Prairie Lotus

Prairie Lotus
Linda Sue Park
Clarion, 2020, 247 pages
Grades 4-7
Historical Fiction

Hanna travels in a covered wagon from California to LaForge, South Dakota with her father to open a store selling fabric for women to make dresses. Hanna's decreased mother was a dressmaker and she dreams of following in Mother's footsteps once the store opens. Meanwhile, Hanna must finish school and get her diploma. The families of the other students are uncomfortable sending their kids to school with Hanna since she is half-Chinese in a town where everyone is white-except for the Indians, who are feared and seen as enemies. Hanna's teacher refuses to dismiss her from school based on her heritage, causing almost all of the other families to withdraw from the school. The teacher devises a creative plan to fix the situation and Hanna's studies continue. Meanwhile, she befriends a quiet, fellow classmate and the two establish a relationship despite town disapproval. Two separate encounters with a group of kind Indian women and unkind white men leave Hanna misunderstood and a further outcast in the community. Will Hanna's parentage keep her father's business from successfully opening? Will she ever find her footing in this discriminatory place and time and will her dressmaking dreams ever be realized?

Park recognizes in an author's note in the back of the volume that this book is a written response to the Little House books of her childhood. She acknowledges that she loved those books yet could not see herself-or anyone of Asian ancestry- within their pages. Prairie Lotus illustrates the discrimination faced by settlers of different ethnicities, as well as the Native Americans, who were forced off their lands and onto reservations, which they did not understand. Hanna is a talented, hardworking girl who misses her deceased mother terribly. Her distant father is all she has. Throughout the book Hanna faces hardship and blatant prejudice, learning how to think outside the box to solve her problems and gaining confidence along the way. Father makes a gesture at the end to demonstrate that he really is supportive of her efforts and eventually the town comes around to a reluctant acceptance. Hanna learns through her new Indian friends that it is not just the Chinese that are treated unfairly in the American west, but all minority groups. Settlers of the American prairie have been romanticized in children's literature for generations. Now, finally, a mirror is being held up, showing the grim realities faced by non-white individuals. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this well-rounded portrayal, as well as readers who appreciate a character-driven heart-felt tale.