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Children of the River by Linda Crew

Summary

Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother and sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child. Now, four years later, she struggles to fit in at her Oregon high school and to be "a good Cambodian girl" at home. A good Cambodian girl never dates; she waits for her family to arrange her marriage to a Cambodian boy. Yet Sundara and Jonathan, an extraordinary American boy, are powerfully drawn to each other. Haunted by grief for her lost family and for the life she left behind, Sundara longs to be with him. At the same time she wonders, Are her hopes for happiness and a new life in America disloyal to her past and her people?

213 pages, 6th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Describe Sundara. What kind of a person is she?
  2. What is Sundara struggling with? Does she seem to have much control over her future?
  3. What do Jonathon and Sundara like about each other?
  4. How do some of the other kids at school treat Sundara?
  5. What do you think it would be like to leave your parents and your home to come to a new country? Have you or someone you know ever experienced this?
  6. Why do you think Sundara's family is so strict?
  7. In many countries of the world, people do not pick their spouses. They are arranged by family instead. What are some of the advantages for this? What are the disadvantages? Would you ever want your marriage to be arranged?
  8. Jonathon tells Sundara that she is brave. How is she brave? What consitutes bravery for you?
  9. What does the title of this book mean?
  10. What do you think might happen to Sundara in the future?

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