Thief of Hearts (Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1995) [Paperback]

Laurence Yep (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Golden Mountain Chronicles

Caught in the Middle

Stacy Palmer almost never thinks about being Chinese American, As far as she's concerned, she's just like everyone else.

Then Hong Ch'un comes to Stacy's school from China. Stacy and Hong Ch'un don't exactly get along, but when Hong Ch'un is accused of stealing and runs away, Stacy bows she must try to find her.

With her family's help, Stacy searches the tiny back streets of San Francisco's Chinatown. There, she gets a glimpse of what it was like for her Chinese mother, growing up in a different culture. And for the first time in her life she realizes her true heritage-and finally understands what it means to be Chinese American.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Yep's sequel to his superb Child of the Owl (HarperCollins, 1977) touches lightly, and with gentle humor, on issues of identity, communication among generations, racial stereotyping, and cross-cultural understanding. Stacy, who lives with her Caucasian father and Chinese mother and great-grandmother in a suburb of San Francisco, tells the story. Her mother, Casey, was the streetwise protagonist of the previous title, and the frail, ancient woman Stacy calls Tai-Paw was the grandmother who gave Casey a home and roots. Stacy has never thought of herself as anything but American-until the day her parents ask her to befriend a Chinese immigrant, Hong Ch'un. The two girls take an instant dislike to one another. When items stolen from people around the school are found in Hong Ch'un's backpack, a schoolmate calls Stacy "half-breed" for defending her. Disgraced, Hong Ch'un runs away, and Stacy, her mother, and Tai-Paw search through Chinatown for her. Their three-generation journey, intertwining memories and revelations with present action, forms the emotional heart of the narrative. Stacy's understanding of herself and others seems at times too facile, and explanations of history and cultural differences occasionally intrude on the plot. The new book is short and fast-moving, but lacks the sass and bite of its predecessor, and some of the writing is imprecise. Still, its warm depiction of a mixed-race child in a changing world, combined with a page-turning mystery, should guarantee a wide audience.
Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. Stacy has always felt comfortable in her suburban middle school, but when someone calls her a "half-breed," she's shocked into realizing that she's not "just like everyone else" ; she finds herself caught between the worlds of her mixed Chinese and American heritage. The story is set 30 years after Yep's acclaimed Child of the Owl (1977), which was about Stacy's mother and great-grandmother in the 1960s. Now the three women go on a journey back to San Francisco's Chinatown, where Stacy learns about their immigrant past in all its richness and struggle. The characters are well drawn, but the plot is full of contrivances (including a newly arrived Chinese classmate who is suspected of being a thief), and Stacy has an irritating habit of discussing every conversation and incident and family embrace in relation to her search for identity. Yet her comments are eloquent, much more interesting than the plot, with its slight detective story and sudden awakenings. Any kid caught between cultures will relate to Stacy's search for home: "When one world ends, you find another. . . . Maybe you even make your own." Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st Edition, 1st Printing edition (May 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064405915
• ISBN-13: 978-0064405911
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,491,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurence Yep has been fascinated with tales of sibling rivalry from the day he was born. His older brother, Tom, chose his name Laurence - after a saint who died a particularly gruesome death. Laurence has been trying to get even ever since. Laurence Yep now lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife and is one of children's literature's most respected authors. His award-winning titles include Newbery Honor Books Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thief of Hearts, December 4, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Thief of Hearts (Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1995) (Paperback)

Thief of Hearts by Laurence Yep is a book based on heart warming tales and mixed-race characters within the novel. As Yep had once said, "Probably the reason why much of my writing has found its way to a teenage audience is that I'm always pursuing the theme of being an outsider -- an alien -- and many teenagers feel they're aliens."

