Sunday, February 12, 2006

Project Mulberry, by Linda Sue Park

Julia may be a Korean-American, but she wants to be as American as she can be (and forget about the Korean part). When her best friend Patrick suggests that they do a project raising silk worms, Julia resists the idea as too Korean, but she warms up to the project. Along the way, she deals with managing her annoying little brother, her mother's distrust of Blacks, and her frustration with the author.

The really clever part of this novel is the heroine's chats with the author that take place between chapters. It's an original and (unusually) entertaining concept to shed some light on the author's mind. Otherwise, the story is satisfactory with good writing and engaging characters, but nothing especially extraordinary.

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