From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-- Afraid that the Thai exchange student who is arriving to stay with her family will be a "weird little Asian guy" whose presence will "wreck" her sophomore year, Julie is relieved to discover that Bia is, instead, handsome and worldly, although not as conversant in English as her family had expected. This is only one of a suspiciously large number of surprises that the young man springs on them--surprises that turn sinister when Julie's younger brother Dominic builds a small, shrinelike structure known as a spirit house to make Bia feel at home. Not only do Thais believe in spirits, it develops, but they routinely leave gifts in exchange for favors in these little houses. What happens if you make a deal with a spirit and neglect to leave something? Inevitably Julie finds out, and those who think it's something good have never read a novel by the wickedly imaginative Sleator before. The premise is clever and the characterization of Bia is convincing. However, the thematic confrontation of Western logic and Eastern superstition seems heavy-handed, while the book as a whole is sketchy and underdeveloped, more like a detailed outline than a fully realized novel. The climax is a shocker, though, and strongly suggests that a sequel is in the works--this one to be set in Thailand, perhaps? --Michael Cart, Beverly Hills Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Julie, 15, frankly expresses her dread over her family's decision to sponsor a ``weird little Asian guy'' (from Thailand) as a foreign exchange student, but when stylish Bia arrives to spend a year, he charms them all. Even Julie is awed by him, but she soon grows suspicious--he doesn't look like the photograph they received before he came, nor do his current interests match those he described in a letter. When Julie's little brother builds a Thai spirit house (a traditional household shrine) as a gift for Bia, life is oddly changed by its inhabitant. The female spirit has both vengeful and generous aspects; revealed, their effects on Bia are ultimately dire. Playfully, Sleator uses misconceptions about race and feminism to create suspense; Julie and her well-educated parents are all guilty of various kinds of stereotyping (she becomes enlightened by book's end, while they remain--well, parents). Best, however, is the logical explanation of seemingly supernatural events: the reader suspends belief only to have it systematically restored. That's a feat--and a treat. (Fiction. 10+) --
Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
