Liza's Book Review I just finished reading this book which is called Children Of The River whos author is Linda Crew. This book is fiction. You may not automaticaly pick this up when your reading it but this book has several themes. The themes that I picked up were families, the individual vs. society, race(culture), and romance. Your probably wondering how could a book have so much themes but It's possible just like this one. I randomly choose this book off my teachers shelf so I can have an independent reading book. Come to find out this book was good but had I'ts boring parts. The begining was shaky but then ended good. What kept It good was the twists and turns that you wont belive thats happening. The main idea about this book is about a teenage cambodian girl who moved from her hometown cambodia. She left behind her immediate family and came to U.S with her aunt Soka, her uncle, and her little cousins. As she trys to fit in and be that "American girl" at her Orgen High School she also trys her best to follow her religious rules and be that "good cambodian girl". As her and her family struggle from money, jobs, and the "khmer Rouge army" she still finds a way to try to satisfy her needs and make her self happpy. Sundara was trying to be that "good cambodian girl" which includes refusing to date until her family is to arrange her marriage to another cambodian boy. Until she was drawn to this boy name Jonatan that attends her school. She continued her relationship with him while trying to convince her religious family the bright side to all of this and to look behind and beyond their cultures. And finally her family gave in and let them be. Overall I gave this book a rating of three out of five. The reason why i gave this book that rating is because the book had good parts and some suspense to it but then some of the parts can literally put you to sleep. The part that I found the most interseting and funny actually was when she first met Jonatan because of the way she was describing him. For an example on page 28 and 29 the author which is sundara just goes on talking about his muscles and his tanned thighs. She even remembers when he read that paper about that cafeteria food. I really didnt have any questions while reading this book because they were all answered in the middle or end. But one of the things that got answered was that sundara is the author. If I was to recomend this book I would'nt just recomend it to someone random. The reason why I say that because this is a type of book a lot of people wont enjoy. So If I was to recomend it im going to give it to someone that will cherish the recomendation and love the book. Thats why im going to give it to my aunt. I choose her because she is a type of person that is not interested in "ghetto books" she likes books that she could relate to. And i srongly belive she could relate to this book in so many different ways. I never ever read a book like this in my life and if I did I wouldnt finish it Because my typical books are the "ghetto ones" or one which as a lot of drama. In conclusion, this book was worth all my time reading because i learned a lot of religious stuff. Not only that but this was my first book that I read that was set like this. So I look forward to reading books that dont have a lot of drama.
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. It's not exactly the best-written book I've ever read, but the themes-- immigration, fitting in, interracial romance-- can be heady and its consideration of them are complex, particularly for a young adult novel. The writing can trip up the themes, though, as it's a bit too simplistic in plot, and even a bit dangerous in its consideration of love-- I picture the end scene of The Graduate whenever Sundara and Jonathan talked about love.Plot: The story is about a Cambodian girl who comes to America in the wake of the Khmer Rouge sweeping through her town. The rest of her immediate family stayed behind, so she lives with her overly-harsh aunt and somewhat distant uncle in America. The conflicts come from many sides, but it boils down to the pressure to conform to American culture at school and the pressure to maintain tradition at home. Cambodian tradition has some very strict ideas about love, family, and responsibility, and how those ideas contrast American ideals, unfortunately, manifests in Sundara's daily life.Main Characters: Sundara, a teenage Cambodian girl who moves to America with her aunt and uncle to escape the Khmer Rouge. She is an interesting character-- she was thirteen when she was in Cambodia, and had already started establishing her identity there, unlike her younger cousins. All throughout the book, she never speaks perfect English, which is part of what makes her interesting-- it's representative of how much trouble she has fitting in. She wants to adopt a more American way of life, even while keeping some traditions for her own culture-- but she is polite, soft-spoken, even submissive. To make matters worse, she feels she owes a debt to her aunt, whose baby's death she feels responsible for.Jonathan: Jonathan is a star football player at Sundara's high school who develops a crush on Sundara, something she can't understand. She exposes him to all the tragedy of Cambodia, and he begins to become aware that his charmed life is the exception, not the rule. He's a sensitive kid, and intelligent, but what interests me about him is that the author perfectly captures that zeal of the newly converted-- wanting to know more, proselytizing his views, and so on.Soka: The aunt was a flat character most of the way through the book-- the shrill, demanding, hard-working caretaker. But she becomes more and more complex as the book progresses, which is a pleasant surprise. Without revealing anything, more facets of her character are revealed as the book goes on.Key issues: Cambodia and its culture, immigration, Khmer Rouge, fitting in, young adulthoodOther Interesting Information:The setting is mostly in a town in America, although the first few pages cover Sundara's escape from Cambodia. This book is told in third person perspective, limited to Sundara. If the theme of culture clash interests you, you might check out Shame by Salman Rushdie, Brick Lane by Monica Ali, or The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan.
Do You like book Children Of The River (1991)?
This was really not a good book. Linda Crew is, quite frankly, not a good writer. Her style is clumsy and cliched, and I had absolutely no sympathy/empathy for any of the characters. Sundara, the main character, was melodramatic and stupid, and her boyfriend was even worse. The teenage romance sucked. The only reason I gave this 2 stars as opposed to 1 is that I guess some people may be looking for a young adult book about Cambodian refugees in America, and this would fill the bill. I can't imagine that there are many of those around, so a need for such a specific genre could possibly justify picking up this book. For the rest of you who are not forced to read this for a history class (as I was) don't bother with it.
—Angus Whittaker
Children of the River, written by award winning author Linda Crew, is a compelling story about a young girl named Sundara who is forced to flee her Cambodian home, to live in all too different America. As Sundara grows older, she watches the disasters of the Vietnam, and what it is doing to her country. During her early years in America, Sundara thinks it will be easy to maintain her cultures and traditions, but finds it difficult when she finds herself falling in love with a handsome young American boy, who helps her see life in a whole new light. Unfortunately, their love is forbidden and heavily frowned upon by the people of her culture, especially by her family. Linda Crew uses her American authenticity to write about the struggles a young American girl faces in her everyday life. The story line is original and enduring, never leaving you with a dull moment. Sundara’s traditions and beliefs are authentic, but will she stick to them and respect her culture, or succumb to the American way. Sundara’s life story examines opportunity and freedom in America and opportunity for those willing to work hard. Children of the River would be a very good book for anyone seeking a truly touching love story about family, tradition, and true love.
—Taya Kennedy
Sundara is a young Cambodian refugee that's adopted into her extended family after fleeing from their wartorn homeland. What she must leave behind is her family, her country, and her sweetheart. In America, she suffers from the pull between her Cambodian and American cultures. Readers will identify with her responsibilities as a young person growing up including her feelings of guilt, isolation, and anxiety. In this book, I could really appreciate the historical context and the reality of Sundara's struggle as a refugee. The thread that felt, at times, too predictable was the love story. Sundara: niece and daughter to traditional Cambodian family, teenage high school studentJonathon McKinnon: popular American high school football player, naive about the world outside his own until he meets Sundara, love interestSoka: strict and traditional Aunt, Sundara often refers to her as younger aunt, responsible for Sundara's wellbeingNaro: uncle, mediator between the two women, peacemaker, hard worker, optimist of the group Ravy: young cousin, quickly adapted to American waysPon: youngest cousin, tattle taleMoni: Khmer friend of Sundara, strong-willed, encouraging, independentDr. & Mrs. McKinnon: parents of Jonathon, live the American dream as well off, educated, and caring people
—Emilie W
