"Class, let's take a look at your
homework, I want to see all those
ideas on "What Family Means To
Me"!
I never finished my homework
after reading Baba's email
yesterday!
But how could I have come up
with anything without revealing
my family's secret to the whole
school?"
Living in San Francisco with her mother and older sisters, Cindy must deal with a family secret, almost impossible to understand. While the rest of the family remains in the United States, Cindy's father made the decision four years ago to move back to Taiwan. The explanation is that he has moved for work. There is little communication. Her mother insists that it must remain a secret.
Cindy is a sixth grader with artistic talent; she is encouraged by her art teacher to enter a contest that is titled "What My Family Means to Me". Uncomfortable with the truth of their family's situation, Cindy has difficulty deciding how to depict it through her art. Should she somehow create a perfect family portrait in hopes that it will bring her Baba home again?
When her father's mother dies in Taiwan, the family makes the trip to attend the funeral. While they are there, they learn the real reason for their father's absence. How will knowing this difficult truth impact Cindy's art project? Using expressive and telling art, Cindy Chang shares an emotional time for her family in her debut novel. Readers will be clearly aware of the strain placed on family members as they process the reason for the abrupt changes to their idyllic life.
This autobiographical novel is poignant and complex. Variety in the artwork moves from the strength of her mother and sisters as they learn to accept their new reality to the anger and frustration Cindy feels in having no say about their situation. Journal entries help her sort through the myriad of feelings that eventually allow her to speak up, and accept what cannot be changed.
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