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The Clay Marble (Sunburst Book) | 
 enlarge | Author: Minfong Ho
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Category: Book
List Price: $5.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $5.94 (100%)
New (35) Used (47) Collectible (1) from $0.01
Rating:  89 reviews
Sales Rank: 426039
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 0374412294
EAN: 9780374412296
ASIN: 0374412294
Publication Date: September 1, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Fleeing war-torn Cambodia in 1980, Dara, her mother, and her older brother find sanctuary in a refugee settlement on the Thailand border, but when fighting erupts, Dara finds herself separated from everyone and everything she loves.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 84 more reviews...
 Especially for those taking it for Lit December 25, 1999
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm a 14 yr old, and I just did this bk for Lit at sch this year. I feel that this bk was very unappropriate for our age level for at 14, we surpass the recommended reading age group by TWO years. The Clay Marble was too simply written; there wasn't any deducing or analysing to do as everything was plonked down for you. Dara (the main charac) was very difficult to relate to, because of her immaturity. All the other stereotypical characs don't have real personalities either, but that would be because Minfong Ho meant it for a younger audience. It was very predictable that Jantu (Dara's influenza and manipulator) would die, for the sake of some melodrama. Most characters were not developed enough so it was difficult to feel for them. The review was not meant to be criticism directed at the author but rather an appeal to TKGS's Lit teachers (if any of them stumble across this) to consider other books with more depth for sec2 Literature.
Survival,courage,love and friendship May 23, 2005
Tania (Shanghai)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
The book, The Clay Marble written by Minfong Ho is a novel playing during the civil war in the border area of Cambodia and Thailand. It is a refugee story about a family describing survival, courage, love, friendship and how war turns children into adults.
The main characters in the book are Dara a twelve year old girl, her brother Sarun and Jantu.
Dara travels to the border with her brother Sarun and her mother as war refugees. They are from Siem Reap in Cambodia. At the border with Thailand in a refugee camp in Nong Chan, Dara meets Jantu, a 13 years old girl and her family, Baby, grandpa Kem and Nea. Jantu is a very courageous girl, a good artist and makes the best of everything. She is taking care of Baby (her little brother). Jantu's parents died in the war. Her cousin Nea is 18 years old and does all the cooking for both families.
After having suffered a lot in Siem Reap, the conditions in the refugee camp in Nong Chan are good. There is a lot of food and programs to get families back to start a living in Cambodia again such as rice seed distribution and the handing out of field tools. Sarun and Nea fall in love in the refugee camp and both have the ideal to go back one day to the farm and start a family. Dara and Jantu become very close friends and Jantu provides a lot of security to Dara. She gives Dara self confidence by giving Dara a clay marble, Jantu had made, with a "magic spell". As the refugee camp gets shelled, they become again refugees. Dara, Jantu and Baby lost the rest of the family in the confusion of the evacuation and Baby got wounded in a shelling. Jantu joined Baby to the hospital and Dara ends up all alone separated from Jantu and the rest of the family. The clay marble Jantu had given, provided her the security and the courage to find back her family again. She does find her family after some days close to the headquarters of the military, where her brother Sarun was being enlisted as a soldier. Her brother had changed a lot and had become heartless and lost all the ideals he had stood for before. He wanted to fight rather than living in peace with his family on the farm.
Dara picked up Jantu and Baby from the hospital. On the way back to the family Jantu was shot by one of Sarun's soldiers and died the next day. She did convince Dara that the clay marble was just a marble but that Dara had the power to convince Sarun to stay out of the army and go home to help the family on the farm and start his own family with Nea. In an emotional speech Dara convinced first her family and then Sarun to leave and go back home with the rice seeds and start a new beginning.
The readers that would best appreciate this book are those who like to read about war, adventure and drama. It is a real life story from Asia. I chose this book because I am living in Asia and I like to read dramas. I also wanted to learn more about some of the history of countries in the region. I especially liked the unexpected, sad part towards the end of the book.
