The Merit Birds

Gr 9 Up—Eighteen-year-old Cam has resentfully accompanied his single mother to Laos. As a child, his father was largely absent and unreliable, and Cam feels his mother often puts her job and dating life ahead of him. As such, he is a young man with a noticeable chip on his shoulder. He struggles in Laos at the beginning, missing his native Canada and having to adjust to life in a developing country. Things look up when he befriends his neighbour Somchai and falls in love with traditional Laotian masseuse Nok. However Cam's anger problems and sheer bad luck lead to a series of tragedies that plainly show the differences between his new home and North America. The story is told by Cam in the first person, but also includes chapters written in the third person featuring Nok and her brother, Seng. Cam is not particularly likable—his Western, individualistic outlook, combined with his anger and self-pity, contrast sharply with the hard scrabble existence of his Laotian peers. The story features a large number of dramatic incidents, adding the narrative's fast pace. The ending, however, feels rushed and almost too abrupt. Powell is clearly familiar with Laos, and she writes descriptively about the heat, humidity, and landscape. Teens reading this story will be introduced to a society with strong family and community values, coupled with an undemocratic government and justice system. There's some violence and sexual themes. The end pages demonstrate a yoga breathing technique that Cam is introduced to within the story.