Since he lost his parents early in the Vietnam War, streetwise Kien had been fiercely independent, practicing survival skills that were habitually selfdirected. Not accustomed to family, he was slow to accept the emotional burdens of loving; but once he did, he became a dedicated "parent" to Mai and Loc and assumed total responsibility for their well being. When the trio comes to America, however, Kien's role is taken over by adults—who, for the best of reasons, free him to be a normal teen-ager: school rather than a job; friends his own age rather than just the company of younger siblings; responsibility to the family rather than only himself. But, as, in Vietnam, Kien hates school, finds many of his peers viciously intolerant, and resents having to be accountable to new parents—he who knows firsthand what "parenting" means! He convinces...