 

She is currently in the middle of reading Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which she would definitely recommend.  When asked what movie is the best remake of a book, Anise answered the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie, which is also one of her favorite movies. If she could meet any people from the past, Anise would choose Jesus, Jane Austen, Shirley Jackson, and L. M. Montgomery. And if she could visit any fictional land and meet any of its inhabitants, she would visit the worlds of My Little Pony or Barbie because it would be like her childhood coming to life. She also would want to go to Hogwarts since it would be “the public school I never had but with magic so it would be better!” 

When she was little, Anise wanted to be a mycologist, a scientist who studies fungi and things of that nature. She then wanted to become a writer, and now says she realistically wants to be an editor or publisher. If she could, though, Anise’s dream job would be a traveling missionary photographer. She would love to revisit some of the 16 different countries she has been to along with visiting many new ones.

 While Anise’s favorite Bible stories are those of Ruth and Esther, her favorite verse is Psalm 65:8, which she says is a beautiful poem that shows the beauty of God’s creation and how it should inspire songs of joy.