Widely adopted by ESL and history classrooms, this is an interesting YA story of an acclimated Vietnamese teen, his refugee cousin, their family, and gang members both Vietnamese and skinhead.  I did enjoy learning some things about Vietnamese culture and history, and many of the characters were well-drawn and engaging.  The plot is fairly typical, but not quite stale nor completely predictable.  I would have liked it more if I'd gotten to know the girls better.  It's set in Houston, I think in the 80s. ( )