Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story [Hardcover]

Pegi Deitz Shea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2003 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

For the Hmong people living in overcrowded refugee camps in Thailand, America is a dream: the land of peace and plenty. In 1995, ten years after their arrival at the camp, thirteen-year-old Mai Yang and her grandmother are about to experience that dream. In America, they will be reunited with their only remaining relatives, Mai’s uncle and his family. They will discover the privileges of their new life: medical care, abundant food, and an apartment all their own. But Mai will also feel the pressures of life as a teenager. Her cousins, now known as Heather and Lisa, try to help Mai look less like a refugee, but following them means disobeying Grandma and Uncle. From showers and smoke alarms to shopping, dating, and her family’s new religion, Mai finds life in America complicated and confusing. Ultimately, she will have to reconcile the old ways with the new, and decide for herself the kind of woman she wants to be. This archetypal immigrant story introduces readers to the fascinating Hmong culture and offers a unique outsider’s perspective on our own.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Mai, 13, is practicing her English in eager anticipation of leaving the crowded Thai refugee camp where she and her grandmother have lived for 10 years. Her parents were killed in Laos and her grandmother carried her across the river to Thailand. As their departure for America nears, Grandma is withdrawn and always stitching away at her pa'ndau (story cloth). Mai yearns for the life her cousins write about, a land of skyscrapers, Coke, and plenty of food, but her arrival in Rhode Island brings mixed reactions. Her cousins have become rebellious, Americanized teens. Her aunt and uncle half-heartedly embrace Hmong tradition while feeling indebted to Christian charity. Grandma's confusion over the day-to-day navigation through social-service agencies, stores, even church bazaars, makes her increasingly reliant on her granddaughter. Mai's efforts to respect her beloved grandmother and all she represents are at odds with the allure of new friends and an exciting lifestyle. This bittersweet story balances social and intellectual pursuits against the strained relations of a family tapping roots into a new homeland, and it shows the emotions behind weighing cultural affiliations against the sway of progress and prosperity. Adding to the growing ranks of contemporary novels about today's diverse immigration experiences, it would work well in conjunction with Fran Buss's Journey of the Sparrows (Dell, 1993), Linda Crew's Children of the River (Laurel-Leaf, 1991), and An Na's A Step from Heaven (Front St., 2001). A good choice for classes studying refugees, multicultural diversity, immigration, Hmong Americans, Laos, and the Vietnam War.
Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. Thirteen-year-old Laotian Mai Yang and her grandmother have survived the war that killed Mai's parents and 10 years in a Thai camp for Hmong refugees, so Mai is excited when immigration to the U.S. appears imminent. They fly to Providence, R.I., to join a family who emigrated five years earlier. Excited and confused by her experiences with American culture, Mai worries about her cousin Heather who challenges her father's authority. With the help of a compassionate teacher and sympathetic new friends, Mai becomes comfortable with American ways even as her grandmother isolates herself and fears assimilation. As seen through Mai's eyes, the wry observations of American habits are amusing and insightful. Her explanations of Hmong culture fit so naturally into the narrative, most readers will not need the appended glossary and information. Respectful and dutiful, yet resilient and independent, Mai wrestles with peer pressure and family expectations in a story that will resonate with immigrant students and enlighten others. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (September 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618247483
• ISBN-13: 978-0618247486
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #651,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi! Thanks for your interest in my work. I LOVE to meet readers at school visits and teacher conferences, and share my writing processes. Please visit www.pegideitzshea.com for details.

Right now, I'm celebrating the release of my "lucky" 13th book, NOAH WEBSTER: WEAVER OF WORDS. I'm also in press (editing) my first YA novel, ABE IN ARMS, about a former boy soldier from Liberia having a hard time adjusting to high school in the US. I've co-written a nonfiction picture book with Iris VanRynbach called THE TAXING CASE OF THE COWS: A TRUE STORY ABOUT SUFFRAGE. We're thrilled that Caldecott winner, Emily Arnold McCully, is illustrating it! It should be out Fall 2010 or Spring 2011.

I'm working on writing 2 projects: SNAKE BOY, SISTER SPY, a YA novel based on the teen exploits of my aunt and uncle in the French Resistance during WWII; also, I'm working with UCONN marine biologists on a series called AQUANAUTS: TEEN HEROES OF THE SEAS.

