Lindsay Wing (Children's Literature)
Grace, a Cambodian girl, has always lived with her schoolteacher mom and grandmother Naree in Scottsville, Pennsylvania. There, they are the only Cambodian family. Then, Nareee passes away. Grace’s mother decides to return to St. Petersburg, Florida to give Naree a proper funeral. Grace sees the trip as an opportunity to find out the answers to a few unsolved mysteries that have been nagging at her. For example, she would like to find out more about her Cambodian heritage, as well as about her absent father, whom she has never met. As soon as Grace reaches St. Petersburg and is comfortable with her mother’s old friends and their families, she begins asking questions and learning answers that are more complex than she expected. Not long after her arrival in Florida, Grace begins to learn many Cambodian traditions. She also experiences some uncomfortable situations when she is judged by others. This book provides many insights about the Cambodian culture in the U.S. and the life lessons of a young girl. 2008, Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books, $15.99. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 8))
Fourteen-year-old Grace's beloved grandmother Naree has died, and Grace and her mother are going to St. Petersburg, Fla., to give her a traditional funeral in the midst of the Cambodian community that she loved. Grace also hopes to find some answers to the questions that plague her: Why did her mother and grandfather leave Florida for Scottsville, Pa., the only home Grace has ever known, where there is no Cambodian community at all? What scarred her grandmother's face, and what happened to her before she left Cambodia? How can Grace best honor the memory of her grandmother? What is Cambodian culture really like? And, perhaps most importantly, who and where is Grace's father? Suddenly caught up in this close-knit community and confused by the clash between Cambodian and American culture, Grace begins to find some answers—and some more questions. Replete with details depicting religious and social beliefs, Grace's quest for answers makes for an intriguing contemplation on life within Cambodian-American immigrant community, as well as a satisfying coming-of-age story. 2008, Delacorte, 272p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 12 to 14. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, July 2008 (Vol. 42, No. 4))
Grace is 14 years old; her mother, a Cambodian refugee, is now a teacher in Pennsylvania. Grace doesn’t know who her father is. She is close to her grandmother Naree, who raised her while her mother went to school and continued her career. When Naree dies and Grace’s mother decides to return to bury her with other Cambodian relations in St. Petersburg, Florida, it becomes an important journey of discovery for Grace. For the first time, she hears stories of what Naree and her friends endured in Cambodia; and she discovers her mother’s secret shame and why she stayed away from her friends and relatives for so long. This is essential reading for all those whose cultural ties go back to Southeast Asia, especially to Cambodia. It also speaks clearly to all whose families are immigrants, especially those who are refugees from terrible crises in their original countries. The problems in Grace’s life are not neatly resolved, but instead the reader understands the complexities of family relationships. Many Ly, the author, seems to be comfortable with all these themes, loving and understanding these characters, writing poignantly and beautifully about their lives. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JSA--Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2008, Random House, Delacorte, 262p., $15.99. Ages 12 to adult.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, July 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 11))
Pittsburgh has been Grace’s lifelong home, but when her grandmother dies, she and her mother decide they must take her ashes back to Florida. St. Petersburg is home to the Cambodian community in which Grandma had made her American home and raised Grace’s mother, and it’s where she’ll have her Cambodian funeral and finally rest in peace; Grace is also hoping she’ll finally manage to meet her father, whose identity her mother has never revealed. St. Petersburg introduces Grace to an intense, close-knit Cambodian world the like of which she’s never known, and she gets perspective on all of her family that helps her find her own peace with her mother and her grandmother’s memory. Ly, author of Home Is East (BCCB 10/05), draws a vivid picture of a small family that’s been close yet uncomprehending of one another, wherein love, loyalty, and yearning can quickly break three into two against one or a trio of solitary individuals. The book capably blends the universal story of a daughter seeking individuation from a strong-minded mother with a more culturally specific tale, with “during Pol Pot” the turning-point time for all in the older Cambodian generation, and their American-grown daughters and granddaughters searching to find their own relationship with Cambodian tradition. This rich and interesting story is marred by slow and sometimes turgid storytelling, with shifts between past and present further undercutting the immediacy, and since Grace is actually less vivid a character than her mother and grandmother, it’s a challenge to find an emotional connection with her experience. Nonetheless, teens from all kinds of backgrounds will relate to the challenge of understanding puzzling family history, and they’ll be glad to see Grace building a new relationship with her mother and gaining a deeper sense of herself Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, Delacorte, 262p., $18.99 and $15.99. Grades 7-10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2008)
Grace and her mother bring Grace's grandmother's ashes home to the large Cambodian American community in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a traditional funeral. Grace's first real immersion into Cambodian culture brings up questions about the past--her own, her mother's, and her grandmother's. Replete with Cambodian historical and religious details, this thoughtful coming-of-age story is grounded in family and tradition. Category: Older Fiction. 2008, Delacorte, 265pp, $15.99 (hb), $18.99 (lb). Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.