Availability:
Library | Call Number | Format | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Braintree Thayer Public Library | SHA | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Brockton East Branch | SHANG | J NEW BOOK LOCAL HOLDS | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Brockton Public Library | SHANG | J NEW BOOK LOCAL HOLDS | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Brockton West Branch | SHANG | J NEW BOOK LOCAL HOLDS | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Cohasset Paul Pratt Memorial Library | SHANG | BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Duxbury Free Library | J FIC SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Hingham Public Library | SHA | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Milton Public Library | FIC SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Norwell Public Library | SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Plymouth Public Library | SHA | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy North Quincy Branch | SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy Thomas Crane Library | SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy Wollaston Branch | SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Rockland Memorial Library | SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Scituate Town Library | SHA | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Sharon Public Library | SHANG, W. | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Walpole Public Library | J FIC SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Weymouth Tufts Library | F SHANG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Middle school can be a battlefield... From award-winning author Wendy Wan-Long Shang comes a poignant and timely take on prejudice, bullying, and claiming our own histories, perfect for fans of Front Desk .
A fresh start. That's all Evan Pao wants as he, along with his mother and sister, flee from California to Haddington, Virginia, hoping to keep his father's notoriety a secret.
But Haddington is a southern town steeped in tradition, and moving to a town immersed in the past has its own price. Although Evan quickly makes friends, one boy, Brady Griggs, seems determined to make sure that as a Chinese American, Evan feels that he does not belong. When Evan finds a unique way to make himself part of the school's annual Civil War celebration, the reaction is swift and violent. As all of his choices at home and at school collide, Evan must decide whether he will react with the same cruelty shown to him, or choose a different path.
Wendy Wan-Long Shang, the critically acclaimed author of Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award for Children's Literature winner The Great Wall of Lucy Wu , weaves a timely and deeply moving portrait of all the secret battles Evan Pao must fight as he struggles to figure out how he fits into this country's past and how he will shape its future.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--The horns and drums of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" preface the rousing narration by Locke, immediately signaling a reference to the Civil War. In contemporary Haddington, VA, ancestral connections to the Confederacy are still revered. Evan, his sister Celeste, and their mother have just arrived from California in the wake of his father's disappearance. Evan is the only non-white student in his sixth-grade class: Max is welcoming but Brady immediately targets him. Battlefield Day--an annual celebration--looms and already his teacher implies Evan doesn't belong. But Celeste's wisecrack leads Evan to the surprising discovery of Chinese Civil War soldiers (thank you, pioneering APA writer Ruthanne Lum McCunn!)--and the chance to correct local traditions. Locke empathically captures Evan's sensitivity; he's just as responsive as snarky Celeste, the curious realtor, Evan's myopic teacher, and easygoing Uncle Joe. VERDICT Locke affectingly animates Shang's peaceful heroes.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When 12-year-old Evan Pao moves cross-country with his older sister, teenage Celeste, and their newly single mother, the family hopes for a fresh start following their father's involvement in a local investment scheme--and his subsequent disappearance with the money. Though "Evan had a sense for lies," feeling physical sensations when there's a "mismatch between what someone was saying and what they were really feeling," he struggles to trust it, especially since he couldn't detect his father's scheme. Leaving their racially diverse California neighborhood for Virginia, where the only person they know is the children's uncle Joe, Evan is shocked to learn that he is Battlefield Elementary's only Asian American student. Though he makes friends, he also catches the attention of a bully and observes the town's deeply rooted Civil War pride, including a reenactment at school, through which Evan eventually learns that Chinese people were involved in the U.S. Civil War. Told through a range of alternating perspectives, the thoughtfully rendered text explores with empathy the way the town navigates a Chinese American family's arrival, and works in themes of community, justice, and trust through the past and present. Shang (Not Your All-American Girl) crafts a well-paced and nuanced story that follows Evan's growing stronger in his sense of self. Ages 8--12. (June)
Booklist Review
Life is full of adjustments for Chinese American Evan Pao. Having recently moved from California to a small Virginia town without his father, sixth-grader Evan finds himself the only Asian American student at his new school. His teacher Mrs. Norwood continuously brings up Civil War history and often talks about the Confederacy. Because of his race, Evan faces bullying and microaggressions and is confronted with anti-Asian hate from a fellow student and exclusion from the school's annual Civil War celebration event. With help from his family, Evan discovers and shares with his class surprising information about Chinese soldiers who fought on both sides during the Civil War. Through this illumination of an overlooked part of history, Shang explores how our lens of the past and present can change as we learn new information. She also empathetically showcases how we can handle conflict and prejudice, as well as encourage others to do better. Utilizing multiple perspectives, Shang's storytelling sensitively moves readers to be mindful of making assumptions and to consider ways to achieve meaningful reconciliation. Full of thoughtful prose and dialogue, Shang's timely story is full of realistic portrayals and powerful messages, which are reinforced by her insightful and personal author's note.