I teach at UCONN and the Institute of Children's Literature. I love sharing my knowledge, energy, and passion for writing.

Learn more about me at my website, or email me at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tangled up in blues, January 29, 2005

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story (Hardcover)

When you read any book about a particular immigrant experience, your greatest hope is that it distinguish itself in some way. There are many good books about coming to America from war torn countries but many more so-so books on the same topic. In the case of "Tangled Threads" by Pegi Deitz Shea, the book had the job of being interesting, informative, and (most difficult of all) genuinely touching. And it does, to some extent. As other reviewers of this book have mentioned, some of the Hmong words in this tale are misspelled and it's debatable whether or not this accurately depicts the Hmong-American teen experience. But Shea has written a truly interesting book, one that deftly balances the heaviness of its subject with lighter more hopeful feelings. It is not a book for small children or those kids who are reluctant readers, but it's a good book all the same. A boon to the world of Hmong-centric children's literature.

Having basically grown up in the dirt and squalor of a Thai refugee camp, Mai has spent her existence learning the art of pa'ndau, or storycloth from her grandmother. Her dream has always been to join her uncle, aunt, and cousins in America. Now, with her stomach ailments growing worse and the refugee camps threatening to close, grandmother and granddaughter are able to leave their homeland behind and travel across the ocean to Providence, Rhode Island. Mai expects that all her problems will be gone once she reaches that magical land. Instead, she finds worlds, both outside and insider her home, difficult to navigate. Her grandmother is reticent and displeased with everything new in America. Her uncle and cousins are constantly at war with one another over boundaries and choices. And Mai herself must learn about handling money, dealing with a new language and life, and her increasing annoyance with her grandmother. It isn't until Mai learns a horrible secret that's been kept from her, however, that she can start to come to terms with what it means to be Hmong in America.

At first the book struck me as slightly similar to "A Step From Heaven" by An Na. The immigrant experience of one girl in America, dealing with patriarchal figures that demand total obedience, holding onto traditions, etc. But where "A Step From Heaven" is mostly about the problems within a broken family, "Tangled Threads" is more about the search for identity after a recent immigration. Now I need to be perfectly clear here and state that this is not a book for younger children. Heck, the protagonist only barely escapes a rape attempt in the first 38 pages. Consider this a title for older readers, especially those with an interest in people from various cultures around the world

Now I can't attest the accuracy of the events portrayed in this book. But certainly author Shea has done her homework. She even includes a detailed afterword, glossary, pronunciation guide to Hmong names, list of Thai words, definition of Hmong symbols, and (most interesting to me) a wonderfully complete bibliography of any and all Hmong children's books and websites for further reading. As for the story itself, it's okay. This isn't the most unique book I've ever read in my life. The story's rather basic and a twinge predictable. But it makes for good reading all the same. This is a title that gives a strong look at a little known culture living in the United States. I only wish every group of immigrants to America had at least one book about their people that was half as good as this one. A strong showing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, July 8, 2006

By 

Kelia Jonson "Mickey" (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story (Hardcover)

This book was very good. I believe it to be accurate and without any faults. Now, for the woman who said that the spelling in the book of Hmong words was wrong, please let me out in my opinion......if you look in the back of the book at the glossary, the author does say when she abbreviates words (for example pan'dau is really panjdau)so they aren't really mispelled! This book is good for people interested in immigration, or the Oreint, but should be read by Young Adults because there is mentioning of rape and menstrauting.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great effort to explain the hardships of coming to the US, March 1, 2004

By 

"catapilla" (St. Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story (Hardcover)

and adjusting to change, but I felt some of the situations did not portray the true way of life for Hmong teens.
I'm surprised that with so many people editing and contributing feedback to this book, how come there were consistent Hmong spelling errors? I question why the only Hmong words that were used repeatedly were derrogative ones? ('Raum' which was meant to be 'ruam', meaning stupid)The pronounciation keys could use some work too.
I do appreciate the interesting facts about the paj ntaub designs. This skill is being deprecated and the knowledge being written will be useful.
This book should inspire Hmongs to create a voice that will ring true and represent the complicated emotions of growing up in America and holding on to your roots.