The Case of the Firecrackers

Chinatown #3

by Laurence Yep

An ex-movie star turned publicist, Auntie Tiger Lil can't seem to stay away from the big screen'or from danger! When she takes her niece Lily to the set of TV's hottest show, tempers flare and fuses ignite as a loaded gun finds its way into the scene. Somebody is trying to cause trouble, and everyone is suspect. Auntie Tiger Lil and a new cast of characters are once again in the enter of action as they travel from Chinatown to the dangerous Tenderloin District of San Francisco in search of clues. They follow a trail of firecrackers, gangs, bad food, and gambling to dead ends. How will they ever find the real culprit? 01-02 Young Hoosier Book Award Masterlist (Gr 4-6)

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 1999

About the author

Born June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.

Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.
It's a classic mystery book written for teens. It shows a lot about Chinatown in San Francisco.
I enjoyed the characters.
I enjoy learning, so I was glad that the book included a lot of details about things that were new to me.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the weakest of the series. It is obvious right away who the villain is. The characters are super cute though. I just love them.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily loves her great and the actrist. she has helped her solve two mysteries already she is an expert already.