Chu Ju's House (Paperback)

by Gloria Whelan (Author) "It was the fifth day of the fourth moon, Tomb Sweeping Day, which some call the Day of Pure Brightness..." (more)
Key Phrases: nai nai, few yuan, silk farm, Han Na, Biting Dog, Auntie Tai (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-In present-day rural China, 14-year-old Chu Ju's mother gives birth to her second child, another girl. When her grandmother makes plans to sell the baby, Chu Ju decides to leave home. Perhaps then her family will keep little Hua and her parents will try again for a boy. After finding work on a sampan and becoming like a daughter to the fisherman's wife, she tells her story, and the woman is so horrified that she wants her to return home immediately. Forced to move on once more, the teen ends up in the household of Han Na, whose son wants to leave the rice paddies and go to Shanghai. Here Chu Ju proves her worth, making the paddy more productive using modern techniques she learns from her neighbor and friend Ling, caring for Han Na as she becomes increasingly weak, and rescuing her unfortunate son from jail in the city. Finally, having achieved a sense of self-worth, she goes back to see her family, but only to visit as she has made a life on the land bequeathed to her by Han Na. Whelan skillfully shows the mixture of past and present that is characteristic of rural China. She conveys the feelings of a nation on the brink of change, a country whose young people are trying out new ways of doing things, yet are clear about what traditional values are important to retain.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. When Chu Ju is 14 years old, her mother gives birth to a second daughter. Rural China policy restricts families to two children, and when Chu Ju's bitter grandmother convinces the parents to put the new baby up for adoption, leaving space in the family for a possible boy "to care for us in our old age," Chu Ju runs away. She wanders, finding sporadic work and shelter, until she comes upon a loving home with an aging farmer and becomes a skilled farmer herself. As in Homeless Bird (2000) and Angel on the Square (2001), Whelan tells a compelling adventure story, filled with rich cultural detail, about a smart, likable teenage girl who overcomes society's gender restrictions. Whelan skillfully weaves in just enough cultural context to support the story, while her atmospheric details bring the green Chinese landscape to life. Most compelling, though, is brave, clearly drawn Chu Ju, whose intelligence and good heart win her land, family respect, and the promise of romance by the story's end. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; First edition (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060507268
• ISBN-13: 978-0439799553
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chu Ju's House, October 18, 2004

By	Elisabeth Hegerat (Calgary, AB) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Chu Ju's House (Hardcover)

The story of a young girl growing up in rural Communist China. When Chu Ju's mother gives birth to another girl instead of the hoped-for boy, her grandmother declares that they will give the baby away to an orphanage, as the family can't afford the exhorbitant fines they'd need to pay in order to have a third child, trying again for a son. Attempting to keep her mother from becoming attached to baby Hua, Chu Ju's grandmother appoints her the baby's caregiver. Chu Ju can't bear the thought of giving up Hua to an orphanage, and decides that if there can only be one girl in the family, then she should leave. She runs away from home, and sets her hand to various things, including a stint with a fishing family, tending silk worms, and ends up staying with an elderly farm woman.

Not as nearly depressing as it sounds--Gloria Whelan's got a deft touch. It's more about Chu Ju's own growth and the juxtaposition of tradition and innovation in rural China than an adventure novel, but is a fairly quick read for all that. Engaging, but not quite as good as Homeless Bird (also by Whelan), about a young girl entering into an arranged marriage in India.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful new novel from Gloria Whelan., April 13, 2004

By	Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Chu Ju's House (Hardcover)

Fourteen-year-old Chu Ju and her family live in modern rural China, where a strict policy of two children per family is enforced. When Chu Ju's mother becomes pregnant again, the family hopes for a boy, because sons are strongly preferred. But when the baby is born, it is another girl, who is named Hua. When Chu Ju learns that her grandmother plans to sell baby Hua to an orphanage so that there will be room in the family for another child, hopefully a son, Chu Ju decides to run away from home to spare her sister this terrible fate. Chu Ju's journey brings her to a fishing boat, a silkworm factory, a rice paddy, and the bustling and modern city of Shanghai.

Fans of Gloria Whelan's previous novels won't want to miss this one. It's a wonderfully written and fascinating look at the hardships faced by a young girl in a society that strongly prefers males, and her journey to prove her worth and find a place for herself in the world.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another classic Gloria Whelan book, April 13, 2004

By	hiphopgirl_1000 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chu Ju's House (Hardcover)

14-year-old Chu Ju lives in a rural Chinese village where according to culture boys are far more valued than girls. Her mother is pregnant again and the whole family prays for a son, because they know the strict rules of 2 children per family would not permit them to have another child if the baby turned out to be a girl. Unfortunately, Chu Ju's new sibling turns out to be another girl. Chu Ju's grandmother is very bitter at the result and convinces the family to put the girl up for adoption and hopefully have another child that will be a boy. Chu Ju is devastated when she hears of her family's plan and she decides to run away so her baby sister will not have to suffer. Little does Chu Ju know how important this journey will be to her life and self-realization. Told over several years, Chu Ju's journey brings her many hardships, but joy as well. She goes from village to village finding an assortment of jobs, such as working on a silkfarm, a fishing boat, and working in the rice paddies. In the end, Chu Ju realizes she made the right decision and you know she will be happy since she has found her true love and a family that accepts her for who she is and not her gender.

Being a 2nd-generation Asian-American this book hit very close to home. Unfortunately this type of gender discrimination is very common in many of China's rural villages which still go by old customs and have not been educated in the new modern ways. This topic was probably very tough to write on, but I think Gloria Whelan did a great job touching on both sides of the issue. Like Homeless Bird, she has created another great story of a girl who had courage to face the odds.