Thief of Hearts: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1995 ANNOTATION
When Stacy is paired with a Chinese girl at school who is accused of theft, she must come to terms with her own Chinese and American heritage.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Caught in the Middle
Stacy Palmer almost never thinks about being Chinese American, As far as she's concerned, she's just like everyone else.
Then Hong Ch'un comes to Stacy's school from China. Stacy and Hong Ch'un don't exactly get along, but when Hong Ch'un is accused of stealing and runs away, Stacy bows she must try to find her.
With her family's help, Stacy searches the tiny back streets of San Francisco's Chinatown. There, she gets a glimpse of what it was like for her Chinese mother, growing up in a different culture. And for the first time in her life she realizes her true heritage-and finally understands what it means to be Chinese American.
About the Author
Laurence Yep grew up in San Francisco, where he was born. He attended Marquette University, was graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Mr. Yep now lives in Pacific Grove, California.
One of children's literature's most respected Asian American authors, Mr. Yep has written many novels, including Dragonwings, a Newbery Honor Book of 1976, and Dragon's Gate, a Newbery Honor Book of 1994. He is also the author of When the Circus Came to Town; The Imp That Ate My Homework, winner of the Georgia Children's Book Award; and The Magic Paintbrush.
The author of numerous other books for children and young adults, Mr. Yep has also taught creative writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara. In 1990 he received an NEA fellowship in fiction.
FROM THE CRITICS
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A strong portrait of a child finding her present in the past.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A strong portrait of a child finding her present in the past.
Children's Literature - Alexandria LaFaye
This entertaining middle grade novel focuses on Stacy, a young girl with a Chinese American mother and a European American father. After her parents ask Stacy to help a young Chinese immigrant adjust to an American school, the Chinese girl, Hong Ch'un is accused of theft. Ashamed and angry, Hong Ch'un flees to Chinatown. At school, the other children accuse Stacy of being a "half-breed" for siding with Hong Ch'un. Hurt and unsure of her own identity as a Chinese American, Stacy goes with her mother and her great-grandmother to find Hong Ch'un. Shocked by the changes in Chinatown, Stacy's relatives talk about the way things used to be and Stacy gains a new understanding of her own family's history. They find Hong Ch'un and return home to find Stacy's father pollinating the cherry trees in the neighborhood by waving a cherry branch in the wind from the roof of their house. This quirky moment symbolizes her father's search for home and heritage by growing things. In one night, Stacy gains a greater understanding of her own identity and learns to value the importance of her family's past. The following day, she and Hong Ch'un entrap the real thief and begin to build a new friendship. An absorbing book that sometimes becomes too didactic, this novel demonstrates Yep's ability to weave cultural history, mythology, family relations, and an entertaining plot together into one well-crafted story.
The ALAN Review - Jennifer Moreland
Stacy has never thought about her Chinese heritage until she is unwillingly paired with a new immigrant girl, Hong Ch'un. When Hong Ch'un, accused of a series of thefts, runs away to Chinatown, Stacy follows and learns much about her own family's past and cultural values. Woven around a Chinese fable, Thief of Hearts is a sequel to Child of the Owl. Stacy's adolescent self-discoveries are accentuated by her growing awareness of her cultural background. An interesting sidelight concerns the changes that have occurred in Chinatown since Stacy's mother grew up there, changes that are mirrored in Stacy, a child of mixed race who has only a passing acquaintance with her cultural heritage, even though her Chinese grandfather lives with the family. Yep's blending of multicultural themes with a familiar school conflict will appeal to middle-school readers, particularly those living in areas with Asian-American populations.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8Yep's sequel to his superb Child of the Owl (HarperCollins, 1977) touches lightly, and with gentle humor, on issues of identity, communication among generations, racial stereotyping, and cross-cultural understanding. Stacy, who lives with her Caucasian father and Chinese mother and great-grandmother in a suburb of San Francisco, tells the story. Her mother, Casey, was the streetwise protagonist of the previous title, and the frail, ancient woman Stacy calls Tai-Paw was the grandmother who gave Casey a home and roots. Stacy has never thought of herself as anything but Americanuntil the day her parents ask her to befriend a Chinese immigrant, Hong Ch'un. The two girls take an instant dislike to one another. When items stolen from people around the school are found in Hong Ch'un's backpack, a schoolmate calls Stacy ``half-breed'' for defending her. Disgraced, Hong Ch'un runs away, and Stacy, her mother, and Tai-Paw search through Chinatown for her. Their three-generation journey, intertwining memories and revelations with present action, forms the emotional heart of the narrative. Stacy's understanding of herself and others seems at times too facile, and explanations of history and cultural differences occasionally intrude on the plot. The new book is short and fast-moving, but lacks the sass and bite of its predecessor, and some of the writing is imprecise. Still, its warm depiction of a mixed-race child in a changing world, combined with a page-turning mystery, should guarantee a wide audience.Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
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