This book first came across my radar when I was at Jury Duty. One of my fellow jurors was reading the book. While we were on break she would go directly to the book. Naturally, this intrigued me and I asked her opinion. She said it was a book she didn't expect and hated to put down. I forgot about the book until I came across it again at the store with a friend. We were discussing what I had been told about the book. As a result, I received the book as a gift for Christmas.
When I finally got around to reading the book I really enjoyed it. It was a sad story but the viewpoint was engrossing. The story surrounds a Chinese-American family of 5. The different stressors each member of the family experiences is looked at. The roles of each individual based on expectations and interpretations were presented. Each member's desires and actions scrutinized. All the while, no other member of the family seems aware of the other. Emotions are heightened when one of the children drowns.
What was so engrossing about this story is the real world applications. How so many children feel the pressures of their familiar expectations and how they deal with it. How you can misjudge someone. How a cascade of emotions and actions can start with one single motion that ripples outward and influencing all within your circle...and even those who are on the edges of your life.
This is another one of those books that I suggest every teenager reads. Perhaps life will not feel so overwhelming or unfair once another perspective is taken into consideration.
Happy reading!
Judi
No comments:
Post a Comment