Notes

Betty C. Tang
281 pages
chiefly colour illustrations
On cover: Can three siblings make it in America on their own?
Summary: Ten-year-old Feng Li Lin is so excited for her family's first trip to the United States. Their amazing whirlwind tour of Los Angeles - including Disneyland and meeting Mickey Mouse - is sure to make her the envy of her friends back home. But after an action-packed two weeks, she and her siblings - 16-year-old sister Jia Xi and 14-year-old brother Ke Gang - learn that they will remain indefinitely in California while first their father and then their mother returns to Taiwan. Suddenly Feng Li and her siblings are thrust into an alien world where even the local Chinese restaurant tastes nothing like home and the fear of being discovered by Immigration become a daily reality. As they navigate a new school, new names, a new language, and making new friends, they also contend with bullies and racism, the pressures of running a household, and the challenges of getting along with one another. But there are funny times too, as well as the generosity of neighbours and the kindness of new friends. (Publisher)
Ages: 9-12 Parachute kids ; 1