Children of the river

Answer 1

In Children of the River, the protagonist, Sundara, fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother, sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child. Linda Crew, through Sundara, effectively provides an honest picture of the Cambodian people, their hardships, and their reluctance to change their homeland culture and tradition. The author depicts the struggles of a young immigrant attempting to fit in with her Oregon high school classmates while simultaneously honoring her family's tradition. Sundara wants to be a good Cambodian girl by refusing to date and waiting for her family to arrange her marriage to a Cambodian boy. However, Sundara is also drawn to Jonathan, an extraordinary American boy. Her miseries and adversities bring the couple closer. Finally, she is able to convince her parents to look beyond the boundaries of culture.

Children of the River centers on the situation that the Cambodians faced in the Vietnam War. It shows that they were real people, with real prejudices. What it also tells, though, is how difficult it is to make the transition to American life and that there are people struggling every day to do that.

Answer 2

Children of the River, by Linda Crew, is a book about a girl named Sundara who must flee from Cambodia at only age 13 with her aunt's family to escape the invasion of the Khmer Rouge army. She has to leave behind her parents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones, as well as her home and the country she has loved, and board a ship, not knowing where she'll end up. Now, four years later, she lives in Oregon with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. She struggles to fit in at her high school, a typical suburban school with mostly Caucasian kids who have very shielded, safe lives. Meanwhile, she has to be a "good Cambodian girl" at home. Her aunt is very strict with her and disciplines her very much. She is not allowed to date; she must wait for her aunt and uncle to arrange a marriage to another good Cambodian boy. However, Sundara and Jonathan, a remarkable American boy who seems to have everything, are powerfully drawn to each other. Sundara, who is haunted by the grief for her lost family and for the life she left in Cambodia, longs to be with him. At the same time, her aunt forbids her to speak to Jonathan. She is caught between two cultures, wanting to adopt the American culture while still remaining loyal to her past and to her Cambodian culture. By Linda Crew. 213 Pages. Copyright September 1991. Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. 1540 Broadway, New York, USA.