The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Lee, Mary G. Necessary Roughness. HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. New York, NY. 1996 Paperback Edition. The narrative is told from the first-person perspective of protagonist Chan Kim, with references to the use of Korean language by himself and his family appearing in the text in italics. English appears in regular font. Throughout the book, Chan’s narration refers to his father by using the Korean word “Abogee,” and his mother by using the Korean word “O-Ma.”

The narrative begins as Chan and his family prepare to move from their relatively comfortable home and life in Los Angeles, California to a new home and life in the much smaller, much less diverse Iron River, Minnesota. Chan’s narration reveals that the move has been triggered by the behavior of his uncle Bong, who has used money loaned to him by Chan’s father to set up a convenience store but who has since returned to Korea. Neither Chan nor his slightly younger twin sister Young is looking forward to the move, but their mother seems determined to make the best of a bad situation.

The Kim family’s efforts to find a place to live are at first met with rejection, as Bong’s promise that they can rent his apartment proves to have been a lie. Eventually, the family finds rooms with the friendly, recently widowed Mrs. Knutson, who moves them into rooms on the top two floors of her house.

When Chan and Young start school, they are shocked to realize that they are the only non-white students there. In an effort to fit in, Chan starts spending time with the athletes in the gym, including one he nicknames “All-Pro” because of a jersey he prefers to wear. As “All-Pro” and Chan become friends, Chan learns that All-Pro’s real name is Mikko, the result of his Finnish heritage. There are also a couple of bullies, the large-built Rom and his American Indian sidekick Jimmi. Eventually, Chan tries out for the football team that Mikko, Rom, and Jimmi are all on, and finds himself training as a kicker. For a while, and in spite of his physical struggles to learn the game, Chan eventually starts to feel like he fits in – that is, until he is assaulted in the locker room by unknown assailants, a racism-motivated attack that leaves him bruised but determined to keep playing.

Meanwhile, tensions intensify between Chan, who wants to live a freer and more Americanized life, and Abogee, who wants him to live a more Korean life. These conflicts intensify as Chan starts spending time with an attractive white girl named Rainey, and as Young starts spending time with Mikko. Meanwhile, Young is supportive of Chan’s efforts to play football, joining the school band that plays at every football game, and signaling him with a note on her flute whenever he plays particularly well or seems to need encouragement.

The team plays well, and advances through the season. Chan’s growing sense of comfort in himself and in what he is doing is derailed, however, when Young is killed in a car accident. As Chan and his family mourn Young’s death, tensions reach a breaking point – until, that is, Chan finds his father at prayer for Young’s soul. From then on, father and son experience a deeper connection, to the point at which Abogee and O-Ma actually attend a championship football game, which Chan and his team win.

At the book’s conclusion, Chan takes the championship trophy to the cemetery where Young’s body has been buried. At the moment when he places it near her grave, the first snow of the year starts to fall. While Chan wishes he could be sharing this moment with Young, he realizes that he is able to both honor her memory and go on with his life.