Park's Quest

Eleven-year-old Park makes some startling discoveries when he travels to his grandfather's farm in Virginia to learn about his father who died in the Vietnam War.

Park can't figure out why his mother refuses to talk about his father who died in Vietnam eleven years ago. Park has no memory of him. ... But he is determined to find the answers to his questions. When Park's search finally takes him to his grandfather's farm in rural Virginia, he meets obstacles beyond his imagining. Instead of being welcomed as the long lost heir, he is taunted by a young Vietnamese girl. Who is she and what is she doing on the family farm? And will Park be able to accept the ultimate truth he has sought?

Publishers Weekly

When Park was a baby, his father was killed in Vietnam. Since his mother won't talk about her husband, Park reads his father's old books in secret and travels alone one day to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. to see his father's name. Finally, recognizing the urgency of her son's need to know about his father, Park's mother sends him on a visit to his paternal grandfather's farm. Life on the farm is not what Park had expected: for one thing, his grandfather is too ill (incapacitated by a stroke) to meet him. And, though he likes and admires his Uncle Frank, Park isn't at all sure how he feels about feisty Thanh, the daughter of Frank's Vietnamese wife. Park eventually forges strong bonds with both Thanh and his ailing grandfather, and confronts the painful, but not terribly surprising, truth about his father. Good storytelling makes up for a somewhat predictable plot, and Park's feelings are depicted with insight and care. The story of his quest will ring true to anyone who has ever used secondhand memories to piece together the portrait of an absent loved one. Ages 10-up. (April)

Katherine Paterson was born in China, where she spent part of her childhood. After her education in China and the American South, she spent four years in Japan, the setting for her first three novels. Ms. Paterson has received numerous awards for her writing, including National Book Awards for The Master Puppeteer and The Great Gilly Hopkins, as well as Newbery Medals for Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia. Ms. Paterson lives with her husband in Vermont. They have four grown children.