Tangled Threads : A Hmong Girl's Story

Rating:
Summary: Great effort to explain the hardships of coming to the US
Review: and adjusting to change, but I felt some of the situations did not portray the true way of life for Hmong teens.
I'm surprised that with so many people editing and contributing feedback to this book, how come there were consistent Hmong spelling errors? I question why the only Hmong words that were used repeatedly were derrogative ones? ('Raum' which was meant to be 'ruam', meaning stupid)The pronounciation keys could use some work too.
I do appreciate the interesting facts about the paj ntaub designs. This skill is being deprecated and the knowledge being written will be useful.
This book should inspire Hmongs to create a voice that will ring true and represent the complicated emotions of growing up in America and holding on to your roots.

Rating:
Summary: A so-so book
Review: As a Hmong-American, I thought the book did a good job explaining parts of the Hmong culture and had interesting information about the Hmong people, despite the fact that some Hmong words were spelled incorrectly. But overall, I thought the book was only okay. The plot was basic and characters were not very well-developed. The reading level of this book would fit more with middle school kids, so I would only suggest it to kids in grades 6-8.

Rating:
Summary: Tangled Threads
Review: This Book is awesome. I would recomend this to people ages 10 and up. A young girls journy to America and new experiances. Hard times, awesome foods, and much much more. AWESOME!!!

Rating:
Summary: Tangled up in blues
Review: When you read any book about a particular immigrant experience, your greatest hope is that it distinguish itself in some way. There are many good books about coming to America from war torn countries but many more so-so books on the same topic. In the case of "Tangled Threads" by Pegi Deitz Shea, the book had the job of being interesting, informative, and (most difficult of all) genuinely touching. And it does, to some extent. As other reviewers of this book have mentioned, some of the Hmong words in this tale are misspelled and it's debatable whether or not this accurately depicts the Hmong-American teen experience. But Shea has written a truly interesting book, one that deftly balances the heaviness of its subject with lighter more hopeful feelings. It is not a book for small children or those kids who are reluctant readers, but it's a good book all the same. A boon to the world of Hmong-centric children's literature.

Having basically grown up in the dirt and squalor of a Thai refugee camp, Mai has spent her existence learning the art of pa'ndau, or storycloth from her grandmother. Her dream has always been to join her uncle, aunt, and cousins in America. Now, with her stomach ailments growing worse and the refugee camps threatening to close, grandmother and granddaughter are able to leave their homeland behind and travel across the ocean to Providence, Rhode Island. Mai expects that all her problems will be gone once she reaches that magical land. Instead, she finds worlds, both outside and insider her home, difficult to navigate. Her grandmother is reticent and displeased with everything new in America. Her uncle and cousins are constantly at war with one another over boundaries and choices. And Mai herself must learn about handling money, dealing with a new language and life, and her increasing annoyance with her grandmother. It isn't until Mai learns a horrible secret that's been kept from her, however, that she can start to come to terms with what it means to be Hmong in America.

At first the book struck me as slightly similar to "A Step From Heaven" by An Na. The immigrant experience of one girl in America, dealing with patriarchal figures that demand total obedience, holding onto traditions, etc. But where "A Step From Heaven" is mostly about the problems within a broken family, "Tangled Threads" is more about the search for identity after a recent immigration. Now I need to be perfectly clear here and state that this is not a book for younger children. Heck, the protagonist only barely escapes a rape attempt in the first 38 pages. Consider this a title for older readers, especially those with an interest in people from various cultures around the world

Now I can't attest the accuracy of the events portrayed in this book. But certainly author Shea has done her homework. She even includes a detailed afterword, glossary, pronunciation guide to Hmong names, list of Thai words, definition of Hmong symbols, and (most interesting to me) a wonderfully complete bibliography of any and all Hmong children's books and websites for further reading. As for the story itself, it's okay. This isn't the most unique book I've ever read in my life. The story's rather basic and a twinge predictable. But it makes for good reading all the same. This is a title that gives a strong look at a little known culture living in the United States. I only wish every group of immigrants to America had at least one book about their people that was half as good as this one. A strong showing.