The Diamond Explorer

July 15, 2024
This sophisticated novel by Yang (Caged) showcases how time, location, culture, and death affect 11-year-old Malcolm, as told by the protagonist and the individuals who shape his environment. In a quietly joyous first-person prologue, Malcolm recalls his home in Minnesota, where “the clouds, in the arms of the mighty wind, dared to block out the shine of the sun and showed me what courage can do,” immediately establishing his intelligence and sensitivity. Subsequent largely adult-focused chapters highlight others’ perceptions of him: his teachers disparage his quiet demeanor (“You are a stoic little man”), while loving narration from his parents, siblings, and deceased relatives describes him as a “gentle but also special” child. At the midway mark, Malcolm returns to tell his own story, in a scene during which his first experience with death exposes him to racism. Even as American-born Malcolm grows distant from his Hmong identity (“He’s beginning to sound just like a white kid”), his family’s shamanic heritage surfaces in dreams. Yang centers adult concerns in this richly wrought tale about a boy coming into his own. Ages 10–up.

Starred review from July 15, 2024
In Yang's middle-grade debut, a Hmong American boy makes sense of his place in the world. In Part 1, readers meet Malcolm, who, through chapters written from the perspectives of his immediate family and elementary school teachers, grows from a kindergartener to a fifth grader. The youngest child of an older, working-class couple who came to Minnesota as refugees, Malcolm lives with his oldest sister, True, and her husband during the week so he can attend a private school; on weekends, he returns to his parents' prairie home. Although this arrangement was a decision made with love, his family grapples with regrets and hopes. Meanwhile, many of his white teachers treat him differently due to their own biases. In Part 2, 11-year-old Malcolm takes over the narrative, revealing an introspective, sensitive, and lost young person. Malcolm collects family stories in order to "travel from the life I was living" and to connect with his family history. All four of his grandparents were shamans, and the shamans' spirits are calling to Malcolm. After embarking on a spiritual journey, he finds himself literally immersed in the stories from his family's history--stories from before he was alive, stories that aren't without trauma. Lyrical, evocative prose deftly captures Malcolm's longing for a sense of belonging; Yang has crafted a layered, profoundly moving musing on grief, connection (and lack thereof), and identity. A true gem.(Fiction. 11-14)

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October 4, 2024

Gr 4-7-Malcolm is a Hmong boy, quiet and sensitive, who lives on the prairies of Minnesota with his family and has felt like he never really fit in with the world around him. Readers are introduced to Malcolm through the views of those closest to him-parents, sisters, brother, teachers. As he gets older, he feels more disconnected from his family and his place in it. After he witnesses a shaman ceremony performed on his sister, he starts to collect stories from family members about their ancestors. Thus begins his spiritual journey, walking between worlds. He finds himself living out memories of his family-things he has never seen or heard of before, with people he's never met, experiencing their trauma alongside them. The shaman spirits of his ancestors are calling to him and it's time to answer. This is a moving story about a boy longing to feel a connection to his family and his identity. Yang's writing is beautiful, seamlessly transitioning from one character to another, and situations involving violence and death are handled with care. VERDICT A lovely fiction pick for readers who don't often see themselves represented in fiction, those interested in learning more about Hmong spiritual beliefs, or seeking a fantasy genre not often explored for this age group.-Kerri L. Williams

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