14-year-old Hanna and her father journey in their wagon to LaForge, a town in the Midwest, for a new start. Hanna's mother, who died when she was 10, was Chinese. Will the people of LaForge be accepting of Hanna as she and her father try to open a shop? Will Hanna be able to attend school and earn her diploma, as her mother wished? Prairie Lotus is a compelling tale of life in a small town on the Midwestern prairie in the 1800s. Reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of this book, Linda Sue Park, includes an explanation of the similarities in a section included after the book's conclusion. Of interest to middle grade students, this selection would be a welcome addition to any elementary library collection. It's thought-provoking, engaging, and written with sensitivity.

This book was received as an ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group - Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a fan of Linda Sue Park and have not read a book that I did not like. Prairie Lotus focused on an Asian girl named Hanna who ends up in a small town and learns the small town lifestyle and what it means to get an education, a job as a dressmaker in her father's shop, and earn the acceptance of the townspeople and their discrimination against Asians. Even in the 1800's we are battling this issue and it is informative and quite the learning experience to see how it all began and how times have changed. Linda Sue Park does a brilliant job opening the eyes of the reader and transporting them into the small farm 1800s setting and exploring what the town was life for Hanna. Such a great read that the schools should definitely look into and that we would be happy to share with.

We will consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.