 The Clay Marble Rolls in July 29, 2003
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was very disapointed in this book. In school, we have reading groups, and the kids pick which book they want to read. My group was the group of kids who chose "The Clay Marble" by Mingfong Ho. Well, the back cover summary makes it sound interesting, we found out, and it suckered us into the book. None of us liked it. On the poster we made about "The Clay Marble", we explained that the characters were OK, but the plot was too fast-moving and there was too much just plain talking. Some parts were okay, but mostly we didn't like it. We wanted to like it, so we weren't complaining, but truth be told, it was boring. Sorry if I disapointed you, review reader, but the is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
-BookLover24/7
 the clay marble review- may, shanghai November 24, 2005
may, shanghai
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The Clay Marble by Minfong Ho is a book on courage, friendship, and obstacles. 12 year-old Dara is the main character of the book, along with big brother Jantu, and best friend Sarun. Dara's family was forced to leave their town in Cambodia and moved to where the setting is, the border of Cambodia and Thailand. Walking the long miles to the Border, they were starved and thirsty. Arriving at The Border, Dara finds happiness again with another family, Sarun, Baby, Grampa Kem, and Nea. There is also something else Dara learns from The Border. She learns to build trust with other people, even when they are strangers.
Living at The Border was peaceful and Dara and Sarun were always together having fun. But one day, Dara was separated from her friends and family. There was bombing at The Border, and Dara was left lost in the middle of nowhere. To me, this is a metaphor of a part of everybody's life. When you feel like you're on top of the world it always happens you find yourself beneath it. Struggling, Dara travels long to re-unite with her beloved family.
It took her strength but at the end, she finds them safe and sound. But Sarun is not there, for Sarun was at a hospital with Baby, who was wounded. One thing that Sarun had left with Dara was clay marble, telling her that it was magic and would give her courage. With no choice, Dara and the family once again traveled miles to the hospital to meet Sarun. Many of us experience broken friendships, either from a fight, a move, or death. But for Dara, she had no idea what had happened to Sarun after she saw her board into the hospital bus. But Dara was determined that the clay marble would help her find her best friend, and it did.
Families are very important to a lot of us, but especially for Dara. Jantu, Dara's older brother had enlisted in the army every since the bombing. Dara didn't like it, but she knew by the way Jantu had changed, he liked it. Her mind was always on going home where they grew up, but she felt that Jantu had other plans. Sometimes I think when you fight with a sibling, you usually want them to do what you want but it was harder for Dara the time, loosing self-esteem and having to show bravery for her brother was tough for a 12-year-old girl.
We all experience death in our lives, and for Dara it was when Sarun was shot by one of Jantu's soldiers. Feelings mixed with anger and loss, Dara knew it was time for her to take a stand and convince Jantu to go home to the crops. At this time, Dara still had the clay marble safe with her but as they headed for home, she courageously threw it away. She did it because she knew she wasn't going to need it anymore, she had the magic inside herself.
I think the readers who would like this book will be the ones who are sensitive, emotional and low on self-esteem sometimes. My favorite parts in this book would be the parts where Dara dares to be brave. I think that because she had hard times a lot, and still found a way to be strong and optimistic. There are many books that are like this book, a girl who is confused most of the time and having to deal with so many things before they reach the age of 16 years old.
Lastly, even though I would say that Dara and I have nothing in common, I loved this book. I have never experienced such tragedy but I can say I have experienced losing a friend. It takes so much effort to regain power and self-esteem when you feel like the world is against you. The Clay Marble by Minfong Ho will teach all of you a magical lesson based on a true story in the past, and you will have to decide if you will let it do its magic on you.
Characters are stereotyped March 31, 2000
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Dara's mother is a typical housewifely widow, Dara seems toonly be a product of her circumstances and not an individual humanbeing with her own mindset (even her confrontation with Sarun was instigated by Jantu),Jantu and Duoic were obviously inserted into the story to be good examples, Nea is overly submissive to Sarun......
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