Sing to The Dawn by Mingfong Ho is a book about a girl in a village in the country of Thailand. It is set in the 1970s when gender inequality is severely shown throughout the book. Dawan is a strong and intelligent girl who was studying in the local school of a village. There is a scholarship offered to the class of Dawan, who was also studying with her brother, Kwai. Kwai was the one who asked their father to send Dawan to school because females rarely went to school. But then one day, the scholarship is awarded to Dawan and she could decide if she wants to stay here or study in the city. Kwai on the other hand isn’t too happy about it. Her father says that Dawan took Kwai’s scholarship, her cousin begs her not to go, and her mother is scared. Would she be able to go study in the city? What would happen to Kwai? I really liked this book because it is set in Thailand and I got a chance to learn more about the economy, gender inequality, and more historical facts about people in poverty during the 1970s. I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about Thailand and who like the genre of historical fiction. (Ahyun. Grade 8)

Rating: 4/5

Vocabulary Difficulty: 1/5