China Boy

Kai Ting is the only American-born son of an aristocratic Mandarin family that fled China in the wake of Maoƒ??s revolution. Growing up in San Franciscoƒ??s ghetto, Kai is caught between two worldsƒ??embracing neither the Chinese nor the American way of life. After his motherƒ??s death, Kai is suddenly plunged into American culture by his new stepmother, a Philadelphia society woman who tries to erase every vestige of China from the household. Warm, funny, and deeply moving, China Boy is a brilliantly rendered novel of family relationships, culture shock, and the perils of growing up in an America of sharp differences and shared humanity.