Shadow of the Dragon by Sherry Garland

Danny (his real name is Duong but he changed it to a more American name so he won't get nasty questions and comments from everyone)
is a Vietnamese boy who lives with his parents, troublemaking sister Kim and grandmother Ba in the Vietnamese community in Texas.


Danny has a lot of responsibilities, as he is the oldest son in the family. The apartments is always crowded with family and Danny hasn't much time and privacy for himself. He sometimes even hasn't time for his homework and to meet with his best friend Calvin.

His cousing Sang Le comes to live with them. Sang Le has spent the last years in a refugee camp in Hong Kong, after he spent most of his live in a reeducation camp in Vietnam. While Danny hasn't trouble adjusting to the American way of life, Sang Le has.
He has trouble at school and with learning English. And he gets in touch with Cobra, the dangerous Vietnamese gang that hangs around in the backstreets of the neighborhood.

Danny is dating Tiffany Marie, a girl from his school, but rumours are that Tiffany's brother Frank is a skinhead with racist actions against Vietnamese people in particular, and soon enough these rumours seem to be true, and Danny and Sang Le's are in danger.

Recently I have read Song of the Buffalo boy, also by author Sherry Garland. That was one of the best books I have read for sure, as books related to Vietnam are one of my most favorite books. But this books was just...amazing!It was so good. wow! The book just give an amazing look in the life of the Vietnamese community in the United States and a look in the Vietnamese family traditions. Danny is just an amazing boy to read about and it was just sometimes sad how he has to deal with al the things that came on his way. I was just speechless about the dramatic end. If you just ask me wich book I really, REALLY could recommend to you, then it would be without a doubt Shadow of the dragon, in a combination pack with Song of the buffalo boy. I truly hope we can expect more books about Vietnamese themes by Sherry Garland.