Finding your place as a tween is already difficult, but 10-year-old Lina is faced with additional challenges as she immigrates to the U.S. to join her family, who moved over years before. Facing language and cultural barriers, Lina learns to stand tall, use her voice, and not back down from her goals.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Finally Seen is Kelly Yang's latest release that follows Lina Gao who ends up moving to California to finally live with her parents after she remained in China during the pandemic. When she arrives and meets her family for the first time in a while, she realizes that nothing is the way she expected. She has a hard time not only adjusting to the reality of her family's living situation, but also attending a school where she struggles to speak English. What follows is a journey of self-discovery and finding one's voice even in the presence of fear.

Once again, Kelly Yang has written a masterpiece! THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I’VE READ in 2023 SO FAR!! This middle-grade novel explores the complexities of human beings, the importance of books as mirrors and doors, the challenges of immigration, the realities of racism, and how to confront book banning. Lina’s lived with her Lao Lao for the last five years but she moves to join her dad, mom, and little sister in LA, leaving her beloved Lao Lao behind in a nursing home. She’s surprised that her family is struggling financially, she feels embarrassed when she speaks English (so she stops speaking,) and she feels hurt when a classmate writes mean things about her on the bathroom wall. Even still, Lina’s bright spots are a kind ESL teacher, the graphic novels she reads, and her new friends, Finn and Carla. Then, at the encouragement of her teacher, she writes her own graphic novel to send to Lao Lao, all about her new experiences and challenges.

Kelly Yang does is again! Another AMAZING middle grade book. I finished it in one day - that’s how much I loved it! One of my favorite topics discussed that Yang includes is book banning, which is a very relevant issue today. What a wonderful book!

Sadly, my ARC was lost somewhere in cyber space, so I had to wait to peek at this in my local. As with any Kelly Yang book, my heart was deeply touched.

I'm not finished with it yet, but I definitely will be recommending it. I even added it to a 5th grade March Madness bracket I'm calling First Chapter Face Off. 5 stars again for Kelly Yang.

Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. My heart was full of pride for Lina, indignation for Pete, affection for Millie, empathy for mom and dad. Truly a mirror/ window/ sliding door book. Brilliantly written. A must-read!

For 5 years, Lina has been living with her much beloved grandmother in China, while her parents and sisters are making a go of a new life in the US. Finally it's Lina's turn to join them. But nothing is as she expected it to be. She misses her grandmother, feels guilty about leaving her, Her family is struggling financially, trying to make ends meet. Kids in her school make fun of her for not speaking English well. This isn't the American Dream she was expecting. But she also has many wonderful people around her who want to help her. Her struggle to fit in will feel familiar to many kids. This is a wonderful, heartwarming book that will a hit with many kids. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I have been a Kelly Yang fan for several years now. I’ve read almost all of her books and I’ve never been disappointed. I was over the moon to get an ARC of her newest book- Finally Seen.

Finally Seen is the story of Lina, who has been living in China with her grandmother. When Lao Lao goes into a nursing home, Lina comes to California to live with her parents and little sister, Millie. Lina has a lot of feelings to process, sadness from missing her grandmother, confusion about why her parents left her behind years ago when they immigrated to the US, and now the challenge of learning English.

On top of all of that, Lina’s family is struggling to come up with past due rent after the pandemic lockdowns as the eviction moratorium is about to end. Lina’s mom has a bath bomb shop on Etsy and her father is overworked and taken advantage of by a local farmer.

Combined with bullying at school, it might sound like this book is all sad but it is uplifting and beautifully balanced. Lina is taken in by the school librarian and the ESL teacher and she also makes a dear friend right away named Finn. Yang weaves reading into the story, specifically graphic novels, and we see how this changes Lina and her friends for the better.

The plot hinges on a very realistic scenario about book challenges, and you will leave this one inspired, fired up, and maybe with some wet eyes. I don’t know how she keeps doing it but she does, this Kelly Yang book is perfect. I can’t wait to buy a copy for my shelf to read with my son when he’s a bit older. This book is for all ages. Read it asap!

Lina, the main character in Finally Seen by Kelly Yang (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, February 2023) has grown up with her grandmother in China, while her young sister and parents have spent the last years living in California without her. Now it is her chance to move to the United States to live with her family, but she finds that life in the U.S. is not what she expected.

