The Clay Marble

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Summary: The Clay Marble Rolls in
Review: I realy didn't like the book because that it was about a girl and her believe in the marble. Another reason why was because they didn't have alot of action. The last reason why was because she didn't have to look long before she found her mom and grandpa, Sarun, Nea, Jantu, and baby.

Rating:
Summary: The Clay Marble
Review: In the book The Clay Marble by Mingfong Ho, Dara, the main character, faces
some extreme problems such as the bombing in Cambodia, which causes another problem inside herself: fear. The constant bombing causes her family to move excessively, and in one place, they met up with a family consisting of a grandfather, two daughters, and an infant son. More bombing and moving occurs, causing Dara to get lost from her group. Dara now has to find her way back to her family without getting hurt. I really enjoyed this book because of the captivating plot line and the characters.
The plot line was very intriguing because there are many moods to it. Sometimes it is emotional like when one of the daughters is dying, sometimes it is funny like when Dara and Jantu are insulting each other in a joking way. I could relate to these feelings, but there were also awkward times when I couldn't, like when Jantu died. This interesting plot line brought me into the book.
I also enjoyed the characters. These characters were full of wit, emotion, and cleverness. I especially liked Chnay, the bully in their village. I also enjoyed watching him experience a rite of passage throughout the book. He went from being a destructive, vile person, to being a helpful, caring one.
Although I really liked this novel, I also thought the plot went a wee bit too fast. With all the war going on during it, I thought it was inappropriate to put more and more fighting when I felt this story was supposed to be about how Dara survives without her family. This also gave me the feeling that the author focused more on fighting than on Dara, which I thought was unsuitable.
Though the plot line was a bit fast, I highly recommend this book. I think that this book really teaches you in the subject of Cambodian history while giving you enjoyment.

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Summary: Excellent book
Review: Maybe I'm a bit biased because I studied this book for my secondary 1 english literature class but even after reading other books, I think The Clay Marble is really really good. The writer, Minfong Ho, has managed to make us feel like the main protagonist in the book, Dara, by drawing her own experiences while living in Cambodia. We can imagine the turbulent atmosphere hanging in the air while the people try to escape with their lives and we rejoice and cry and their reconciliations and their mishaps. The characters are very vividly described and the ending is, although predictable, very well done. Throughout the story, we are brought on a journey of self-discovery and go on an emotional rollercoaster ride following the path of Dara and we see the hope she has even under the most trying of circumstances. I would heartily recommend everyone to pick up this book and read it. Trust me, once you begin to read it, you'll probably not be able to put it down until you finish it. And then when you finish this book, maybe you will then consider reading Minfong Ho's 2 other books : "Rice Without Rain" & "Sing to the Dawn". She truly is a very prolific writer.

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Summary: book review:The Clay Marble
Review: The book I recently read was The Clay Marble. This book is about a 9-year-old girl named Dara who experiences a war in Cambodia. At their first stop, she meets a 13-year-old girl named Nea and her little 9-year-old sister named Jantu who becomes her best friend. Throughout this war, Dara can't find her mother and her family but soon finds them.
This story is very emotional because it talks about people getting killed and loosing each other. As well, it's an amazing and great story. This is one of the best books I have ever read because it includes historical facts and is detailed, sad and a perfect mood that I enjoy. The mood is very sad and emotional. It is also happy at some points. Also Mingfong Ho expresses the characteristics of the characters very well.
The plot isvery detailed and has many different moods to it like having comical but also depressing times. Some of the funny parts are when Dara and Jantu first meet and they fight in a joking way by making fun of each other. Another part is when Dara tries to steel the chicken from the cafeteria. A depressing part is when Dara can't find her mother and the happy part is she's trying to find her and finally does. Another part is when Jantu gets shot and dies because Dara's brother, Sarun, by accidentally shoots her.
I highly recommend this book because I thought that the book explains the problem well and had a wonderful plot line. The theme really stood out well and expressed the writer's feelings.

