The Starfisher

Title: The Starfisher

Author: Lawrence Yep

Genre: Fiction- Historical Fiction

# of Pages: 150

Books Read: 4/50

Wow! What an amazing book- I'm so glad I decided to take the time to read this one! I wasn't so sure at first; it didn't look especially interesting from the cover and summary on the back, but this was an eye-opening and thought-provoking read.

Tonight my power went out just as I was about to cook dinner, so instead I made a sandwich and got out some books from my closet. Laying next to the window, I read this fairly short book all tonight. 

Joan Lee is a 16 year old girl struggling to fit in when her family moves to a new town. Set in 1927, her parents are Chinese immigrants who run a laundry business in a small town in West Virginia. Joan and her siblings were all born in America, so they have the struggle of balancing their identity honoring both their Chinese heritage and their American one. 

The author tells a vivid and serious story as the Lee family faces hate and prejudice in their new town. Some thugs yell derogatory comments to them in the train station, and later vandalize their house. Joan has trouble making friends at her new school, in fact her only friend is a fellow outsider. Bernice is an outsider for a very different reason. Her family were theater performers, and most of the townspeople look down on her for it. Joan learns an important lesson about friendship from Bernice.

One of the funniest scenes in the book is when Joan and her little sister Emily have tea with Miss Lucy, their landlady. They've never had tea as dark as Miss Lucy's, and they're used to drinking their tea plain, so they're not sure what to do when Miss Lucy offers them sugar and milk. Emily boldly asks for 6 spoonfuls of sugar in hers, and so does Joan! 

This story is an important opportunity to place myself in someone else's shoes. I don't know exactly what it's like to be an immigrant, or a child of one. I also don't know what it's like to go to the grocery store and only be able to afford bread and lettuce, like Joan does in one early scene. I can however, appreciate the message of strength, friendship, and hope this story offers. I hope I get the chance to share this one with my students someday soon!