Lichee Tree - Hardcover

Russell, Ching Yeung

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1563976293 ISBN 13: 9781563976292

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 1997

Synopsis

Boyds Mills Press publishes a wide range of high-quality fiction and nonfiction picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction

About this title

Reviews

Grade 4-7. Ying, the heroine of First Apple (1994) and Water Ghost (1995, both Boyds Mills) now contends with problems that even her formidable energy and resourcefulness cannot overcome. She lives with her grandmother, Ah Pau, in a rural village in Southern China. Although the adults try to protect Ying, she learns that a sinister man nicknamed Ghost Walk wants her lovely cousin Ah So as his second concubine. Only after Ah So disappears and Ying finds a bloody shirt stashed behind the door does her grandmother tell her that her cousin ran away to Canton with her true love, after he was severely beaten by Ghost Walk's henchmen. Ghost Walk extorts money and property from Ying's family in revenge. Her uncle's store is forfeited, as is their house, with Ying's beloved lichee tree. Life in this isolated village is vividly depicted through specific details about friends, school, food, work, and play. While the notion that a single strongman can terrorize a village might seem extraordinary, Ying's need for knowledge, safety, and security are poignantly familiar. Ying's maturing love for Ah Pau, whose strength and practical wisdom holds the family together, forms a more realistic narrative trajectory than the plot, which comes to a rather implausible?yet satisfying?conclusion. More complex than Russell's earlier books, this new title is valuable for its engaging heroine and its unique setting.?Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-7. In a sequel to First Apple (1994) and Water Ghost (1995), 10-year-old Ying, who lives with her grandmother, uncle, and cousins, faces new challenges. The lichee tree planted for her as a symbol of hope when she was small is ready to bear fruit. She dreams of selling the fruit and traveling to distant Canton, a place she imagines to be full of exotic sights and people. But when a greedy landowner wants to make her older cousin his concubine and destroy Ying's family, the tree takes on a different significance. This story about a girl's coming-of-age amid family secrecy and the social turmoil of China in the 1940s is both realistic and lyrical. Its characters are beautifully realized, and in spite of their distant backdrop, they have a universal appeal. Shelley Townsend-Hudson

Edition details

• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1563976293
• ISBN 13: 9781563976292
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32