The Star Fisher by Laurence Yep

I've read better writing, but it's a pretty good story, nonetheless.

It's the story of a Chinese-American girl in the late 1920s who moves to a small town in West Virginia with their family.

Of course it touches on the topic of racism, but the theme that really holds the book together is family relationships and friendships.

I thought most of the book was a little on the cheesy side, but I was really moved by Yep's description of Joan's relationship with her mother because it reminded me so much of mine with my mother.

That's what it means to be a Star Fisher; torn between two worlds, never belonging wholly in either. It's the second-generation Asian-American experience.

Of course, I experienced far less racism growing up in the 1980s than Joan did in the 1920s, but I still hear her.

Good book to recommend to a younger kid or teen if they want to read about (or if you want to teach them about) racism or growing up in a different culture than your parents did.