Customer Reviews

Peiling and the Chicken-Fried Christmas

5 star:		(7)
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My 10 year old daughter and I found this story engaging and entertaining. From the beginning we found ourselves relating to Peiling and feeling her anxiety, despite the fact that we have no personal immigrant experience. Chen describes the school setting vividly and I felt like I was there. Peiling's classmates and friends were also extremely believable. My favorite was her quirky friend Grace.

As the population of the US becomes more diverse, with various ethnic communities having their own celebrations, this book is quite timely. The Hindus have Diwali, the Sikhs have Vaisakhi, and the Chinese have Chinese New Year. This book explores how young Peiling, whose family immigrated to the US from China, struggles to adapt to the hectic and happy preparations for Christmas as celebrated by her peers at school, but not her. She is pleasantly surprised when her parents decide to celebrate Christmas after seven years in the US, but is then disappointed when they take a Chinese approach to it.

The rest of the story centers around how Peiling comes to appreciate the differences between her and her classmates, and takes pride in her unique cultural traditions whilst coming together with her friends and celebrating Christmas. Its a unique but timely tale that is sure to appeal to readers, both young and old.

My eight year old son and I both loved this book. The characters are vividly drawn, and the book is beautifully written. It is a wonderful, universal story that will make your child laugh and think. My son kept talking about the characters and their situations well after we had finished the book. While it would certainly make a good Christmas present, it is not just for Christmas. Any child between the ages of seven and thirteen will enjoy this book, anytime of the year.

This wonderful book resonates with emotional truth about family life, friendship, and the challenges a Taiwanese-American girl faces trying to find her place amid competing cultural expectations. The characters in this book are vivid and compelling, as is the depiction of life in Peiling's family. It is hard to imagine a more moving and entertaining story for middle readers than the one told in this poignant, and very funny, book.

I was looking for a gift for a friend's daughter and liked the title of this book. I ended up reading the whole thing myself in one sitting. Poignant and funny story. Even though it's written for kids, it's not heavy-handed in its treatment of racial identity. I think it'll make a great present!

There's a lot of talk about "multiculturalism", but rarely does anyone specify what the "other" cultures actually are. This book attempts (successfully) to show the coherence and relevance of Taiwanese-American culture and not just to present it as some generic "non-white" alternative, while touching on other "other" cultures as well. However, the book's themes should be of interest to a very broad audience...coming of age, individuality vs. conformity, fitting in, wondering if the grass is truly greener. This is a well-written, clever, and charming story that is both moving and funny. It would make a great holiday present for an adolescent because it's a Christmas book with a new spin, but it's also just a good book with a valuable educational message for any child. It seems like every celebrity is writing a childrens' book these days, and most of them are best sellers because the author is famous, not because they're any good. This author isn't a celebrity and she's written a very good book. Buy it.

When I started reading this novel, yes before sending it as a gift, I was startled to notice that Peiling's nemesis shared my first name! Just a silly, literary coincidence (it is fiction, after all!) no big deal, but odd, nonetheless; maybe because I live in the same town with the author?

In any case, I need not have worried. Of course, I can't spoil things, and it really is Peiling's story, not her friend's, or rather, the story is about how friends, and families, can change and grow, together, and no one is merely a nemesis, by the end. Heart-warming, at any time of year, but maybe especially now, at the December time of year.

As others have noted, while this is officially a novel for "young adults", it is a novel that even a no-longer-young adult can enjoy, quite a lot.

See for yourself, and/or, ask your local library or school to acquire it!