Customer Reviews

Angelfish

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read Angelfish for an English book project. I LOVED THE BOOK! I thought that the book would be stupid, because we had to do something about different race writers. I chose Angelfish because I judge books by their covers. I never knew that I would fall in love with a book I thought I would hate.

BUY IT!!!

I read this book, maybe 9 or 10 years ago, and I still remember thoroughly enjoying it. On a whim I looked it up again, and I still think it is an excellent book. It eloquently brings up cultural issues while still letting it be interesting enough for young readers. Very good, it left an impressions, read it.

Robin is a half-white/half-Chinese girl who--at first glance--is taken for a Caucasian girl. She is a ballet student who works for Mr. Tsow, a man who runs a pet fish store, to pay for his store window that she mistakenly broke while walking home with her friends.

Mr. Tsow is a grumpy man who belittles Robin, but she comes to find out why he is grumpy: He used to be a dancer, and now he carries a leg with a limp.

A good, fast-moving story; but Robin and her friends are written as adults, not the kids their age: There is one point in the story where she visits a family friend with her grandmother and another relative. Robin is able to do math in her head, recall points in history, etc. Moreover, she is able to reason (about race, the time she spends on ballet and work, etc...) all like a responsible adult; she even talks like an adult in a way. An example is during a break, when she an her friends are speaking about the Chinese cultural revolution.

At no point in the story, does Robin (or her friends) talk about the latest trends, boys, girls, music, etc.

Too, Robin surmises (via 'info-dump') that people usually react to her mixed ethnicity. However, the only person that reacts to her mixed ethnicity in a negative way (and reacts openly) is Mr. Tsow; everyone else in the book treats her in a positive manner and doesn't mention anything about her mixed-racial heritage.

(There obviously wasn't a character there, but how would these characters react to an Asian girl with a black father?)

The author, in my opinion, has given us a 'fairy tale'-like Chinatown (which is set in the Richmond district of San Francisco). However, with all that said, I am looking forward to reading about Robin in Laurence Yep's 'The Cook's Family.'

If you like to dance or you like fish or you like to figure out mysteries about people this book is for you. I read the book Angelfish, By: Laurence Yepp. It's about a girl named Robin, who just won a role in a ballet recital, when she trys to hit her friend with her dance bag accidently lets go and the bag goes flying through a store window. Afraid of being grounded and loosing the part in the ballet, she goes behind her parents back and agrees to work in the pet fish store to pay for the broken window. Unfortunately the owner turns out to be a grumpy man who calls her a half person, because she's only half chinese. yet behind Mr. tsow's beastly self, Robin sees some kindness when he cares fir his fish, especially for the beautiful Angelfish. He seems just like the beast in the ballet she is rehearsing. Curious and eager to help, Robin and her feisty Grandmother search for clues about what might have turned Mr. Tsow in to a beastly man. To their horror, they discover that he was a victim of the chinese Cultural Revolution. Can Robin help end his nightmare?

It was a very vivid book that I couldn't put down... One of the Best books!

Laurence Yep's Angelfish is one of his best ever: a young Asian-American girl breaks an old man's window and finds herself working for a grumpy, disillusioned loner to pay her debt. Her involvement with ballet interests him and she discovers some real surprises underneath his protective mask of ill humor. A sensitive, revealing multicultural story with many facets.

Want a great fish story without getting wet? Then you should try diving into Angelfish. Angelfish is a great story! If you're a dancer, part of the Chinese race, or if you just want a great book to read, Angelfish is the book for you! I definitely recommend this book!

Angelfish teaches a good moral to young readers. Robin, the main character, faces hard comebacks from "The Dragon Palace"'s owner, Mr. Tsow. But Robin knows that Mr. Tsow can't hate everything. Robin tries to find the real person Mr. Tsow is. Robin, after being bantered by Thomas, says, "Though I was still proud of being a dancer, I didn't want to give Mr. Tsow any ammunition for his usual insults." I recommend this book because it gives you an idea how people were hurt in the past and an idea how people may make racial comments about you. My favorite part of Angelfish is when Mr. Tsow is with the angelfish. He seems so gentle and careful. Angelfish is a great book.

Angelfish is a great story. Angelfish has characters that had feelings in the past but have been taken away from them. It shows a lot to young children/preteens. I definitely recommend this book! Read Angelfish now! It has a great plot, great climax; great everything! Angelfish is the book for you!

I am a dancer and when I looked up "dancer" in the library's book finder, I saw Angelfish. I checked it out and loved it. Also, if no one buys this book soon, then I am definitely going to try to buy it.

I found this book to be very interesting. The girl, Robin, plugs together the story of a ballet, w/ her interaction w/ a famous chinese ballet dancer, Mr. Cao, from the Cultural Revolution. He blocks out anything that relates to dance or music because of his past, therefor he comes off to be cold-hearted, when inside he is very kind. I thought it was a very good book.

This is the third in the Ribbons series (...Well from Robin's point of view, anyway).
You do not have to read any of the other books to understand and enjoy this story.
Other reviews do a great job explaining what the book is about.
Just know this, if you read the other "Ribbons" books, you will enjoy this book.
Robin and her Grandmother are wonderful characters and they just keep growing.
Read this book.