by Samantha White
Northwest Asia Weekly
Pahua and the Soul Stealer
by Lori M. Lee
Rick Riordan presents, 2021
Pahua Moua is known for being weird. The 11-year-old Hmong American girl can see sprites — including a cat sprite called Miff — who looks after her younger brother Matt every day.
Matt falls ill and cannot wake up when Pahua accidentally frees an angry spirit from a nearby haunted bridge. Pa-hua worries that the bridge soul has stolen his soul, but it gets worse when she accidentally summons a demon when she returns to the bridge hoping to confront the soul.
As Pahua embarks on a journey to save Matt, she and Miff encounter a samurai shaman with a questionable attitude. While she may be focused on retrieving her brother’s soul, Pahua discovers something else along the way.
Soul Stealer is a funny story about a young girl determined to help her brother in his time of need. One of the things I love about Pahua is that she’s far from perfect and makes mistakes – she’s the reason Matt even got into trouble after all – but she learns from them and does everything she can to make things right. As a Hmong American, she was different from the other kids in the neighborhood. Her ability to see souls makes her even more unique, even within her own Hmong community. But what I appreciate is that these differences are a strength that was needed to save her brother.
Beyond fantasy adventures, Li introduces readers to elements of Hmong culture that I at least don’t know about. From the idea of animism (I especially like Mushroom Spirit and the spirits around her house), to folk tales and myths, “Soul Stealer” made me want to learn more about Hmong culture, and I know I’m not the only one with this readers of this feeling.
hot and sour suspect
Vivien Jane
St. Martin Paperback, 2022
Lana Lee helps her best friend Megan Riley host speed date nights at her family’s restaurant and get things done at the Ho-Lee Noodle House. Things are going well, but before Lana and Megan celebrate, Lana’s friend Rina Su (who is also the owner of the Asian Village) calls to tell her that her speed-dating competition is over. And since Lina was the last person to see the man alive, she’s now the prime suspect. Lana, being Lana, jumped in immediately to help.
As she digs deeper into the case, Lana learns that Rina’s date has a rather sketchy past and that quite a few people want him dead.
“Sour and Hot Suspect” continues Lana’s amateur detective adventures. By now (her eighth case), she’s made a name for itself and everyone in her circle (sometimes farther) knows her help (snooping and docking really). Some welcome her help, but Lina insists that Lana stay out of the way. Of course, Lana didn’t listen. It’s this part of her character that makes Lana so admirable.
Rina is an adult, but after her sister and brother-in-law are killed, Lana feels a great responsibility to her (the second book in the Chien series). Although sometimes, I admit to thinking that she just needs to calm down.
But her inflated sense of responsibility just shows that Lana isn’t perfect — just like the rest of us.
In the eighth installment of her Noodle Shop Mysteries series, Chien shapes Lana not only as a character, but the people around her. From seeing Lana’s two best friends Megan and Kimmy Tran (always my favorite characters in the series) getting along, to getting a closer look at what’s really going on with Lana’s sister, Anna May, and seeing Lana’s community grow and grow It’s interesting to develop around her as well. I look forward to seeing more of them in future installments (and am praying for more Kimmy-centric stories).
Troublemaker
By: John Cho, with Sarah Suk
Little Brown Book, 2022
Twelve-year-old Jordan Park already feels he can’t live up to his parents’ expectations. When he came home from school after being suspended for cheating, he knew he was going to grow even more disappointed. But Los Angeles has become a tumultuous place as police acquitted black Rodney King after beating Rodney King and black teen Latasha Harlins was shot dead by a South Korean shopkeeper.
Jordan’s father leaves the house to seal off and protect their liquor store. With news of increasing violence in the city, Jordan fears for his father’s safety, and his last memory will be their battle. So Jordan decided to bring his father his gun himself.
Set on the first night of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, “The Troublemaker” follows a young boy on a mission to protect his father. Along the way, Jordan learns more about the country’s racist past and present — how his Korean-American community has benefited from it at the expense of black people, and the perpetual racism in his community. It’s an intense journey full of near misses and revelations about what it means to be human.
For a mid-level story, “The Troublemaker” contains some pretty heavy stuff — from riots to racism to guns. I have no problem with the first two – through the internet and social media, young people have more access to news and information than ever before, and Cho keeps things age-appropriate. Also, as many BIPOC people of all ages can tell you, young people don’t always protect you from racism. However, the latter did give me pause. But Jordan felt the weight (and not just the weight of his body) of the weapons he carried with him in his backpack. Like many pre-teens, Jordan was impulsive and didn’t always think through, so while he was always wary of being aware of his father’s guns, the real seriousness of the situation came to him gradually, and I think Cho handled this Topics are very careful.
Samantha is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