While Lina deals with the feelings of betrayal from her parents, she also now faces the challenges of a school taught completely in her second language, as well as the universal challenge of finding friends. The social situation is familiar to any tween in middle school, and so although Lina had additional challenges, the reader will quickly feel her discomfort and relate to her story.

It turns out that Lina’s parents had written exaggerations in their letters home, which was why they had hesitated to bring her to the US. Lina feels betrayed by this when she sees the impoverished situation her family lives in. She also resents the lack of apology from her parents. She desperately hopes for a positive relationship with her parents, but the closeness between them and her sister constantly reminds her that she is not a part of the family in the same way Millie is.

In this middle grade novel, however, Lina begins to find her place as well as her voice. In her school, a girl’s family challenges the book they are reading. Lina, who had finally found a mirror to her own story in the book, decides that the time for remaining silent is over. As she speaks up for her own wants and needs during the book banning discussion, her family finally sees her as the strong individual that she is.

I really liked Lina. She was such a likable girl, and her feelings of betrayal, discomfort, and loneliness resonated with me, as I’m sure they will with other readers! I strongly disliked her parents, starting with the fact that they didn’t even bother to put pictures of Lina on their walls, but instead limited the photos to Lina’s sister and their family of three. The parents had also make poor decisions, such as working for an abusive farmer who underpaid them, abused them verbally, and demanded extensive overtime without extra pay. To some extent, despite my dislike, I did pity them in their unique situation as immigrants in a foreign country.

Maybe this contrast with her parents is why I liked Lina so much. Because she grew up with a different perspective on America and spent her formative years in a comfortable situation in China, she was able to see the poor situation her parents had put themselves in. Her outside perspective, and her ability to finally speak up, helped her family, and when she is “finally seen” by them, they too can step outside of their poor situation and become more successful, thanks to her strong leadership and perspective.

Lina’s story is completely unique to me, since I had never considered immigrants leaving one of their children behind in this way. I wonder if this is a common decision for immigrants to the US. At any rate, I wish other children in similar situations can have as satisfactory a story as Lina’s ultimately was.

I read a digital review copy of Lina’s story.

WOW. Probably my favorite Kelly Yang book yet. At first, when I started reading, I thought I might not enjoy it because I just didn’t understand how Lina’s parents could have moved across the world with one of their children and left the other behind. But the reasoning for that is clarified later in the book. This is the perfect look into what immigrants face as they come to a new country, and the addition of the plot line of possible book banning is very realistic and timely. This is such an important book! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Kelly Yang's middle grade books are some of the sweetest, most heartwarming stories I've ever read. FINALLY SEEN is no exception. Yang has such a way of capturing what it feels like to be an outsider, struggling with identity and assimilation as an immigrant child, while maintaining the innocence and wonder that youth affords. Yang's heroines are brave and smart and determined in the face of adversity, making these books both inspiring and confronting (in an accessible, non-judgmental way) for children who do not directly deal with these same experiences. I loved this book and am looking forward to following Yang's career for many years to come.

Lina has been living with her grandmother and separated from her parents and sister. After five years apart she is heading to California to live with her family. Lina finds out that many things aren’t like what she’s been told. Was anything true from what she was told in letters? Lina has trouble adjusting, and some of the kids at school make it even more difficult. Her teacher tells her, “ have patience, you’ll get there.” Lina wonders if she’ll ever feel like she fits in. When the teacher’s read aloud faces a challenge, Lina decides to go to the school board to voice her opinion because she doesn’t want to feel invisible. What happens?

A well-told story about what it's like to be an immigrant in present day America. Yang is a talented writer. She has the keen ability to take the ordinary, day-to-day happenings in the life of a young girl and make them important. That's why her books are so relatable. When other authors are writing these fantastical, over-the-top tales of make believe being passed off as realism, Yang is looking at average America. My students love Front Desk, as I'm sure they'll love this.

The book opens with Lina boarding a plane in Beijing to join her family in California, leaving her grandmother behind in a nursing home. It's been five years since they left, taking only her younger sister, Millie. She arrives in America to find that their life isn't as grand as she'd thought. They drive a beat up car. Her father works for an organic farmer. Her mother is trying to make ends meet with a bath bomb business. Both are trying to come up with the back rent money they got behind on during the pandemic.

It's all strange for Lina. Her sister is hip and cool, knowing all the slang terms and posting videos on TikTok, while Lina can barely speak English. Kids at school make fun of her. Luckily, her teacher pairs her with a boy who genuinely wants to be helpful. They bond over a love of reading, especially graphic novels. Lina learns that the American dream doesn't come easy when you don't have a green card and although there are some bad apples who take advantage of minorities, there's also a lot of good people, too many to mention, but three of them work at the school, I'm happy to say.

