Status
Available
Publication
Norton Young Readers (2021), 384 pages
Library's review
An account of the 1982 killing of Vincent Chin and its subsequent impact on Asian Americans’ civil rights struggles.
Ronald Ebens, the Detroit auto worker who beat Chin to death with a baseball bat, brought a devastating end to Chin’s short but promising life. Adopted from a Guangdong orphanage
An accessible and compelling account of a tragedy that resonates through the decades. (timeline, notes, sources, picture credits, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)
-Kirkus Review
Ronald Ebens, the Detroit auto worker who beat Chin to death with a baseball bat, brought a devastating end to Chin’s short but promising life. Adopted from a Guangdong orphanage
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by Chinese immigrant parents at age 6, 27-year-old Chin was mourning his father’s recent death but eagerly anticipating his upcoming wedding. Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, were two White men living in a city reeling economically due to competition from Japanese car imports. The question of whether this was merely a drunken fight that got out of hand or a racially motivated hate crime was hotly debated after the two men were sentenced only to probation and a small fine for manslaughter. Despite two federal grand jury trials, neither served any time, but the case marked a turning point for Asian American unity and identity and was critical to progress around documentation of hate crimes and manslaughter sentencing reform in Michigan. This clear and lucid account, based on in-depth research, superlatively conveys the context and significance of the events. The conflicting accounts and explanations are presented evenhandedly, offering readers the opportunity to weigh the evidence and draw their own conclusions. A timely afterword discusses anti-Asian racist rhetoric and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.An accessible and compelling account of a tragedy that resonates through the decades. (timeline, notes, sources, picture credits, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)
-Kirkus Review
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Awards
National Book Award (Longlist — Young People's Literature — 2021)
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (Nonfiction — 2021)
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Winner — Nonfiction — 2021)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Young Adult Literature — 2021)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2023)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2023)
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction (Finalist — 2022)
Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award (Winner — 2022)
NPR: Books We Love (2021)
CCBC Choices (2022)
Michigan Notable Books (2022)
Nerdy Book Award (2021)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Nonfiction — 2021)
Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection — Young Adult — 2021)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Nonfiction — 2021)
OYAN Book Rave (2022)
Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List (Grades 9-12 — 2024)
Name That Book List (High School — 2023)
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
1324002875 / 9781324002871