Shadow of the Dragon

infobox Book |
name = Shadow of the Dragon
title_orig =
translator =
author = Sherry Garland
illustrator = John Hanley
cover_artist = John Hanley
country = United States
language = English
genre = Novel
publisher = Harcourt Trade Publishers
release_date = October 1993
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
pages = 314 pp
isbn = 0152735321 "Shadow of the dragon" is a book written by Sherry Garland, with Danny Vo as a protagonist who has a hard time adjusting to American life.

Overview of the Plot

Danny Vo's family, who live in Houston, TX, is hosting a homecoming party for his eighteen year old cousin Sang Le who was sentenced in a Re-education Camp, or prison, in Vietnam for many years. At the party, Sang Le meets a beautiful girl named Hong (whom Danny rescued from the Cobras, a toan du dang, the Vietnamese name for a gang at the market) and immediately falls in love while Hong sees Danny, falling in love with him. However, Danny already has a crush, an American girl named Tiffany Marie.

At school, Sang Le is slow at learning English and becomes impatient with school. The only subject he enjoys is art, where his teacher acknowledges him as one of the best students she has ever had. Danny is also struggling with American and Vietnam life, as himself wanting American more while her parents and family pressure him into a traditional Vietnamese lifestyle.

His relationship with Tiffany is going well after they admit they both like each other. But Sang Le eventually quits school and joins the toan du dang called Cobras, whose leader Sang Le relates to. He repeatedly comes home late, lying about where he is and coming home with several hundred dollars a night. He says he is using the money to pay back Danny's family for bringing him to America, but he does not want to tell them where the money is coming from.

Tiffany eventually agrees to go on a date with Danny alone, but because she has to take care of her brother who has disabilities, she was not able to until her mother took the night shift at the hospital where she worked as a nurse. When Danny takes her to her door, Tiffany's brother and a skinhead gang viciously beat him.

Ba, the grandmother in the family, finds out about Sang Le's money and learns it comes from "jobs" given to him by the gang. She throws the money away and makes Sang Le promise to turn over a new leaf. He agrees, and the next night he stays home with Danny after the leader of the toan du dang tells Sang Le to meet him at the bida, or billiards hall, if he still wants to participate in the gang's activities.Sang Le resists the temptation, but later Danny lets him go to the store a block down to buy cigarettes.

When Sang Le doesn't return, Danny goes outside and finds Sang Le, almost dead, at the foot of an oak tree outside their apartments. Sang Le tells Danny to tell Ba he did not go to the bida hall, and then he dies. The officer later tells Danny that Sang Le had been beaten to death by a baseball bat, which the skinhead gang threatened to use on him. He immediately knows who committed the crime, and has to decide between honoring Sang Le or keeping Tiffany Marie as his girlfriend. He goes to the officer who asked him questions, and tells him who committed the crime while Ba listens and accepts Danny.

Characters

*Danny Vo- the protagonist of the story who moved to United States and is traveling between the two cultures, the American world and Vietnamese home life. He is an open person and helps Sang Le at school.
*Sang Le- a cousin of Danny Vo. He just moved to United States from Vietnam (the Re-education Camp) and is having a hard time adjusting to his new life. He is too slow to learn English and has a crush on Hong. He is kind-hearted.
*Tiffany Marie Schultz- a girlfriend and crush of Danny Vo. She is kind hearted and smart (described by Cal) but is afraid of her brother.
*Hong- a crush of Sang Le. From Vietnam and she is described old fashioned, pretty and flat chested. She has crush on Danny but seeing that he doesn't have a heart for her, she becomes outraged and sad. Although Sang Le likes her, she is kind to him just as a friend. When Danny asks her, "Sang Le isn't bad looking. Why don't you go out with him?", she answers, "Look! Ah! That's what all the boys care. But there's more than look. If I met Sang Le first than you, Danny, then my mind wouldn't be so that way."
*Cuc- a sister of Hong, described as strict and stern. She stands for her sister Hong.
*Frank Schultz- a brother of Tiffany, who hates Vietnamese (by the influence of Brian said by Tiffany) thinking if it wasn't for them, so many Americans didn't have to die. He is bad at school and once bit Danny Vo upon seeing him date Tiffany. But Tiffany tries to stand up for her brother, saying he is very sweet, but it's because of Brian that he became like this. He later even murders Sang Le with Brian.
*Brian- a friend of Frank, who eggs Frank on. Described by Tiffany as the one who's getting Frank in a bad way. He killed Sang Le with Frank.
*Danny's parents- old fashioned.
*Danny's grandmother (Ba)- Danny's very strict and stern grandmother. She thinks of the Vietnamese culture as important.
*Kim- a headstrong, Americanized sister of Danny.
*Mr. Cheng- manager of the fish market Danny's working at.
*Cobra Group- the Vietnamese group Sang Le later joins. This group hates Americans. At the start of the book, they almost attack Hong and Cuc, but Danny rescues them, referring them to "his sisters".
*Calvin- a best friend of Danny Vo. Helps Danny get all the information he doesn't know. He is African-American and because of this, Ba said that he's a bad spirit when he is first to visit Danny's house in the New Year, or Tet, celebration for their project.
*Lashandra- a sister of Calvin.

Awards

*ABA's Pick of Lists
*ALA Best Book for Young Adults
*Booklist Editors Choice
*California Young Reader Medal [California]
*New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
* Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
*Texas Lone Star Reading List