Chu Ju's House

Rating:
Summary: Another classic Gloria Whelan book
Review: 14-year-old Chu Ju lives in a rural Chinese village where according to culture boys are far more valued than girls. Her mother is pregnant again and the whole family prays for a son, because they know the strict rules of 2 children per family would not permit them to have another child if the baby turned out to be a girl. Unfortunately, Chu Ju's new sibling turns out to be another girl. Chu Ju's grandmother is very bitter at the result and convinces the family to put the girl up for adoption and hopefully have another child that will be a boy. Chu Ju is devastated when she hears of her family's plan and she decides to run away so her baby sister will not have to suffer. Little does Chu Ju know how important this journey will be to her life and self-realization. Told over several years, Chu Ju's journey brings her many hardships, but joy as well. She goes from village to village finding an assortment of jobs, such as working on a silkfarm, a fishing boat, and working in the rice paddies. In the end, Chu Ju realizes she made the right decision and you know she will be happy since she has found her true love and a family that accepts her for who she is and not her gender.

Being a 2nd-generation Asian-American this book hit very close to home. Unfortunately this type of gender discrimination is very common in many of China's rural villages which still go by old customs and have not been educated in the new modern ways. This topic was probably very tough to write on, but I think Gloria Whelan did a great job touching on both sides of the issue. Like Homeless Bird, she has created another great story of a girl who had courage to face the odds.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful new novel from Gloria Whelan.
Review: Fourteen-year-old Chu Ju and her family live in modern rural China, where a strict policy of two children per family is enforced. When Chu Ju's mother becomes pregnant again, the family hopes for a boy, because sons are strongly preferred. But when the baby is born, it is another girl, who is named Hua. When Chu Ju learns that her grandmother plans to sell baby Hua to an orphanage so that there will be room in the family for another child, hopefully a son, Chu Ju decides to run away from home to spare her sister this terrible fate. Chu Ju's journey brings her to a fishing boat, a silkworm factory, a rice paddy, and the bustling and modern city of Shanghai. Fans of Gloria Whelan's previous novels won't want to miss this one. It's a wonderfully written and fascinating look at the hardships faced by a young girl in a society that strongly prefers males, and her journey to prove her worth and find a place for herself in the world.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful adventure
Review: In her previous novels, including ANGEL ON THE SQUARE and HOMELESS BIRD (winner of the 2000 National Book Award), Gloria Whelan brought to life specific times and places --- such as modern India and revolutionary Russia --- through the stories of individual young women. With CHU JU'S HOUSE, Whelan applies her same eye for detail to modern China, in the story of a young woman who must travel far away to find the self-respect she'll never gain at home.(...)

As Chu Ju travels throughout rural China, readers will learn about many traditional Chinese occupations: fishing, silk making and rice farming. Because of its focus on rural life and traditional work, the novel sometimes seems to be set in the distant past. But occasional references to city life (including a harrowing journey to Shanghai) and recent events such as the Tiananmen Square tragedy remind readers that this novel is indeed set in modern times.

CHU JU'S HOUSE touches on political issues in modern China, and it would be an excellent jumping-off point for discussions about politics, culture and gender roles. It's also an entertaining adventure story. Although the book is short, it covers several years in Chu Ju's life. Readers will enjoy watching this headstrong, idealistic girl grow into a strong-willed, responsible young woman.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Rating:
Summary: Chu Ju's House
Review: The story of a young girl growing up in rural Communist China. When Chu Ju's mother gives birth to another girl instead of the hoped-for boy, her grandmother declares that they will give the baby away to an orphanage, as the family can't afford the exhorbitant fines they'd need to pay in order to have a third child, trying again for a son. Attempting to keep her mother from becoming attached to baby Hua, Chu Ju's grandmother appoints her the baby's caregiver. Chu Ju can't bear the thought of giving up Hua to an orphanage, and decides that if there can only be one girl in the family, then she should leave. She runs away from home, and sets her hand to various things, including a stint with a fishing family, tending silk worms, and ends up staying with an elderly farm woman.

Not as nearly depressing as it sounds--Gloria Whelan's got a deft touch. It's more about Chu Ju's own growth and the juxtaposition of tradition and innovation in rural China than an adventure novel, but is a fairly quick read for all that. Engaging, but not quite as good as Homeless Bird (also by Whelan), about a young girl entering into an arranged marriage in India.