William Eng, residing in an
orphanage in Seattle, hasn’t really been holding out hope of ever seeing his
mother again. He remembers her and
vaguely knows the circumstances of her leaving, but since he hasn’t gotten word
from her in many years, and assumes she is dead, he is resigned to life as an
orphan. Being the only Chinese boy in
the orphanage isn’t easy, but he does have two very good friends. One day the nuns take all the boys to the
cinema to see a movie to celebrate their birthdays (to make things easier the
nuns “give” all the boys the same birth date).
One of the trailers advertises Seattle’s Own Willow Frost and the live
appearance she will make in a few days time.
Imagine William’s surprise to see his mother up there on the
screen. Of course, he starts making
plans to see his mother and find out the story of their pasts.
I really enjoyed Hotel on the
Corner of Bitter and Sweet but in my opinion this one didn’t live up to its
predecessor. I found William too
perfect. For a boy in his circumstances
he is amazingly, unbelievably, happy and well adjusted. He is, quite simply, a joy. While his mother’s life has been extremely
hard and very sad, she did a wonderful job shielding the boy, and maybe that’s
why he was so wonderful…but I didn’t buy it.
This would probably be an enjoyable
read, but the audiobook is not for everyone.
The narrator did a great job with the voices, but it was weird hearing
an adult speak in a (pretty darn convincing most of the time) child’s
voice.
