In the book a boy goes fishing with his father. That would normally be the kind of thing you'd find in a lot of father-son bonding books, but the difference here is that to get to the water they have to climb over road barriers. The two are in Minneapolis at a spot not specifically designated for fishing. They do it to supplement the parents' income and refrigerator in a practical manner before the dad goes off to the first of his two jobs. Phi explains that his parents fled Vietnam after the war and faced prejudice and potential poverty when they settled in the States. Reading the book, I wondered how clear it would be to child readers what was going on. For an adult, the moment when they climb over the road barriers and go down the hill to the water is a big clue. For kids, they may or may not pay attention to the economics behind the father's decision.

They might just think it's cool that a dad would go early morning fishing with his son before his job. Whatever the case, it's a great book.