As delectable as a mooncake.
Best friends reunite to make other people’s wishes come true—and maybe even their own.
Chicago teens Liya Huang and Kai Jiang, childhood friends whose families own a lantern shop and a bakery respectively, have been avoiding one another ever since Liya threw up her boba tea on Kai and he assumed it was because he had asked her out. Their friendship is further strained by the fact that their families have been feuding since a dumpster incident in their shops’ shared Chinatown alley. Nǎinai, Liya’s paternal grandmother, was the peacekeeper, but since her passing, every argument between the families has only escalated. Also, Liya has stopped trying to make customers’ wishes—written on the shop’s lanterns—come to pass, something she used to secretly do with Nǎinai. Eager to fight her loneliness from missing both Kai and her Nǎinai, she decides to start working on granting wishes again, beginning with arranging a meet-cute between two community elders. Liya enters the Jiang’s bakery to order a mooncake as part of her plan, and Kai, who misses her and is dealing with strained family relationships, offers to be her new wish-granting partner. Their friends-to-lovers romance is an endlessly frustrating yet adorable cycle during which there are frequent misunderstandings and oh-so-close moments. Chao immerses readers in Chinese culture, incorporating a variety of Chinese traditions and folktales that are relevant to the couple’s story.
As delectable as a mooncake. (note about Mandarin, author’s note, glossary) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-46435-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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