Amy Chua is a Chinese-American who was born to immigrant parents. She states that she was raised in the traditional Chinese way, which is basically doing everything her parents told and pleasing the. She feels that she owes everything to her parents and must obey them. Once Amy Chua had kids, two girls, she decided she would raise her child in the Chinese way as well. Amy Chua has some very strong believes in child raising, these include no play dates, no sleepovers, and playing an instrument, either piano or violin. She also believes that her children must be the best at everything. An A- is unacceptable, it must be an A and better yet it should be better than an A if there is extra credit. Her children must practice their musical instrument each and everyday. It does not matter if they are sick or traveling. They will still practice. Amy Chua talked about how she arranged time for her daughter to practice playing the piano wherever they traveled. Her daughter would practice anywhere there was a piano.
When reading this book I thought Amy Chua was often trying to shock the reader with her child raising. She often compared the Chinese way, the right way, to the Western way, the wrong way. But I read it more as a cultural difference in raising children. Sure, she seems harsh and demanding of her children, and her youngest daughter lashes out because of it, but if she is raising children that are going to be effective adults who am I to argue.
In the end, the book is comical at times (not sure if it is supposed to be) when she talks about the crazy things she puts her daughters through. But she is honest about all of it, and she is trying to provide her children with the knowledge to have a very successful life. This was comical, entertaining quick read.
