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Through My Eyes
Shaozhen
An evocative and compelling story about one boy living through the 2014 drought in Henan, China.
Shaozhen has no intention of staying in his remote Henan village and becoming another poor farmer: he'll finish school, and then, hopefully, work in a factory in one of the major cities, just like his father. But when Shaozhen returns home for the summer holidays, imagining days filled with nothing but playing basketball with his friends, he's in for a shock. The worst drought in over sixty years threatens the crops that the entire village relies on for income. As the water situation becomes dire, Shaozhen realises he must come up with a plan. But will it be enough to save his family and friends and secure the future of his village?
Shaozhen has no intention of staying in his remote Henan village and becoming another poor farmer: he'll finish school, and then, hopefully, work in a factory in one of the major cities, just like his father. But when Shaozhen returns home for the summer holidays, imagining days filled with nothing but playing basketball with his friends, he's in for a shock. The worst drought in over sixty years threatens the crops that the entire village relies on for income. As the water situation becomes dire, Shaozhen realises he must come up with a plan. But will it be enough to save his family and friends and secure the future of his village?
- GenresContemporaryChildrens
208 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2017
1 person is currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Wai Chim
10 books162 followersWai Chim grew up in New York City and now calls Sydney, Australia home. She is the author of several children and young adult titles. You can find her online at waichim.com or on twitter @onewpc.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 10, 2021
Read for readers cup question writing. A glimpse into another world. Lots of tension and sadness, but ultimately hopeful. Shaozhen's character development feels authentic.
January 15, 2019
Part of an anthology series by different authors on surviving natural disasters, this is a decent story, if a little distant, and certainly ly lacking the charm of the Chook Chook series. A fair read, but really lacking something, a spark.
May 22, 2024
Shaozhen is not the most studious of teenagers and thus when school finishes he can think of nothing better than no books for the duration of the holidays. The holidays he planned however soon change when his mother announces that she is leaving the following day to take a job in the city with her husband. This will leave Shaozhen in the care of his grandmother who feels he has been spoiled and indulged and she’s determined that he will work…and work hard. As a farm worker Shaozhen soon realises that without rain the harvest will be ruined and without rain, and the wells and rivers all dry, it will become a fight for survival.
At first I actually liked the character of Shaozhen – he was a kid that most readers could connect with on some level whether it be their hopes, dreams, or lack of enthusiasm for school. The problem was I couldn’t connect with the character. By page 100 I really didn’t care and had to force myself to keep reading. At times it felt the descriptive passages were too long and were holding back the story – I don’t mind description but once you’ve got the scene set and cultural understanding there – don’t keep bogging down the story with details that aren’t necessary.
If you’re looking for a book that you can make connections with Australia then this book does that with the drought. From both a historical and current view droughts will always be a part of Australian lives especially for those in rural areas who rely on agriculture for a living.
At first I actually liked the character of Shaozhen – he was a kid that most readers could connect with on some level whether it be their hopes, dreams, or lack of enthusiasm for school. The problem was I couldn’t connect with the character. By page 100 I really didn’t care and had to force myself to keep reading. At times it felt the descriptive passages were too long and were holding back the story – I don’t mind description but once you’ve got the scene set and cultural understanding there – don’t keep bogging down the story with details that aren’t necessary.
If you’re looking for a book that you can make connections with Australia then this book does that with the drought. From both a historical and current view droughts will always be a part of Australian lives especially for those in rural areas who rely on agriculture for a living.
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November 17, 2017Shaozhen has no intention of staying in his remote Henan village and becoming another poor farmer: he'll finish school, and then, hopefully, work in a factory in one of the major cities, just like his father.
But when Shaozhen returns home for the summer holidays, imagining days filled with nothing but playing basketball with his friends, he's in for a shock.
The worst drought in over sixty years threatens the crops that the entire village relies on for income. As the water situation becomes dire, Shaozhen realises he must come up with a plan.
But will it be enough to save his family and friends and secure the future of his village?
But when Shaozhen returns home for the summer holidays, imagining days filled with nothing but playing basketball with his friends, he's in for a shock.
The worst drought in over sixty years threatens the crops that the entire village relies on for income. As the water situation becomes dire, Shaozhen realises he must come up with a plan.
But will it be enough to save his family and friends and secure the future of his village?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews