Pacific Crossing (Paperback)

~ (Author) "LINCOLN MENDOZA WAS startled awake by a strong jolt and the sound of his plastic cup of 7Up sliding across the fold-down tray in front..." (more)
Key Phrases: rice balls, San Francisco, Sumitomo Building, Mission District

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-- Mexican-Americans Lincoln and Tony, both 14, are chosen as exchange students for a summer in Japan. They reside with different families and the focus is on Lincoln, with Tony appearing only when a sounding board is needed. The boys prepare a botched Mexican meal for their hosts, and Lincoln saves his host family's father's life by driving, unlicensed, to a hospital. Other than these episodes, little happens in what is essentially a novel of manners contrasting cultural mores. The writing is very good, often elegant, and the point of view is in keeping with a 14-year-old. The text contains many words and phrases in Spanish and Japanese, set off in italics and defined in separate glossaries. Unfortunately, this becomes distracting and often vexing, slowing down an already uneventful narrative. Readers will wonder just what is the lingua franca between the boys and their hosts. All of the Japanese exhibit a complete mastery of English, a nearly universal proficiency that is never explained. Though not without interest, the story is too languid and linguistically confusing to hold the attention of this age group. --John Philbrook, San Francisco Pub. Lib.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"The author's keen understanding . . . produces a story that is both touching and enlightening."--Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks; 1 edition (October 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152591885
• ISBN-13: 978-0152591885
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,461,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Martial Arts Adventure, May 10, 2003

By A Customer

A Review by Geoff

This book is about a boy named Lincoln and his friend Tony. They are two Mexican-American teenagers who live in San Francisco and get the opportunity to go to Japan on a foreign-exchange student program. Lincoln stays with Mr.Ono and his family and he studies martial arts with their son Mitsuo. Lincoln is very good and is trying to become a black belt. Lincoln and Tony have an amazing experience in Japan and they have a lot of fun. Lincoln and Mitsuo have lot's of fun and they both work hard in the families fields.

The first thing that I liked about this book was that it's really fun and the book has a fast pace so you don't get bored but it's not too fast so that you don't get lost. The second thing that I like about this book is that Mr.Ono is a big funny man who gives the book some good comic relief. The third thing I liked about this book were the characters because all of them seem so real like they are real people in some far off place in the east. The characters help paint a vivid picture of Japan.

I think that this book would appeal to people who want to enjoy a good martial arts foreign action book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Pacific Crossing, February 6, 2007

By	C. Stacy "book lover" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pacific Crossing (Paperback)

My 95% Hispanic charter high school students (both male and female) enjoyed this book. They liked Lincoln and Mitsuo and said they'd like to go to Japan if given the opportunity. They thought the summer was best time,because they said they'd be scared that school would be too hard there. Two English as a Second Language students are anxiously awaiting the copy in Spanish read to be sure that they didn't miss anything crucial in the novel. I ordered it in December and it hasn't arrived yet.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring!, November 8, 2001

By	Rebecca I. (Towson, MD) - See all my reviews

It is a really good concept for a book - two boys spending the summer in Japan and if some of the ideas had been expanded, Crossing Pacific could have been a very interesting book. But instead it just skims over the surface, with no details to really interest the reader. There are no conflicts between Lincoln and his host family - they manage to speak impecable English. He teaches them American slang and practices kempo. There is no development of Mitsuo's interest in baseball or how they can all speak English so well. It might be interesting for younger students looking for a quick read, but if you want more details about a summer spent in Japan, look elsewhere!