Rating: 
Summary: Good Read!
Review: I bought this book for a class project in my Global Village class during my freshman year (HS.) The assignment was to read a book involving cultural issues and this one sounded so good that I couldn't resist. I truly couldn't put this book down! I loved it! It remains one of my favorite books today!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!!!!
Review: This book was great! It told the story of a teenage girl from Cambodia struggling to live in America. The book combines history with romance. You'll have to read it to find out what I mean! It's one of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: This book is amazing! It is about a Cambodian girl named Sundara,who immigrated to the USA when she was 13. She left her beloved Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge army, and left behind her mother, fater, brothers and sisters, and the only life she's ever known. Now at 17 she is still coping with the new American lifestyle. To her, it is very different in comparison to the strict up bringing of a proper Cambodian girl. She still continues to be shocked at the attitude of students toward thier teacher, American clothes, and many other things that were done differently in her country. She is in many ways a proper Cambodian girl, but she is trying to fit in as an American girl also. One big difference between the Cambodian lifestyle and the American one is she is not allowed to date. She meets Jonathan who is different than any boy she has ever known. She really enjoys being with him, but she must not tell her aunt and uncle, whom she lives with that she is meeting an American boy. They would never approve of it, and she's not held in very high esteem of her aunt in the first place. During all this time she has an emotional scar that has never been healed, because she just kept pushing it deeper inside herself. Sundara had many terrible things happen to her, but during this time of her life she must make many decisions, over come obstecles, and make huge changes. This book is very realistic and hard hitting. I belive everyone should read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Classroom Potential
Review: "Children of the River" is an intriguing story about the adventure of a Cambodian refugee family and their struggle to survive and find contentment in American culture. Readers both sympathize and identify with the ups and downs of Sundara's experience. This book is definately a page turner; the high drama is entertaining, and yet it seriously portrays the plight of a teenage outsider trying to fit in.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I hope to use it in my classroom someday. The story is fun and will maintain the intrest of young readers. From an educational stand-point, "Children of the River" contains excellent discussion possibilities. Under careful supervision and consideration the issues of race, dating, family, culture, popularity, and many other concerns that are relevant to teens can be addressed in relation to the Sundara's plot. Not only do these dicussions have the potential to provide important insights in the lives of the students; but they also motivate the students to read for a full comprehension of the literature. This book provides students with a diverse perspective on life and will hopefully expand and challenge their world view. Excellent book!!!
Rating:
Summary: A love story for all ages
Review: A fascinating story that involves a family forced to flee their homeland and resettle in the United States. Sundara helps her family during their many struggles to be accepted in our culture while trying to remain faithful to their customs and traditions. This story captures the innocence of a young girl bound by her family's rules and a young boy who can not understand her loyalty. This book will keep you turning the pages and anticipating the ending. Thanks Linda for writing a terrific and refreshing book. I hope my children and future students will read and enjoy this book as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful written book
Review: America is a "melting pot". It's new race, new social system, new law and new life. The people come to America have to lose old prejudices and manners in some way. They have to adopt new standards. They begin their new way of life. That doesn't mean you have to abandon your own way of life. You can have them both. In this book, you can find racism. Sundara's aunt tells her not to date with American boys. A good Cambodian girl never dates. The girl should wait for her family to arrange her marriage. Her husband should be Cambodian, too. There is no way to marry a white boy, because her family thinks Americans are not serious about marriage. Some Americans get married and after a while, they want to divorce. Her family thinks all American boys are bad. They don't want to her to become a bad girl just because of an American boy. "All men are created equal". Everyone is the same on matter what color their skin is. You can't look down on others just because the color of their skin. This is an injustice. I like the book so much because my experience it is almost as same as Sundara except I came to America for studying. Sundara is from Cambodia. I am from China. She is seventeen. I am seventeen, too. She lives with her aunt's family, so do I. "At home Sundara was too American; at school she felt painfully aware of not being American enough. She didn't fit in anywhere." I have the same feeling. This book is so touched me. When I am reading the book, I am thinking and comparing myself to Sundara. I find a lot of things from the book. Sundara is really a nice girl. She tries to do her best for everything. It's not easy to live in two different kinds of cultures. Linda Crew put Sundara's growing and her aunt's changing at the same time. Linda arranges Sundara's Cambodian friend died to make Sundara think more about her relationship with the American boy Jonathan. His death makes Sundara realizes she should care what she has now not the past life she left behind. Before I read the book, I didn't think the people from different cultures could be together (boy friend and girl friend). Their backgrounds are totally different, especially the western country and the east country. They don't have too many things in common. So they can't share the same things. It's hard to be with each other without the same language. Now, I have some new ideas. Where they come from is not important, the most important thing is if the two people are right for each other. If they are happy to be with each other, then they should get together no matter what different color of skin they have. Love can happen between two different cultures. The lovers must understand each other's hearts very well so that they know their appearances don't matter.
Rating:
Summary: Children of the River
Review: Children of the River is a great book! Our 9th grade humanities class just finished reading it for our literature circle project. I have to say that I wanted to keep reading and reading once the assigned chapters were finished! I just couldn't put it down! Children of the River is a great book for children, teens, and adults!
Rating:
Summary: Children of the River
Review: I think that "Children of the River" was a very emotional book. It made me realize how fortunate I am. It was about a Cambodian girl, named Sundara, who escaped her homeland from the Khmer Rouge with her aunt's family to travel to a safer place away from the war. It made me feel like there was a completely different world in another part of America. I think this is a very well-written book. It was filled with true facts, like an accent that someone from a certain culture might have.
Rating:
Summary: i liked it
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. It was very gripping and hard to put down. It draws you in and you feel like you are really there. You feel for the characters during the hard times, and it makes you happy when things get better. I liked that the author did a lot of research on the topic because that made the book very accurate, right down to the way the characters speak. I learned a few things about that part of the world. It also teaches some very good lessons about life and how to put things in perspective. The only thing I didn't like as much about this book was the ending. It kind of leaves you hanging, wondering about what might happen. Some people like that though. I cant really think of any other books that this is similar too, I don't think I have read any like it before. Despite the fact I didn't really like the ending, this was still a wonderful book. I honestly couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: A must read (trust me!)
Review: Although this is Linda Crew's first novel, one could easily believe she has been writing since she could hold a pen. This book is thoughtfully crafted which supports the original and simply touching plot. One of the starring points of this novel is the character development. Although most of us have never been in Sundara's difficult (if you read the book, you'll know that is an understatement) position, the author makes you believe that you have been. I can't but my finger on it but her word choices and dialouge ring not only true but meaningful. As the book begins you are drawn into Sundara's new life: She must leave her native Cambodia to America, cold, both literally and figuretively. Sundara is faced with finding the perfect balance of American culture to fit in at school, and Khmer tradition to earn the acceptance of her harsh Aunt. Soon Sundara finds out this is harder than she ever imagined. For one of the harshest traditions of all to abide by is the one that states the 'A good Khmer girl is to have her marriage arranged to a good Khmer boy'. When Jonathan, a football hero with a hidden spirit, comes into her life, Sundara is torn. Should she obey her family and be destined to long for Jonathan forever? Or should she run from the tradition of her family, and go for what seems like instant happiness? You can feel Sundara's agonizing desicion, and feel her love for Jonathan and her family's tradition at the same time. I don't want to spoil this novel for you, but let me tell you that there are both awkward and depressing scenes with the occasional joyous ones. But if you have every experienced heartbreak, or not, this book will give you more than just easy reading.
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