The Need to Belong

As Feng-Li, Jia-Xi, and Ke Gang struggle to find their place in the family and in society, the novel demonstrates how individuals feel the need to belong.

Feng-Li Lin arrives in California without realizing this is to be her new home. She is excited about the visit, and she makes the best of the situation when her parents announce the move is permanent. Feng-Li and her siblings, Ke-Gang and Jia-Xi, are to attend school in California. Feng-Li cannot understand any of the language, and she immediately assumes the other students are making fun of her. One of her first challenges happens when the teacher assigns Feng-Li to sit beside an Asian girl named Rebecca Zhou. Though she might have helped ease Feng-Li's transition to America, Rebecca is furious when the other students lump her with Feng-Li. Much later, Rebecca admits that she hates...