Midnight at the Dragon Cafe

The life of a young Chinese girl is torn apart by dark family secrets and divided loyalties in a small Ontario town in the 1950s. Judy Fong Bates's fresh and engaging first novel is the story of Su-Jen Chou, a Chinese girl growing up the only daughter of an unhappy and isolated immigrant family in a small Ontario town in the 1950s. Through Su-Jen's eyes we see the hard life behind the scenes at the Dragon Caf, the local diner her family runs. Her half-brother Lee-Kung smolders under the responsibilities he must carry as the dutiful Chinese son. Her mother, beautiful but bitter, lays her hopes and dreams on Su-Jen's shoulders, until she turns to find solace in the most forbidden of places, while Su-Jen's elderly father strives to hek fuh, swallow bitterness, and save face at all costs.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
Published: 03/23/2005
ISBN: 9781582431895
Pages: 317
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.17h x 5.64w x 0.93d
Award: ALA Notable Books - Winner
Award: Alex Awards - Winner

Review Citations: Entertainment Weekly 04/15/2005 pg. 87
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2005 pg. 3
Booklist 02/01/2005 pg. 940
Publishers Weekly 02/07/2005 pg. 39
Ingram Advance 04/01/2005 pg. 73
Kliatt 11/01/2005 pg. 12
Booklist Ed Choice Adu Bk YA's 01/01/2006 pg. 11

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 134658 / Midnight at the Dragon Cafe
Reading Level: 6 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 14