"Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See

I finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See a few days ago and have been thinking about how to describe it. This was the first book I've read that gave me a real feel for the Chinese culture. The book starts out in Shanghai in 1937 right before the Japanese invade China. The story follows the lives of two sisters Pearl and May, who are young, carefree and excited about the future.  Their lives undergo a dramatic change once they learn that their father had gambled away his fortune and sold his daughters into arranged marriages to the US. They try to escape this fate, but to no avail. The Japanese invade China - and more personal heartbreak and tragedy follows. I must warn readers that some parts of this book are quite graphic. I myself often prefer not to read books that desribe violence or suffering in a lot of detail. There is one particular point in the book that is quite descriptive, however, the event is critical to building the storyline and understanding the relationship between the two sisters.

Pearl and May eventually get settled in the US with their husbands, and we get a glimpse into what life in the Los Angeles Chinatown was like in the 1940-50s. The book ultimately is about sisterly love and the love of one's country. Pearl and May miss Shanghai terribly, but cannot go back to China because it is ruled by the Communists. Their lives are also deeply intertwined: they are sisters, best friends and sisters-in-law. They also have a "common" daughter - Joy (May gives birth to her and Pearl raises her as her own).

Lisa See has also written a sequel called Dreams of Joy - which is about the daughter I mentioned above. This next novel is definitely on my to be read list.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Since I have a young daughter, I read a lot of books for middle schoolers, and would like to review a very popular five-book series by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first two books The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters have been made into movies. However, the movies really do not do justice to the series, especially the second movie which is significantly different from the book.

The books are based on Greek mythology, but set in the modern day. The main character Percy Jackson is a demigod - a son of the sea god Poseidon born to a human mother. The books are a roller coaster of adventure and action. They are easy to read and provide lots of entertainment. Riordan has a great sense of humor, and his characters are witty and funny.

I read some reviews where the readers were frustrated that Percy Jackson appears to be a bit slow on the uptake. Basically, he is usually the last person to realize what is happening, who the bad guys are, etc, to the point that the readers already know what is going on and Percy is still in the dark. My response to this is: this book is for middle schoolers, who are encouraged to figure out the plot as they read along. The main character is just a kid who is not supposed to have experience with fighting monsters or unravelling evil plots. So keeping this perspective in mind, really helps adult readers to understand why Riordan wrote Percy a certain way.

Another important feature of the series is that there is a clear character development from book to book, and book five has a very strong ending. It does not leave you hanging or hoping for another book. It is a complete stand alone series where all the story-lines are nicely tied up in the end. I really enjoyed reading these books. If you have young children, this is a great series to read as a family, and also a nice way to encourage your child to read. Riordan has two other mythology-based series: The Kane Chronicles (focused on Egypt) and Heroes of the Olympus. So if you can't quite say good-bye to the world created by Riordan, there are more stories to dive into.