From Publishers Weekly
When Park was a baby, his father was killed in Vietnam. Since his mother won't talk about her husband, Park reads his father's old books in secret and travels alone one day to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. to see his father's name. Finally, recognizing the urgency of her son's need to know about his father, Park's mother sends him on a visit to his paternal grandfather's farm. Life on the farm is not what Park had expected: for one thing, his grandfather is too ill (incapacitated by a stroke) to meet him. And, though he likes and admires his Uncle Frank, Park isn't at all sure how he feels about feisty Thanh, the daughter of Frank's Vietnamese wife. Park eventually forges strong bonds with both Thanh and his ailing grandfather, and confronts the painful, but not terribly surprising, truth about his father. Good storytelling makes up for a somewhat predictable plot, and Park's feelings are depicted with insight and care. The story of his quest will ring true to anyone who has ever used secondhand memories to piece together the portrait of an absent loved one. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Eleven-year-old Parkington Waddell Broughton V is on a quest to "find" his father. Though he knows that his father was killed in Vietnam during a second tour of duty, that is all his mother has told him and the boy hungers for more information. After finding his father's books and reading them, Park's quest begins. Comparing his quest to those of the great Arthurian knights, the plot switches between the present and his fantasies. Narrator Jeff Woodman adopts a British accent when reading the fantasies, so reality and fantasy is easily distinguished. Park's mother contacts his ailing grandfather and the boy is sent to spend two week with him. While he is on his grandfather's farm, he learns many family secrets. His parents were divorced, and his father returned to Vietnam because he had a baby with another womanAa woman who becomes Park's uncle's wife. Park does not get along with the young Vietnamese girl who is his half-sister, but they become more friendly as the story progresses. Racial tension exists in the story as Park blames the young girl and her mother for "killing" his father because they are Vietnamese. He calls the girl by a racial slur, "geek." The use of this term rather than "gook" is confusing; whether the misuse is intentional or not is unclear. The story by Katherine Paterson (Puffin, pap. 1989) is nicely told, and the plot is believable. Even listeners with little knowledge of the Vietnam War will understand Park's quest. An additional purchase for libraries with medium to large audiobook collections for children.
Sarah Prielipp, Harrison Community Library, Michigan Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
