Homesick

In this Newbery Honor Book and American Book Award for Children’s Fiction Winner, premier biographer Jean Fritz shares some of her own fascinating history.

The accolades speak for themselves:

* Fritz draws the readers into scenes from her youth in the turbulent China of the mid-twenties. One comes to appreciate the generous affection of her nurse/companion Lin Nai-Nai, the isolating distance in her mother’s grief over losing a second child, the dynamics of a suffering population venting its hostility on foreigners, and most of all, the loneliness of a child’s exile from a homeland she has imagined constantly but never seen….A remarkable blend of truth and storytelling. -Booklist, starred review

* An insightful memory’s-eye-view of her childhood…Young Jean is a strong character, and many of her reactions to people and events are timeless and universal. -School Library Journal, starred review

Told with an abundance of humor-sometimes wry, sometimes mischievous and irreverent-the story is vibrant with atmosphere, personalities, and a palpable sense of place. -The Horn Book

Every now and then a book comes along that makes me want to send a valentine to its author. Homesick is such a book….Pungent and delicious. -Katherine Paterson, The Washington Post