The book is about being seen, but it's mostly about finding your voice. Lina must become brave about speaking English if she's ever going to learn it and she must choose to stand up and speak publicly about what she believes in. A lot going on in the book, but it's all woven together tightly.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Kelly Yang, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Lina Gao steps off the plan in LA from China and ready to see her family for the first time in five years! This is a day Lina has dreamed of and looked forward to not being called, " the left behind girl". Not everything is as it seems though. School is a lot harder than Lina thought it would be. English is hard and the other kids snicker when she mispronounces words. Lina also thinks she'll be living in a house, just like her mom told her, but is disappointed when she learns it's a small and cramped apartment. Finally, her little sister has no problem with English and worse yet, has a better connection with their parents.

Lina is hurt, both at home and at school. Lina is also hurting for her grandmother who she left behind in China. When a book Lina loves at school is challenged, she will have decide if she speaks up or stays quiet forever.

What a fantastic read! Lina is a role model for so many students who come to school in the USA knowing very little or no English. I hope they will see Lina's bravery and be brave too. I can't wait to purchase a copy for my classroom!

Finally Seen is a moving, inspiring, and insightful middle grade book about immigration, family, and sisterhood. It’s also a relatable portrait of a family wading through murky financial waters and a kid finding confidence at school. Fans of Kelly Yang and Front Desk, and kids who enjoy books about immigration and book activism will gobble this one up.

Once again, Kelly Yang brings us a story of what it’s like to try to navigate a new country. I don’t know how many parents find themselves in a situation where they must leave one or all of their children behind in order to forge a new life in the United States.

In this case, once Lina is able to join her parents, she is excited to start living the beautiful life they’ve sent her photos of—only to find that that life isn’t real. They are struggling to get by. Her father lost his graduate school job after standing up for a coworker, and now does fieldwork for an organic farmer, who has promised to help Lina’s parents get their green cards.

Lina’s little sister, of course, fits right in at school and speaks English well She’s all about her Tiktok dances. But although Lina has studied English back in China, it is nothing like actually having to go to school in English in the U.S.

Furthermore, she’s worried about her grandmother, who has moved into an assisted living center and doesn’t seem to be settling in well.

Enter a wonderfully sympathetic teacher to help Lina grow her English skills and a school librarian who helps Lina find the perfect graphic novel. The two of them even encourage Lina to create her own graphic novel about her experiences—including how she is bullied in her new school

And when Lina shares her favorite graphic novel, about an immigrant girl whose experiences are similar to Lina’s own, there is consternation in the classroom when a parent objects to the book and wants it removed. It is here that Lina finds her voice and is able to stand up, speak up, and be seen.

I really, really loved this book, and look forward to more by Kelly Yang. She made my heart hurt for Lina, and I sympathized with the struggles that her parents faced in trying to keep their family together. These are heavy subjects, but Yang handles them deftly and in a way that is appropriate to her target age group. It is such a pleasure watching Lina make friends and overcome her language barriers as she finds the way to make herself heard.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Family separation, bully, deception, censorship, immigration issues.

Who Might Like This Book:
Anyone who likes stories of families overcoming difficulties. Those interested in the immigrant experience. Those who like reading about social issues through the lens of a child’s life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2023/01/multicultural-middle-grades.html

Kelly Yang is a beautiful story teller. She gets you invested in and caring for her characters from the very first page. Finally Seen is a hear warming story about a girl who moves to the United States from China to live with her parents and younger sister while leaving her grandmother behind.

After living with her Lao Lao in China for years while the rest of her family is in the US, Lina finally gets to chance to join her parents and younger sister Millie in California. However, what Lina finds is different than everything that her parents had told her about their lives. Add that to the fact that her English isn't good and she gets made fun of at school, and California and life with her family is nothing like Lina imagined.

I really liked Lina as a character and appreciated the rich narration that she provided to this book. Yang's writing is accessible, entertaining, and representative of childhood. I appreciated the ways in which Lina finds her voice and friends and works to change her circumstances and situation throughout the story. I also thought the inclusion of ELL instruction at school was an excellent one as there are many kids of experience that but I've never really seen it included in a middle grade novel before. Certainly a must-buy for libraries and this is one I'll likely recommend to kids a lot.