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Yep, Laurence.
ANGELFISH
New York : Putnam's, 2001
IL YA
ISBN 0399230416
Click on the book to read Amazon reviews
Angelfish by Laurence Yep tells the story of Robin who wants to be a ballerina but when she accidently breaks a window she is forced to work off the cost so that she can still participate in the recital. Mr.. Tsow, the man who owns the fish store where Robin broke the window, is a beast ­ he calls her half a person because her mother is Chinese and her father is white ­ but with the angelfish he can be sweet and gentle.  Can Robin's grandmother help her solve the mystery of why Mr. Tsow is such a beast?  "I could understand his disliking me because he believed I was careless, but I couldn't understand his disliking me for being only half Chinese"  (Yep, 2001, p.11).
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The book looks at Chinese- American family life in present day San Francisco. It presents topics such as discrimination faced by people of mixed heritage, the value placed on family elders, and some of the atrocities that were committed during the Cultural Revolution in China.  I chose this book because I felt a connection with the main character Robin. As someone from a minority culture I understand with it is like to be put down for something you can’t control. Also Robin’s determination to uncover the truth made her a believable character prompting me to continue reading.  (Jill Schuster,  tigger_90503@yahoo.com, librarian)

SUBJECTS:     Chinese Americans -- Fiction.
                        Ballet -- Fiction.
                        Racially mixed people -- Fiction.
                        Fishes -- Fiction.
                        Grandmothers -- Fiction.

 
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