Laurence Yep,
Dream Soul.
Harper Collins Publishers, 2000

I didn't always enjoy my childhood growing up. I didn't understand why my sister Lisa and I had to come home after school to help my dad with the family business, while most of my friends got to relax before doing their homework. We had to wash the dishes every night, take out the trash every Monday and make our lunches before school in the morning while our friends' parents did most of that for their children. My dad used to make me call about certain odds and ends, and as I was always embarrassed doing grown-up things with a little kid's voice.

What Laurence Yep's Dream Soul provided for me was a sense of community. I identified with Joan Lee and her siblings as I never have before reading Asian-American literature. This book is about family values. Yep examines two families in great detail. One is the Lee family. Mr and Mrs Lee believe in the value of hard work and discipline. They do not want to grant their three children the pleasure of Christmas - first, because it's not a Chinese custom and second, because it would spoil them. The Lee family is evaluated against family number two, Mr. Barrington and his daughter Victoria. Mr. Barrington provides his daughter with only the finest of luxuries and acts as "the cool dad," taking all the kids for sledding adventures after school and chauffeuring them around town in a fancy car.

This comparison is a little exaggerated, but it works. Joan's fascination with Victoria reminded me of my own fascination with my first blond, blue-eyed friend whose parents seemed ideal. What looks too good to be true usually is, and it is in this story as well. The Barringtons have their pitfalls and these pitfalls make Joan learn to appreciate the hard work ethic as a symbol of love. Joan learns the values of integrity, respect and cultural pride and through her, so do l. However, I think he could have created the same reaction from the reader without such a drastic contrast between the Barringtons and the Lees.

As a 22-year-old reader, I couldn't put this book down. I found it refreshing and even touching at points because I could identify with Joan so much and it made me re-evaluate my own childhood and look back at it with fonder eyes. I definitely could have used this book 10 years ago, and highly recommend it.

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