"The approach I take with my writing is to have my work reflect
real life, and yet be shaped into the best story possible. I feel
that a powerful piece of fiction can often convey an emotional
truth more compellingly than a strictly factual version."--Linda
Crew
Linda Crew is a recipient of the IRA Children's Book Award and the
Golden Kite Award, and her books have been named ALA Notables as
well as ALA Best Books.
Linda Crew didn't always have to be a writer. In fact, while
attending junior high school in the early sixties, this
award-winning author wanted to be a folksinger. By high school,
when it bad become apparent to her that she really couldn't sing,
she decided to become an actress. Then, at the University of
Oregon, her theatrical ambitions evaporated. At her mother's
suggestion, Crew switched her major to journalism--and loved
it.
Crew's training was in journalism--interviewing, researching, and
marketing--and she was encouraged to present the facts accurately
and without fuss. But her assigmnents always ended up full of
dialogue and she "had this compelling urge to make a story just a
little better than the way it happened." Thus, her talent for
writing fiction was born.
After college, Linda Crew married her husband Herb and settled on a
farm in her home state of Oregon, where the couple still resides
today with their three children. Crew leads a full, busy life and
admits, "It's difficult sometimes to carve out the time for writing
with so many other demands, but it's important for me to do some
living. After all, what could a person possibly write about if she
spent all day closeted in front of her computer?"
Book List
Long Time Passing
Children of the River
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An IRA Children's Book Award
A Golden Kite Award
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Fire on the Wind
Maine Student Book Award Master List 1996-1997
Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List
1996-1997
Nekomah Creek
An ALA Notable Children's Book
Nekomah Creek Christmas
Author Fun Facts
Previous jobs- Florist, mail carrier, visitor center receptionist
for the Forest Service at Cape Perpetua
Pets- One lively black cat named Goblin
Favorite . . .
. . . hobbies? I like theater. I enjoy working with dried flowers,
also sewing, especially creative things like doll clothes and
costumes. I am notorious in my house for going overboard on
costumes!
. . . foods? chocolate!
. . . clothes to wear? jeans or long dresses
. . . colors? green, of course! I'm an Oregonian.
. . . books? good children's books
* "A powerful first novel....A book to change readers' eyes and
hearts."-- Pointer, Kirkus Reviews
* "Crew salutes the basic goodness of humankind which triumphs in
some way even under the most inhumane circumstances."-- Starred,
School Library Journal
"A moving look at the way in which a survivor of a great tragedy,
having confronted overwhelming changes in her life, faces young
adulthood." -- Publishers Weekly
* "A powerful first novel....A book to change readers' eyes and
hearts."-- Pointer, Kirkus Reviews
* "Crew salutes the basic goodness of humankind which triumphs in
some way even under the most inhumane circumstances."-- Starred,
School Library Journal
"A moving look at the way in which a survivor of a great tragedy,
having confronted overwhelming changes in her life, faces young
adulthood." -- Publishers Weekly
Sundara Sovann, a Cambodian refugee, fled from the Khmer Rouge army when she was 13. Living with her aunt and uncle in the U.S., also ``boat people,'' she doesn't know what has happened to the rest of her family. Four years after her arrival, she is still haunted by the death of her infant cousin, with whose care she was entrusted on the nightmarish boat trip. And she still hasn't adjusted to the new culture. Torn between the Cambodian customs she is supposed to live up to at home, and the need to assimilate at high school, Sundara knows she shouldn't even be talking to American boys. Then she falls in love with Jonathan, a handsome football player. The resolution comes smoothly and plausibly, offering a pleasant and moving look at the way in which a survivor of great tragedy, having confronted overwhelming changes in her life, faces young adulthood. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)
Gr 7-12-Seventeen-year-old Sundara is torn between her Cambodian family's expectations and her desire to become more American now that she has been forced to relocate along with her aunt's family following the rise to power of the Khmer Rouge. Matters are complicated by her feelings for Jonathan, a popular American boy who has fallen for Sundara and has trouble accepting the custom which forbids Cambodian girls from dating and dictates arranged marriages. The captivating, touching, and sometimes tragic story by Linda Crew (Delacorte, 1989) touches upon issues of culture, history, gender, and race wrapped around an engaging romance. The story is set in 1979 and provides enough details about the situation in Cambodia at the time to set the scene without bogging down the narrative. It is superbly narrated by Christina Moore, who deftly handles Sundara's accent. The novel is included on various bibliographies and as assigned reading in many schools. It will make an excellent teaching aid in classrooms and will appeal to teens who like romances.-Diana Dickerson, White Pigeon Community Schools, MI Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
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