Honeysuckle House

by Andrea Cheng

Overview

"The class is so quiet you can hear Tina's hard shoe soles on the floor. Everyone is watching us. Sisters, they are thinking."

Ten-year-old Sarah misses her best friend and neighbor, Victoria, terribly. She still waits for her in the backyard just in case she comes back. The last thing Sarah needs is to be paired with the new girl at school, Tina, who has just arrived from China. Sarah is used to being confused with other Asian students at school, but she doesn't want people to assume that she and Tina have a lot in common. In fact, even simple communication is hard for them: Tina's English is poor, and Sarah doesn't speak a word of Chinese. Thrown together amidst a swirl of problems at home and at school, Sarah and Tina are reluctant to forge a friendship. But both of them must come to terms with the changes in their lives—whether they are able to overcome their differences or not.

Andrea Cheng has remained true to the hearts and voices of two ten-year-old girls in this moving story about friendship.

Told in alternating stories and in the innocent voices of two ten year old girls, Honeysuckle House addresses alienation, longing, prejudice, and cultural differences without ever losing touch with the true preoccupations of childhood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590786321
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	08/01/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	412,469
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Andrea Cheng taught English as a second language in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she lived with her husband and three children. Honeysuckle House is based in part on the experiences of her children. She was also the author of the novels Marika, The Lace Dowry, Eclipse, and The Bear Makers.

Editorial Reviews

* "With a smoothly drawn and interesting plot, strong characters, and graceful writing, the story has more immediacy than much realistic contemporary fiction." —School Library Journal, starred review

"This deft character-driven story about two ten-year-old girls rings with clarity. . . . Honesty and subtlety co-exist in Cheng's thoughtful, never-didactic writing." —Kirkus Reviews

"This will satisfy readers not quite ready for An Na's immigrant drama Step From Heaven, or those simply looking for a different take on the old story of new friendship." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

Alternating between the perspectives of two fourth-grade narrators, Cheng (Marika) proves herself a gifted and sympathetic observer of middle-graders' conflicts and concerns. In the opening chapter, Sarah tries to make sense of the news from her best friend and next-door neighbor, Victoria, that she is moving. Victoria's mother isn't reliable, there's no moving van, and Victoria doesn't know where they're going. But that afternoon Victoria and her mom leave, with some but not all of their things. At school Sarah feels bereaved and alarmed when Victoria's seat gets filled by a new girl, Tina, just arrived from China. Sarah, who is Chinese-American, steels herself: "I'll have to tell everyone all over again I don't speak Chinese." Tina brings her voice to the next chapter, describing her trip from Shanghai to join her parents in America. Cheng uses perceptive details to highlight the enormity of the adjustments Tina must make. Separated from her mother for more than a year, Tina almost doesn't recognize her because her smell has changed her soft perfume has been replaced by an alien scent. "When I smelled the sharp soap," Tina says, she finally understands why her grandmother has told her to be brave. Both Tina and Sarah must come to terms with classmates and teachers who assume that their Chinese facial features confer automatic intimacy and affection, allowing Cheng to make important points about assimilation and prejudice. Eventually, however, the mystery of Victoria's disappearance opens a path for the two girls to channel their feelings of loss and, in the process, create a genuine friendship. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-5-The honeysuckle house (a spot under a large honeysuckle bush) is where fourth-grader Sarah, a Chinese-American girl, plays with her friend Victoria until the girl suddenly moves away. Sarah's story is juxtaposed with her classmate Ting's, a new immigrant from China. Told in first person in alternating chapters, the narratives balance well between large issues (like Ting's parents' employment and legal problems and Victoria's abrupt departure) and more intimate ones (people assume that Sarah can speak Chinese, and Ting has to adjust to all of the new smells in America). With a smoothly drawn and interesting plot, strong characters, and graceful writing, the story has more immediacy than much realistic contemporary fiction. There are some truly memorable scenes, such as when Ting and Sarah explore Victoria's deserted house, and when Ting breaks a vase in the house where her mother cleans. With a strong social conscience behind it as well, this absorbing novel has a lot going for it.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This deft character-driven story about two ten-year-old girls rings with clarity. Sarah's devastated when her best friend Victoria suddenly and mysteriously moves away-where has she gone? Will she be back? The honeysuckle house in the backyard, where they played daily, is bereft without her. Slowly, Sarah gets to know Ting, a girl at school who's just arrived from Shanghai. In this Cincinnati where "China, Japan, Africa" are "all the same. . . . Faraway places with funny-looking people," teachers confuse Sarah and Ting, never absorbing that Sarah is Chinese-American and doesn't even speak Chinese. Kids tease and isolate Ting. Chapters vary Sarah and Ting's distinct points of view as the two creep toward a friendship that, rather than forgetting Victoria, honors and includes her even in her absence. This is really the story of all three girls, as well as their families, each with its own pains and strengths. Honesty and subtlety co-exist in Cheng's thoughtful, never-didactic writing. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews