The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong

Gr 9 Up—High school sophomore Vee Crawford-Wong is smart, witty, insecure, occasionally brash, and living with parents who refuse to talk about their pasts. When his history teacher assigns an essay on family history, the teen invents grandparents and experiences to explain his half-Chinese, half-Texan identity. Angry at his parents' silence on this issue, Vee, with the help of his Asian friend, Madison, forges a letter from Vee's imagined Chinese grandparents inviting their son and his family to visit China. When the trip becomes a reality and his dying grandfather is actually located, Vee at last begins to understand his father and himself. This engaging narrative is brimming with what-I-am-thinking vs. what-I-just-did quandaries about girls, sex, athletics, bullies, teachers, coaches, and family relationships. Vee's crush on volatile hottie Adele temporarily blinds him to the loyalty and support of Madison and the integrity of his teacher. His joking demeanor belies his (and possibly readers') understandable frustration with his parents' lack of communication. Ultimately, his mother's and father's family histories and tensions are partially revealed. Although rambling in spots, Vee's story is upbeat, entertaining, and humorous. His personal dilemmas and explicit descriptions and language capture the adolescent male psyche; offer a mixed-ethnicity perspective; portray the social crosscurrents of public high school; and highlight the values of family, forgiveness, and self-respect.—Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC