By: Lensey Namioka Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Harcourt Paperbacks Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: August 01, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult
April Chen is happily planning to go away to college, and she has a great new boyfriend, Steve. But as the only girl in her family, April is expected to take care of her grandmother. And Grandma, "the Dragon Lady," hates Steve and has other plans for April. Torn between her duty to her family and her desire for independence, April realizes she must find a way to define herself on her own terms.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too April is Chinese-American. She lives with her father, brother, and grandmother in Seattle, Washington. When the story begins, April is a junior in high school. She plays in her school's orchestra and belongs to the geology club. April loves rocks. She wants to go to school in Colorado to study geology, but there is a big problem - GRANDMA.
Grandma came to live with them when April was small. April's mother was so distraught that she went to work at the local library, until she died two years ago from lung cancer.
In Chinese-American families, the most important family members are the boys. The girls don't count for much. April, growing up in America, is having trouble being submissive, especially to her spoiled, doted-on brother.
When Grandma is diagnosed with diabetes and begins showing signs of senility, it is expected that April take care of her. April is torn between being the good Chinese daughter and pursuing her dreams of going to college and becoming a geologist. Her brother is so self-centered that April has to give up being in the orchestra and belonging to her rock club. Will she have to give up all of her dreams?
I enjoyed reading APRIL AND THE DRAGON LADY and did so in about a week while reading three other books. April is a good character and her fight is interesting. The characters learned a lot during the length of the story about family, love, culture, independence, and giving to others. I highly recommend reading this book.
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
April's Fight for Freedom by J. Rich In April and the Dragon Lady, April Chen faces difficulties trying to break free of her grandmother's control over her life and the customs of the Ancient Chinese. One of the challenges placed in her path by her controlling grandmother is the right to date Steve, April's Caucasian boyfriend. This is not allowed because of a custom that states that a Chinese woman must marry a Chinese man. Another challenge placed in her path is her grandmother's stubbornness to the old expression "my way or the highway". April faces the challenge of trying to break free of the Chinese customs but still taking care of her grandmother since her older brother Harry won't do anything, her father doesn't pay attention, and her mother is dead. In this book, April also discovers some new things about her grandmother that relate to the way she was brought up. One is that her grandmother is a racist and the other is that she is a sexist. She is racist against anyone not Chinese and she is sexist against women. Throughout the book, April begins to realize that she is neither American nor Chinese si she must stretch herself to cover both areas of her life and to get her grandmother to realize that the world is changing and no one lives by the old ways anymore, she must look deep inside herself and discover who is truly is. At the end of the book, April has discovered her true self and she receives a token from her grandmother (the Dragon lady) that shows her that she too can change.
A Delicious Book! This book is a fantastic view into what children of immigrants live with. Constantly divided between two cultures, they struggle to be true to both. Sometimes, April, a budding geologist who lives with her manipulative grandmother, wants to be true to her Chinese heritage. Sometimes, she just wants to study for exams.
The real flavor for her circumstance shows when her own prejudices are revealed - when she looks at an issue through American eyes that her grandmother sees only through Chinese ones; when she looks at another issue through Chinese eyes, when her boyfriend only sees the American side.
The characters and situations in this book are very well drawn. The menus in this book are impeccably drawn (I was hungry for Chinese food for a week after reading it!) It's a great read for any girl looking to find her place in her family.
A book with a bang April and the dragon lady by Lensey Namioka is an amanzing book. April is a Chinese American girl trying to live the life of both worlds. On one side she is trying to please her grandma and be involved with her Chinese culture, but on the other side she is trying to be a normal American girl. She faces problems with having a Caucasian boyfriend and keeping him a secret, while he has a need to meet the family. This book really moved me because growing up in the Chinese culture in America isn't always the easiest thing. The book is so precise because that really is how most Chinese Grandparents are and I'm glad my family isn't that strict about it. The author aimed to let others know about the chinese culture and what it is about.
I can totally see myself in April. I love Lensey Namioka's books, read all of them and love them all. Particularly this one, because I can see myself as the main character, April. We both grown-up in a very strict traditional Asian Family. We both have grandmas that kept pestering us about our Caucasian boyfriends. We both have brothers that always can get away with many things, just because they are boys. But not only that, we both have Caucasian boyfriends that just gave us a hard time mainly because they just couldn't understand our traditions and "responsibilities as the daughter in the family" and especially about "respect to the elders." My boyfriend thought that I'm too scared of my family and afraid to stand up for what I believe. So I told him to read this book too... ha ha ha.... But like April, I believe that no matter how bad the future might seem, everything will be alright at the end.
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