Sundara Sovann is the main character of Children of the River. She and her aunt, uncle, grandmother, and younger cousins flee to America in 1975 (Crew 1). Throughout the course of the book, Sundara suffers from an urge to please her Aunt Soka. This is due to the fact that Soka’s baby daughter died on the voyage from Cambodia to America while under Sundara’s care. Sundara always felt a burden to compensate for the death by studying hard and working harder. Sundara is hardworking, as can be seen through her taking honors classes at school and tirelessly working at the Bonner’s farm. She is deeply rooted in Cambodian mannerisms: she prefers to bow and avoid conflicts (Crew 91). Her sweet attitude towards her cousins show her kindheartedness and her promise to never see Jonathan again exemplifies her Asian rooted obedience (Crew 116) and family orientedness (Crew 130). At the same time, Sundara is not all sugar and nice. Sundara stands up for herself and shows off her temper in rare moments in the book when she snaps at Jonathan (Crew 167) and Ravy (Crew 169) on different occasions. Through the course of the book, Sundara struggles to find a balance between her old Cambodian life and her new American life while trying to achieve her dream of becoming a life saving doctor back in her home country, Cambodia.