Dallas Morning News recently praised DRAGON CHICA by May-lee Chai, calling it a “tender story” that is “sometimes funny, always very much alive.”
The reviewer continues:
May-lee Chai creates a lively narrator in Nea Chhim, who goes from age 11 to 19 in the course of the novel, and never loses her willingness to defend her family — especially her much prettier sister, Sourdi, four years older. Nea is the scrappy Dragon Chica of the title. She remembers how Sourdi once carried her through a Cambodian minefield, finding safety by stepping on corpses. She would do anything for Sourdi. In the pattern of little sisters everywhere, sometimes Nea tries to do too much.
One thing that separates this immigrant narrative from many others is the skill with which the author describes how the kids are tortured by their peers. Naive brother Sam’s wrestling teammates invite him to a party but then try to get him to cook the family dog “gook-style” and serve it to the others on the team. Such an act, they say, would show team spirit. The drama of the kids’ problems in Dragon Chica suggests that this novel might also appeal to young-adult readers.
Read the complete review here.
