The Counterfeit Family Tree Of Vee Crawford-Wong    by L. Tam Holland Order:  USA  Can Simon & Schuster, 2014 (2013) Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Jessica Maguire Serious yet funny, heartwarming yet heartbreaking sums up this entertaining debut novel by L. Tam Holland. Teenager Vee Crawford-Wong is everything he wishes he weren't. He's not the star of the basketball team; he's the manager for the girls' team. He's not Adele Frank's boyfriend; she hardly knows he even exists. And he's constantly bullied by his enemy, the popular Mark White. In other words, Vee seems to be the quintessential teenager navigating the trials of high school. However, life is more complicated for Vee. His mother, from Texas, never speaks to or of her parents. And the same goes for his father, who came from China and whose parents are still there. Vee, knowing nothing of his past, wants to know everything about it. But that's easier said than done when one's parents are tight lipped about their families. Taking matters into his own hands, Vee, along with long-time friend Madison, devises devious plans to get his family talking. Vee's plans take him and his family, along with Madison, to China. Sometimes distance is all that is needed to discover the truth; For it is in China that Vee discovers the answers that were right in front of his nose at home in California's San Francisco Bay Area. From the start, I had a hard time putting down this book which is aimed at readers aged fourteen and up. I became immersed in Vee's world and became a teenager again, feeling all the angst that goes along with being fourteen years old. I enjoyed the drama, the many faceted story, the humor and the pain that author L. Tam Holland has so skillfully crafted. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews