Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers [Hardcover]

Lensey Namioka (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

While her younger siblings have adopted many American customs since moving from China to Seattle, Yinglan Yang clings to her Chinese heritage, so her brother and sister hatch a plot to convert her to American culture.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-Second Sister Yinglan has clung to her Chinese heritage after the musically talented Yang family's move from China to Seattle. Yang the Youngest, Yingtao, relates what happens when he and Third Sister decide that their sibling needs help making friends in America. He gets an inspiration after watching a movie version of Much Ado About Nothing, in which Beatrice and Benedick fall in love after each overhears gossip that one likes the other. Yingtao, Third Sister, and her friend Kim decide to play matchmaker between Yinglan and Paul Eng, a baseball player of Chinese ancestry. Yingtao has ulterior motives?he hopes Paul will give him pointers on improving his own game. The plot thickens when Kim's older brother Jason overhears part of the plans and thinks Yinglan is enamored of him. The climax occurs at a picnic where all three families come together. Namioka offers comparisons between life here and in China and insights into the meaning of heritage and ethnicity. However, the humor that shone forth in earlier titles about the Yang family seems contrived and flat here, and the plot becomes increasingly silly. The story takes time to get into and ultimately disappoints.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. Like Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear (1992) and Yang the Third and His Impossible Family (1995), this story of a newly arrived Chinese American family in Seattle is frank and funny regarding the difficulty of living in two worlds. This time the focus is on the oldest sister in the family, Yinglan Yang, who misses China and doesn't want to fit in here. She longs for her friends back home, and she despises a boy who denies his Chinese heritage (he's a "banana," yellow outside, white inside). Told by the youngest kid in the family, the story has a heavily contrived plot, with convoluted schemes to get Yinglan to fall in love and settle down. Readers won't care about what happens with the silly tricks. Especially for those who know the first two books, the interest here is in the immigrant experience: you can't deny your heritage, but what does that mean? Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Megan Tingley; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316597317
• ISBN-13: 978-0316597319
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,340,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining in a sweet and simple way, January 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers (Paperback)

This book is meant for the 4th grade to 6th grade level I'm guessing. So in high school, I'm really not part of the book's target audience. I originally picked it out for a younger friend, but ended up reading it myself. It was surprisingly delightful. It reminded me of my transition from Chinese culture to American culture and the psychological mind games that all children play when they like someone or think someone likes them. This is a story from the point of view of a young Chinese boy in the U.S. and his attempt to fix his rather traditional older sister up with a boy. Some cute mix-up's occur in his devious little plan. This story is more enjoyable if children can relate to it. But even if they don't, it contains some fun.