Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (reference to racial based bullying).
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Lina was left in China with her grandmother when her parents and younger sister moved to the states so Lina’s father could get his college degree. She hasn't seen her family in 5 years, but Lina's grandmother is moving to a care facility, so Lina needs to join her parents and sister in California. New to the country, and with limited English skills, Lina discovers that her family wasn’t honest about their situation in California - they are struggling to make ends meet. Entering 5th grade with limited English skills, Lina finds herself struggling to make friends, and even communicate. Lina’s art skills put her in direct competition with Jessica, the class “mean girl,” and the boy who is supposed to help translate only speaks menu Chinese.
I love all the book mentions! "Swing it Sunny", "Pie in the Sky", "The First Rule of Punk" and several others. I loved her sessions with the ELL teacher. I love that the kids saw lessons in the books they were reading. There's a "book challenge" within the story - I love that Yang used a fictional book for this one. "Finally Seen" would be a great read aloud for a class needing to build empathy, or as a recommendation for a bilingual student who can read it on their own - I hope Simon and Schuster translates into several different languages. Lina is Chinese.
Lisa Librarian
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