Great Call of China (S.A.S.S. Series) Book

I think I really only give it 3.5 stars, but I'm being generous today. This YA (aimed at the preteen+) stars Cece, an American-adopted Chinese girl who travels back to China through the S.A.S.S. (Students Across the Seven Seas) program. Through the anthropology program, Cece goes to Xi'an (home of the famous terra cotta warriors) and learns about her cultural history.

I am an American-adopted Korean, who now resides in Beijing, China. So I take particular interest in the part where Cece returns to China to search for her birth parents. I am terribly disappointed by how Cece was written to handle her experience. I've known several adopted Asians who did try to search for their birth parents, some as young as Cece, and NONE of them did it with so little research or common sense.

On top of that, this book has some major discrepencies that I found hard to ignore. For being published in 2009, I can't believe the exchange rate wasn't better verified. 12 kuai hasn't equaled "under $1.50" since the late 90s. And while I may be nit-picking there, the broad explanation of China's new "one-child policy" as "if you have a girl, you can try to have a second child" is absolutely misleading (and for the most part false). China HAS adjusted its policy to combat the abandoning of its baby girls--it is illegal to abandon your child, it is illegal to have an abortion based on the fetus' sex (which is why parents are not allowed to be told the sex of their baby). Penalties include a stiff fine and possible jail time. The only likely scenario I can think of where a couple would be allowed a second child is if they were farmers and they could prove that a boy could help out (manual labor-wise) better. BUT, as all Chinese couples must apply for a license to have a child (no license and your child is not legally recognized and you will be fined for having a child without a license), most of these laborers can barely afford the first license, let alone a second. And the reason why I am so angry that this wasn't better researched and explained is that I feel that these misrepresentations of China continue America's negative misunderstandings about this culture and its people.

So why do I still give this book four stars? Because overall, I think this is a great opportunity for young people, especially Americans (who live such isolated lives), to learn about the world. I think Liu does a great job at capturing the wonders of Xi'an and introducing other important historical sites besides just the terra cotta warriors. I also think that with as many American-adopted Asians as there are, it's important for them to have characters with whom they can identify with. Cece is a typical American girl and she doesn't identify with her Chinese roots. And I (grudgingly) gave into the fact that I identified more with Cece than I cared to admit.

I've read a lot of stories about adopted kids. Most of these stories are written by people who are not adopted. And while you can interview adoptees and get emotions, these writers can't get the exact tone as to what it's like to be adopted. (And by the way, NOT all adopted kids share the same feelings.) So, in the end, I think Liu would have had a stronger story had she stuck to what she knows, which is what it's like to be Asian growing up in America. I think this story would have been a perfect 5 stars had she written it from Jessica's point of view--she's just as American as Cece, but has the other struggle of dealing with her Chinese parents' Chinese expectations. How does Jessica balance the two sides to herself and still manage to figure out who she is and how she fits in?

But I highly recommend this series to anyone with a preteen kid. The S.A.S.S. series covers many other counries and I think does a good job at getting people interested in places outside their comfort zone.