Crossing
Andrew Xia Fukuda
April 27, 2010
$12.95
For freshman Xing Xu, life at Slackenkill High School is a daily exercise in futility.
As one of only two Asian students at the otherwise all-white school, he exists on the fringes of adolescent society, counting the days until he’s free. Only his best friend, fellow Chinese immigrant Naomi Lee, can comprehend Xing’s loneliness and frustration.
When a series of mysterious abductions rattles his adopted home town, Xing’s position on the outskirts of the community puts him at an advantage. Local police are baffled by the crimes, but Xing, so easily ignored by those around him, sees and hears the things others do not. As he moves closer to unveiling the identity of the kidnapper, a surprise revelation from his past presents an opportunity to prove his worth to his classmates – and to the lovely Naomi-once and for all.
Ultimately, Xing must choose between living his life in the shadows and revealing his true self to the world, leading to a chilling climax that will resonate long after the final page is aimed.
The publisher states that Anglo-Americans reviewers ranging in age from 16 to 47 all said it felt as though they were “in the skin” of an Asian immigrant high school student in the United States and that they got a perspective they’d never considered before. She added that the readers added they had a hard time getting the book out of their minds.
Born in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half Japanese. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Cornell University and went on to work in Manhattan’s Chinatown with immigrant teenagers for a number of years, an experience that led to the genesis of Crossing, his debut novel.
After attending law school and becoming a criminal prosecutor, Fukuda was able to find the necessary suspense elements to complete his novel. He currently resides on Long Island, New York, with his wife and two sons.
Raised by university professors who emphasized the importance of reading, Fukuda watched little television but read voraciously. His free moments as a youth were spent devouring Stephen King and Isaac Asimov novels. Eventually, his love for reading evolved into a love for writing- universes not only to be discovered, but now also to be created. His first foray into serious fiction writing won him first place in a colony-wide writing competition when he was only in high school.
