Homesick

Jean is an American girl who was born in China. She has lived in China all of her life and has never been in America. Her family lives in a section of a town where people who aren't Chinese live. While she is living in China, there is a war. She is disappointed because it prevents her family from going to the ocean for summer vacation. Instead, they go Kuling, in the mountains. Jean, her mother, her father, and one of their servants, Lin Nai Nai goes there. They stay at the Jordan's house, and Jean is happy. One night Jean's mother goes to the hospital with pain in her legs. Jean's father comes back from the hospital and tells Jean that she has a baby sister. Jean is very excited and loves her sister. Soon, the baby dies and Jean is very disappointed. Her father leaves the house to go back home while Jean and her recovering mother stay there. When Jean finally goes back home, she finds out that the war is very real because her and her family were almost killed by coolies that wanted to be paid more. She learns of the siege where Lin Nai Nai's family live, and wants it to end. Her parents tell her that they will move to America, and Jean is really excited. Her friend Andrea and her family are going to be traveling to America on the same boat with them. When Jean and her parents get to America, they drive all the way to Washington, Pennsylvania where Jean's grandmother lives. Jean finally gets to meet her grandmother and other relatives that she has never seen before. She is happy to be a regular American.

China is a lot different than the United States. I learned that it was regular for families to have many servants. People called coolies didn't have a very good life. They had to do very hard work to earn a living. In China, there are little sections of towns for people to live in if they are not Chinese. There are also different schools, like the British school that Jean goes to. ~Erin Bandstra

I think I would recommend this book to someone, but it depends who. I wouldn't suggest it to someone who likes action, because there is none of that in this book. I think that this book was good, but it was kind of boring. ~Erin Bandstra