Child of the Owl

Child of the Owl, by Laurence Yep, is 278 pages long. Casey lives with her father Barney, who has lots of troubles with gambling. Because of this they move around all the time, staying in cheap motels and renting cheap houses. But when Barney gets hospitalized, Casey has nowhere to stay. She goes to live with her Uncle Phil and his family, but they are too goody-two shoes and are not a good fit for Casey. So she goes to live with her grandmother, Paw-Paw, in San Francisco's Chinatown. It takes getting used to, but Casey gets used to life with her grandmother in Chinatown. She is enrolled in a Chinese school that she hates, but copes with it. Paw-Paw takes Casey around Chinatown and shows her some things. Paw-Paw tells her a story about her family's charm, an owl. The Charm means everything to Paw-Paw and she treasures it. Casey and Paw-Paw are having a great time together, until they come home one day to find out that they are being robbed. Paw-Paw barges inside after Casey tells her to just stay outside. They come in to find that the thief is taking all their money and the owl charm! Then the thief throws Paw-Paw against the wall and she is hospitalized. Casey lives alone for a couple of month until Paw-Paw gets better. She has to use a cane all the time. Then Barney comes to meet Casey. He admits that he was the thief! He needed the money and the charm to get out of some serious debt. Casey says that she never wants to see him again. Barney tries to explain, but Casey won;t give in. After Paw-Paw gives Casey a speech that encourages her to forgive Barney, she calls him and they make up. I recommend this book to readers who can read through pretty harsh stuff.