Angelfish (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "For ten minutes, I was on top of the world..." (more)
Key Phrases: dragon palace, real beast, fish store, Auntie Ruby, Miss Ludmilla, Hong Kong (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Laurence Yep continues the adventures of Chinese-American ballet student Robin Lee, previously met in Ribbons and The Cook's Family, in Angelfish, a twist on "Beauty and the Beast." Robin has just landed the role of Beauty in a ballet recital when she accidentally breaks the window of a pet-fish store belonging to the beastly Mr. Tsow, who sentences her to three months of work to make up for the damage. Aided by her Chinese-born grandmother, Robin discovers that Mr. Tsow had been a ballet star in China until the Cultural Revolution forced his "reeducation," and with this knowledge she brings about his transformation.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-An appealing sequel to Ribbons (1996) and The Cook's Family (1998, both Putnam). Robin has just won the plum role of Beauty in the Beauty and the Beast segment of her San Francisco dance school's production of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite. As she and her friends are leaving the school, she playfully tosses her book bag at one of them and it goes through the plate-glass window of a pet store. The manager comes storming out, and Robin offers to work for him until the window is paid off. At first, he is rude to her because she is a "bunhead," and then because she is only half-Chinese. The relationship between Robin and Mr. Tsow parallels the relationship between Beauty and the Beast, as the girl slowly comes to discover that he is not the monster he pretends to be. Eventually, she discovers that he was the most famous dancer in China until the Cultural Revolution, when his toes were cut off as punishment for his "crimes." When the woman who is supposed to design the costumes and sets for the production suddenly leaves, Robin convinces Mr. Tsow to take over. The conclusion is a bit pat, but Yep does offer some insightful and amusing insights into the life of a young Chinese American as well as some historical facts about the Chinese Cultural Revolution. An entertaining read with an engaging and resourceful protagonist.

Marlyn K. Roberts, Torrance Public Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (June 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399230416
• ISBN-13: 978-0399230417
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #568,431 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book By Tats, March 21, 2005

A Kid's Review

I read Angelfish for an English book project. I LOVED THE BOOK! I thought that the book would be stupid, because we had to do something about different race writers. I chose Angelfish because I judge books by their covers. I never knew that I would fall in love with a book I thought I would hate.

BUY IT!!!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sensitive, revealing multicultural story, September 17, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Laurence Yep's Angelfish is one of his best ever: a young Asian-American girl breaks an old man's window and finds herself working for a grumpy, disillusioned loner to pay her debt. Her involvement with ballet interests him and she discovers some real surprises underneath his protective mask of ill humor. A sensitive, revealing multicultural story with many facets.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Characters are Growing, February 16, 2007

By	M C "mr c the teacher" (Nevada USA) - See all my reviews

This is the third in the Ribbons series (...Well from Robin's point of view, anyway).
You do not have to read any of the other books to understand and enjoy this story.
Other reviews do a great job explaining what the book is about.
Just know this, if you read the other "Ribbons" books, you will enjoy this book.
Robin and her Grandmother are wonderful characters and they just keep growing.
Read this book.