Book
Children of the River
Children of the River is a young adult novel by Linda Crew about a Cambodian refugee girl growing up in Oregon, first published in 1989.[1][2] Its heroine, Sundara Sovann, weighs her family's expectations against a new life in America.[2]
About the book
At thirteen, Sundara fled Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge army with her aunt's family.[2] Her parents, brother and sister stayed behind in Cambodia, as did the boy she had loved since childhood.[2] Her infant cousin died during the family's flight.[3]
Four years later, in 1979, Sundara is 17 and a student at an Oregon high school.[2][3] At school she becomes friends with Jonathan McKinnon, an American schoolmate.[3] At home a good Cambodian girl does not date; her family is expected to arrange a match with a Cambodian boy for her.[2] Sundara and Jonathan are drawn to each other, while she grieves for her lost family and her old life and asks whether happiness in America would be disloyal to her past and her people.[2][4] She does not know what became of her family in Cambodia.[3]
Crew spent a year studying Cambodian history and culture before she began a first draft, and she interviewed Cambodian refugees and the people who worked with them.[5]
Publication and editions
Delacorte Press issued the novel in New York in 1989.[1][5] It is written for readers ages 12 and up, grade 7 and above, with a Lexile level of 700L.[2][4]
- 1989, Delacorte Press (hardcover): ISBN 0385296908[1]
- August 1, 1991, Laurel Leaf mass-market paperback: ISBN 9780440210221, 240 pages[2]
- January 21, 2009, ebook: 224 pages[2]
Reception
The novel was a Golden Kite Honor Book, and its other honors include:[5]
- 1990: International Reading Association Children's Book Award, older readers category[2]
- 1991: Texas Lonestar Reading List[2]
- 1992: Washington Evergreen Young Adult Book Award[2]
Kirkus Reviews called it "A powerful first novel," and School Library Journal wrote that it honors the goodness of humankind even in inhumane circumstances.[2]
Access
References 5
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Open Library, Children of the river (Delacorte Press, 1989)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Penguin Random House
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kirkus Reviews, Children of the River (February 15, 1989)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Random House Children's Books
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Linda Crew, Children of the River
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