When Maizy's grandfather, Opa, is sick, she travels from Los Angeles to Minnesota to spend the summer with him. While resistant to go, Maizy was surprised to see what all the town of Last Chance had to offer.
Opinion
This book focuses heavily on Chinese American history and prejudice in a way that makes it easy for adolescents to understand. With the lack of education about pretty much anyone who is not male nor white being taught in history classes, this book opens up a world to anyone who reads it.
I immediately researched Paper Suns after reading this book and was saddened to learn it was true. I feel that books like these need to be written, as well as read, so that we don't live in ignorance.
The story itself was absolutely charming and perfectly written for adolescents. This book would be a great read aloud in any classroom, especially if studying China at the same time. (I can even see it being read aloud in high school or college classes, perhaps in parts.)
I highly recommend that this book be purchased for school libraries.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Children's for providing me with an ARC of this book and many, many apologies for taking so long to review. I loved it.

The book was unexpectedly short - it was a short and sweet read, so happy it won't newbery honor, would recommend it to my niece :>

Yee has created a solid balance between Maizy's modern experience and the stories about her family's connection to Minnesota. There are thematic parallels between the two that encourage young readers to reflect and compare. It's not terribly deep, perhaps, but hits about right for a fourth or fifth grader. More importantly, the characters are realistic and well developed. We care about these characters and even secondary and tertiary characters have multiple aspects. A solid read for most any middle grade reader.

No wonder this book won everything it did–it is well written, heart-warming, teaches history, has a great lesson, is important, and just an excellent read! Anyone who reads this is going to love Maizy and her group of family and friends.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Such a great book! So happy that it won a Newbery Honor this year. I learned so much Asian American history reading this but in a very accessible way- Highly recommended, even if it did make me cry.

This was a sweet book where a Maizy got to learn about her heritage from her grandparents which her mother had guarded her from.

(i received an e-arc from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

this was a rather adorable read! while i do not really dabble in middle grade books as much as i used to, this book spoke to my younger self (as someone who grew up in a traditionally Asian family).

So so so adorable and cute! I thinkthis read is so important for the age of 12-15 to know more about Chinese history, legends. I loved the fantasy and historical fiction elements in this book!

This was such a great middle grade novel. I love the incorporation of historical fiction with Maizy's grandfather's stories about the Paper Sons. This would be wonderful in a unit on immigration.

I will be recommending this to my state readers' award committee.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

Maizy's grandfather becomes sick and she and her mother go to visit her grandparents. Maizy helps run their Chinese restaurant and learns about her family history. Maizy learns that people are not always what they seem on the outside. The story has great themes of belonging and anti-immigration. The story moves fast and has engaging characters. The subplots could get confusing to some readers, but many readers will love this story.

This book made me cry not once, not twice, but THREE times today…at school…in front of a classroom full of middle schoolers.

I loved Maizy, Opa, Werner, and Lady Beth so dearly and ugh, what a sweet sweet book. The characterization was well done and I loved the dual timelines of past and present.. I will be ordering a hard copy for my classroom, so yeah. Highly recommend.

I love all of Lisa Yee's books! This one was no exception! I love the main character and how Lisa tells her story. I love how the reader gets a glimpse into Maizy's culture and family. I purchased a hard copy as soon as it was released and introduced the author, and her books, to my middle school students.

It was very cute at the beginning, but it dragged too much at the end.
What I liked: the culinary aspect, the Chinese traditions, the grandpa, the focus on hate crime and the flashbacks!
Too bad, it had potential.

Well written great story weaving together of historical and current stories. Love the Lucky stories and the fortunes!

A well-written story of Maizy, who spends the summer with her mother and grandparents after her grandfather falls ill. She confronts racism, as well as learns the stories of her ancestors. She builds a stronger relationship with her grandmother and makes friends in the small town of Last Chance.

Maizy was a well-developed character with just the right amount of Moxie. It was hard not to feel all the strong emotions she experienced herself and the author did a great job involving the reader in the story. This would make an excellent addition to public and school library shelves.

I absolutely loved this book. Maizy and her mother temporarily move from LA to Last Chance, Minnesota to help her grandparents as her grandfather heals from a long term illness. Along the way, Maizy learns about her family history, learns about the ins and outs of running a restaurant, and makes new friends. Though Maizy enjoys many aspects of the move, she desperately misses her friends and home. She also encounters racism against her family via vandalism at her family's restaurant and must grapple with her grandfather's continued illness. Maizy was such a wonderful protagonist. I loved her sense of humor and I especially loved her relationship with her grandfather. I enjoyed how her grandfather passed along their family history via his "Lucky Stories." This was such a lovely, well written story with realistic characters. I would highly recommend this to all readers 8 and up, but especially to those that enjoyed Front Desk.

A fabulous middle grade novel! I will definitely be recommending this to many middle grades educators this year!
Would be a great pairing with middle grade novels Front Desk & The Parker Inheritance + picture book Paper Son.

Maizy's grandfather is very ill, and as an only child, Maizy's mother decides to take Maizy to Minnesota to care for him and help Maizy's grandmother with their family restaurant. Maizy is very resentful about being taken from her life in Los Angeles to visit grandparents she hardly knows. As she sits with her grandfather during the day, he begins to tell her stories of the past while Maizy's mom deals with the rocky relationship she has with her parents and begins to understand them better.

I love Lisa Yee! Her books are always great reads, and this one is probably my favorite yet. It did make me cry which I don't often do. I knew what was inevitably going to happen, but it was not any easier to process when it did. I love the themes of friendship and family and how you can love so much, yet be so hurt and angry at the same time. I also loved the historical aspects shared in this story about Chinese immigration and the Paper Sons, something I had not known about before. I have high hopes that this book will been seen on a lot of state reading award lists. It's a story many should read and one of the best Middle Grade titles I've read in a while.

A fabulous middle grade novel!
Would be a great pairing with MG novels Front Desk & The Parker Inheritance + picture book Paper Son.