Children of the River - Linda Crew

Children of the River by Linda Crew was a really enjoyable book. I loved reading about the struggle Sundara and her family had between trying to fit into America and giving up their ideals of Cambodian life. I thought it was interesting that at first Sundara thought the "American way of privacy" was strange because she said in Cambodia the whole family lived together under one roof - but at the same time, Sundara's bedroom was in the garage. Why didn't the family allow her to stay in the living room full time? Why was she sent to sleep in the garage? However, I did like it when Sundara later longed for the privacy of the garage when she had to move into the living room because of the cold winter. Slowly, the family started to learn and accept new ideas, yet they still held onto some of their traditions. At one point in the novel Sundara states "Sometimes it seemed Soka couldn't decide whether being American was the best thing in the world or the worst." (188) I think that Sundara and her family tried to make the best out of their horrible situation.

Another event that really stuck out to me was Moni's story. She tried so hard to please the Khmer way of life, but she would up being hurt in the end. She didn't marry the man she was attracted to because he was not a Khmer. Instead, she chose to make the others happy and married a Khmer because she thought it would be easier, but in the end, she had to divorce him because he needed to bring his number one wife and children over. I think this is one of the moments in the book where Sundara realizes that she has to be able to allow herself to like Jonathan and enjoy Jonathan and not solely worry about pleasing her family.

Finally, I like that the ending of the book was left open and Sundara didn't find out about her family. I was glad to hear that her sister was safe in a refugee camp, but I liked that she didn't know the fate of her parents and brother because that made the horrors of life in Camobodia even more realistic. I also really enjoyed the beginning when they just had to drop what they were doing and flee for their lives. It made the eminent danger that they were in even more realistic.