Since this book contains an outsider named Hong Ch'un, i believe that many people will enjoy reading this novel and will be able to compare their real life experiences with the character in the book. I truly recommend this novel to people who had troubles on their first day at school, to some people who have troubles reassuring their life and to people who had once came across problems that were hard to face for them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Hearts, January 19, 2011

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Thief of Hearts (Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1995) (Paperback)

This delightful book is about Stacy, 13 who is Sino-American. Stacy's mother Casey, and her great-grandmother or Tai-Paw whom many readers have "met" in "Child of the Owl" are Chinese and her father is American. Stacy is a popular 8th grader and has a regular group of friends.

Stacy's father works with a man from China named Mr. Wang. He tells Stacy that Mr. Wang's daughter will be attending school with her. Mr. Wang's daughter, Hong Ch'un 13 is rude and spiteful to Stacy from the time they first meet and even calls her a racist name in Chinese. A kind boy named Victor Li very reluctantly translates the term for her. A boy named Dwight picks up the racist banner and taunts Stacy with the offensive term. For the remainder of that first day in school with Hong Ch'un, Stacy becomes self-conscious of her Eurasian heritage and appearance. She feels her blond hair makes her stand out from other Asian students and her Asian features and coloring make her stand out among her Western peers.

To make matters worse, a teacher tells her to escort Hong Ch'un because he feels their Chinese heritage would make them a natural fit. When small trinkets belonging to other kids turn up in Hong Ch'un's backpack, she is naturally everyone's main suspect. In fact she is their ONLY suspect and when Stacy defends her, her friends feel she is defending Hong Ch'un because they are Chinese.

The girls don't get along even after Stacy defends Hong Ch'un and to make matters worse, Stacy's mother tells her that Hong Ch'un's alleged thefts are payback for Stacy being rude to her. Stacy tells her that Hong Ch'un called her a racist slur and the tide shifts in her favor. Instead of defending Somebody Else's Child, Stacy's mother finally defends her! However, they are facing another very real crisis - Hong Ch'un has run away!

Stacy's Tai-Paw, whom readers got to know in "Child of the Owl" is ready to offer practical suggestions on what to do next. First, they have to go to Chinatown as that is where the Thief of Hearts has left a trail of clues! They all rush through the streets of Chinatown to try and find the clues that will lead them to Hong Ch'un and whoever the thief is.

Stacy's Tai-Paw is also impacted by the thefts. A pin she gave to Stacy is missing, among one of the several items that were taken. Stacy and her Tai-Paw share a secret: they know that the pin is filled with ink that will stain the hands of whoever takes it as the thief won't have prior knowledge of how to handle it safely.

In time, things get sorted out. The best part of the story was when Stacy, upon discovering the thief asked her classmates to forgive the person for taking their things. This book is populated with strong characters and covers serious topics, such as racism. Stacy's mother tells her about the racism she experienced when she married someone who was not Asian. Stacy's Tai-Paw tells her about many of their Asian relatives who have interracial families. Stacy, instead of feeling like she is caught betweeen two vastly different cultures begins to celebrate her Eurasian heritage and see that she has a real bonus - two very rich cultural backgrounds which she can proudly claim.

4.0 out of 5 stars Hearts that have been stolen, March 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Thief of Hearts (Golden Mountain Chronicles, 1995) (Paperback)

Thief of Hearts is about a girl named Stacey whose father works with a man from China Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang's daughter Hong Chun is from China and she is very rude to Stacey in the beginning. Stacey is part American and part Chinese. She gets her mother's Asian eyes and gets her fathers blond hair. Hong Chun and Stacey start to fight verbally in the car ride on the way to school. Stacey and Hong Chun have to share lockers, go to the same classes and have the same lunch period together. After lunch they start to become nicer to each other and walk back to Stacey's locker. But when Stacey opens her locker she sees all the stuff that her friends have been looking for. During the day Stacey's friends Jeff and Sylvia have lost their precious belongings. They blame Hong Chun and for stealing their things. So Hong Chun runs away to china town and Stacey her mother must find her. I like this book because it shows about the Chinese culture and how you shouldn't judge someone on there appearances.