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Summary: A book to read!!!
Review: The book, The Clay Marble, is written by Minfong Ho about the war in Cambodia. Many Cambodians went to the Border for food and shelter. Dara is a twelve year old who as traveled many days with her family, searching for the Border. Once they approach the border, they are welcomed my Nea's family. Both families came from the same home-town so they had a lot in common. Dara's family is very new to the life at the Border so Nea invites them for dinner. Nea is the same age as Dara's older brother, Sarun, so they get a liking into each other. Dara meets Jantu , Nea's sister, the next day. They wait in a long line for breakfast and they talked a lot. They already became great friends. This is just the beginning of Jantu and Dara's relationship. They talk to each other about home and their family. Both families lost some family members through the war. Jantu makes a clay village, with clay both families and animals. She carefully made the faces of everyone and the animals. But it was soon, broken into pieces by the bully, Chnay. Dara bursts into tears but Jantu cheers her up by making a magic marble. This marble was given to Dara because since Jantu had "magic" in her fingers and as she made the marble it had magic too. So Dara believed in the marble, knowing that it will help her in need. But the happiness in the Border doesn't last forever. The shelling and bombing there cause the family to get separated. Jantu uses the strength of the marble to overcome many of the obstacles to find her family once again. She believed strongly that the marble would help her and it did. Finally, the family is joined back together but Jantu is accidentally shot. Before she dies she tells Dara that the magic wasn't inside the marble, but inside her. With her confidence she overcame the obstacles, the marble didn't do anything. Still, Dara didn't understand. Dara's brother wants to stay in the Nong Chan so he could fight and become part of the army. But with all her confidence inside Dara she makes her own marble and convinces her brother to go home. That's when she realizes that the magic is inside her, not in the marble.
The reason I really loved this book is because it taught a lesson. If you put your mind to it and believe in yourself, you could accomplish anything. "You've got to believe in yourself, Dara. Not me. Not magic marbles." Jantu said. She gave the marbles to her in the first place so that she would overcome obstacles but now she says this to show her that the marble didn't do anything. It was the confidence to it that helped her and if she believes in herself, she wouldn't need any marbles.
The second reason I like this book is because Dara has so much faith in the marble. No matter what comes up she knows she can accomplish it. "Frowning, Nea looked at me as if she were seeing me for the first time. "You've changed, too, Dara," she said slowly. "You didn't use to be like this...this..." "Rude?" Dara suggested. Nea smiled. "Either that, or this sure of yourself" she said. This is when Dara believed that they could load all their stuff in the wagon without Sarun, Dara's brother. They did the task and surprised Sarun. Again another believes that she has so much faith. '"King Silor is right," he said. 'You've got spirit. 'Dara smiled and knew it was actually the magic that Jantu put in the marble.'" She has so much confidence in it that anything that comes up she overcomes it. I really enjoyed reading how Dara overcame the tasks.
My favorite part is when Dara sees Jantu the next morning and hardly recognizes her. They have a rough beginning with insults. "Funny, you don't look much like your brother," she said. "He's good-looking, not like you." Then some girls started giggling. I've been insulted many times and I could relate to Dara's situation. Wanting to get back at her. But unlike me Dara gets back at Jantu. "This your brother?" Dara asked her. Jantu nodded, with a tough of pride. "He's cute," Dara said. "Not like you." The same girls giggled. I was laughing hard because this is the worst start of a friendship. But this didn't get in the way. They became great friends and understood each other.

Rating:
Summary: The Clay Marble
Review: The Clay Marble was an enjoyable read but I thought it was a little slow. From a historical view, I thought there would be more description of how the refugees lived, about the war, and Cambodia and the surrounding countries. The story itself is very good and would be an enjoyable read for a middle school student. Your heart really goes out to the characters and you can't want not to try and help them. It would make a good book for a book report or SSR.

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Summary: Clay Marble Review
Review: The Clay Marble, by Minfong Ho is a book about a girl named Dara who goes across the Cambodian border to seek refuge with her family in a refugee camp. As she is traveling, she gets separated from her family and has to go back and find them. She goes through many challenges to be safe with her family and loses many friends and family members along the way. Through Dara's actions, she shows how strong she is. This was a very inspirational book that I liked very much.
I liked this book because the main character was expressed as such a strong girl. She was very inspirational when she went on to try to find her family. After all that she had been through, she stayed strong and kept going on. Also, the plot line keeps you reading. It is a roller coaster story because sometimes it is emotional and sweet like Jantu making her a clay marble, then disaster strikes such as baby stepping on a land mine. This is a book that I could never put down just because the plot was so intriguing. The last reason that I liked the book so much is because I usually would not read a historical novel, but the way that this novel was written, it did not bore me. It said the historical facts, yet kept me interested in the book. For instance, it told about Cambodian life in a way of adding tragedy and joy to it instead of just boring facts. It is very tragic when Jantu dies, yet joyous when Dara finds her family. The only thing that I did not like was that it was a bit slow in the beginning when they were traveling. The book rolled along and got more and more interesting, so the slow part in the beginning was made up for in the end. This is a very captivating novel that I would recommend to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: The Clay Marble
Review: The Clay Marble, by Minfong Ho is a story for the Cambodian refugees that escaped to the Thai-Cambodian border during the Vietnam War. The title refers to the life of the refugees that are escaping, which makes many families separate from their home and families 'but bound by a love and determination that even war could not destroy' (Parent Magazine) In my opinion, this story is very enjoyable, due to the fact that Minfong Ho had already visited Cambodia, the place near my country, Thailand. She studied their cultures and traditions, which gave her the ideas to write this book. So these make the story more realistic to me, because the setting and the name of the characters are familiar, such as the name Dara. Dara is the main character in this novel, she is only twelve years old, but knows what a real family is like, which interests me a lot. The word Dara in Thai means, 'star' and it is the same in the Cambodia language as describes in the novel. Moreover, the details about the place or the setting that Minfong describes do give me a picture in my mind. This is because the place and the geography in Cambodia is nearly the same as Thailand. In addition, someone who worked at camps on the Thai-Cambodian border told this story, so it appears that some scenes took place in Thailand told this story. Furthermore, this shows that this story is from real a situation that happened when the Khmer Rough took over in Cambodia.
Moreover, this story really shows how those people are really like and how they live with each other at the border. It is like a real family to me, they are together in one piece of land. The story impressed me very much because this story shows that people in Cambodia wouldn't mind living together and they are actually nice people. According to Kirkus Reviews 'Ho skillfully shapes her story to dramatize political and humanitarian issues.' Ho's skill of writing is very thoughtful; she describes everything in detail without letting the problems affect her appreciation of the Cambodian culture. The other thing that I like about this novel is that she wrote this story in the first person point of view, which makes the character more understandable to me. I can understand what the character is talking and thinking about and what she thinks about the refugees' movement and other refugees. It is like I am actually beside the character looking at what she is looking at, feeling what she is feeling and touching what she is touching. However, this story makes me depressed sometimes, because it is quite sad to lose your parent, or your family, because of the war.
Overall, I think this novel is a very good one for everyone to read, not just for fun but also to realize how these people at the time were treated by the war. The Clay Marble is not the only story by Ho; she is also the author of Rice without Rain, another masterpiece that contains peace as well as revenge.