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Chapter three provides more background information of Holmes and Daisy and their family. It also briefly mentions the history of their city via Holmes's mouth when she was describing her father. In the meanwhile, they were sneaking outt and still trying to find Davis for money.

The book starts off with a confusing narration and gives a view of the world by a teenage girl. Holmes examines her life in a both rational and philosophical manner. She attempts to define herself and the world through science and to find the reasons for everything in her life. The central story is about her and her friends finding her friend's father along with their self-examination and growth as teenagers.

This books is a little hard to me, but I will catch up. It gives a broad knowledge on Iron, especially after reading Persepolis.

Some stories are not as good as I thought, but it’s good in overall, and some stories are memorable.

Should be good.

Should be good

The tension between Taiwan and mainland China has been a long-lasting problem since the founding of the PRC of China, but the reality for the normal citizens is that no one respects the Taiwanese, and people in China want the military to take over Taiwan by force. It was shocking that the dean gave Chen a passport just because of his Taiwanese uncle. It is contradicting what the government claims to the citizens.

(continue) For the remainder of the book, I believe the dean will not treat Chen well, so his journey to America will be based on other chances. I predict that his students will help him go to America since he treated them nicely.

In a traditional way of thinking, Chen was not appropriate for a teacher, because he was too nice and had other bad habits like drinking and smoking, but he became friends with the students. In my 7th-grade teachers in China, they tried to scare and threaten students to make us disciplined in every aspect, and the deans liked this type of teacher because strict teachers bring them less responsibility. (next post)

(continue)However, if there is a foreign family in a community, the entire building will have enough and extra food for free, while people are starving and don’t even have enough food to eat every day.

When foreigners come to China, they will be treated well by the government regardless of having Chinese citizens starving. On the other hand, the government claims that foreigners are not their business. These NBA players reminded me of the current Shanghai lockdown situation. As Shanghai is closed as a city, citizens have to fight for every piece of food at a high price. (next post)

Later on, when Chen was suffering from his disease, the relationship he had helped him, and it not only proves that Chen has changed greatly by Bo, but I also feel like this was a meaningful way to mark an end for Bo, Chen’s best friend.

I didn’t expect Bo’s death had a longer impact on Chen, but it also demonstrates that Bo helped Chen transfer from country life to city life the most, and Chen learned the importance of having relationships with others in the city. Thus Chen would rely on Bo in various ways though not so obvious. (next post)

This part of the book exposes China in the most traditional way. The marriage was decided by the middleman and the corruption in temples, these were problems that existed in the Chinese system for centuries. On the other hand, the death of Bo shocked me because I thought he could survive even longer, but his death will serve as a turning point for Chen that he will become more disappointed with his university life.

After Chen returned to his hometown, he found out that everyone has changed, which corresponds to the fact that China was going through rapid growth in all areas. However, I was introduced to a brand new concept, a shop that is only for foreigners, and the fact that Phoenix could be sold to the Chinese at such a high price. I am confused by the two-sidedness of the Chinese government’s attitude towards foreigners.

Chen’s adaptation to the foreign community was a lot easier than I previously thought. With the opportunities that can be brought by his high grades, it can also be foreshadowing his future that he will make a smooth transition to the U.S. society as well as his future life in America. I can see Bo becoming more and more lost in his way that I think the suicidal roommate indicated on the back cover might be him.

The difference in the background is reflected more in this part of the book. Everything could be essential in order to succeed in China, money, grades and even the city that one’s from. The following plot is predictable. Chen will succeed because he is looked down upon by others, and he has worked hard. Chen and Bo became closer friends, but I think Bo will be overwhelmed soon that their relationship will be ruined.

A few years ago, there was news, reported that universities established an “academic partner program”, which “connects” poor young girls to foreign students. I now come to understand more of the author’s situation and understand the reason that I can’t find this book in Chinese.

A large portion of things in this book sounds quite familiar to me, and they still correspond to nowadays China. From the rude old ladies on the train to the “superior” foreigners, they reflect the issues that exhibit in China, from moral issues to political policy. (next post)

because he didn’t have a thorough conversation with Nadia before he went to the pastor.

I thought the author would give a more complete ending for this book, which I thought Nadia would stay with her father and come along with Aubrey again like they were before. On the other side, maybe Robert now understands the pressure on Nadia after the death of her wife and starts to understand Nadia, but he was still an incompetent father (next post)

Russell has changed significantly, maybe because of his growth in the Marine, or he learned as he received emails from Aubrey. It was surprising that Aubrey found out Luke was cheating. Maybe because of her past experience, she can notice the emotional changes from other people, no matter if it's slight or significant. I hope Luke and Nadia can understand their mistakes and get along with Aubrey in the end.

A lot has been going on during this part of the book. I felt truly sad for Aubrey. Her best friend, and her beloved husband were hiding the truth behind her and cheating on her. In the meantime, she was worried about getting a baby and became part of the Sheppard family. I want to know more about her past because her patience and tolerance made me doubt her past for she doesn’t distrust other people for no reason.

Nadia was the person to change Aubrey. No matter if it's good or bad, Aubrey learned to mess with random people. To me, I feel like they will cheat on their partners, which I think will happen soon, especially Nadia and Luke because they are still somehow related and can converse on things easily. This could be because Nadia’s father has enraged her, so the dark side of her mind has reactivated, just like years ago.

than pressuring him.

I feel like the reason that Luke can’t be successful is because of his mother. I can’t assert whether it’s simply the gap between generations, or she treats Luke as her property that he has to follow her. Luke’s love for Cherry was different from his to Nadia. He just wants someone to listen to him, and he found Aubrey later. They helped him to walk out of the past, while his parents did nothing other(next post)

Aubrey once had a tough life just like Nadia, but she can walk out of it because she had people caring for her. Nadia wasn’t as lucky that her father doesn’t even care much about her leaving the house. This part of the book also exposes the perspective of Luke, which I kind of start to understand him because of his identity, but he is still unforgivable. I want to know how Aubrey will react if she hears their story.

Mrs. Sheppard’s disrespect towards Nadia’s mother was obvious, which shows her rudeness for she had an organized family and a steady job. On the other hand, Aubrey exhibited great empathy because she had bad experiences and different life now. However, she is a more positive person than Nadia, and she is able to express and strive for herself. I predict she will be the person to lead Nadia out from all challenges.

The experience and time gave The Mothers the right to be condescending to the younger generation. The young might have done the wrong things, but the older generation couldn’t even understand the choices that the young had. The fact that Luke’s mom blamed Nadia first when she heard Nadia was pregnant angered me because she doesn’t know Luke well enough as a mother and does not respect others as a pastor’s wife.

I felt sad for Nadia because she worried about Luke after Luke left her alone in the clinic. Luke is a figure that reminded me of another person from a previous reading, Jim. He claimed to be helping Nadia, but he left her alone, which sounds quite ironic that his dad is a pastor. The author depicted a story that is really likely to happen in real life, and I now understand the reason to have education in this area.