<i>You Are Here: Connecting Flights</i> is a book that I so wish to have had when I was younger. The stories are simple for young readers to understand, but it pierces through so many layers of the Asian American identity and experience.

This book is a collection of stories about 12 characters who learn about confidence, finding their voice, and passion after an event at the security checkpoint in the Chicago airport. It's so fun to see the small but powerful interactions that these characters have on each other and the connection that is formed from this one event. Each character is so unique and have their own background, at least one of them will resonate with the reader. It's so inspiring to read about their courage and how they tackled their problems each chapter.

Young readers will really love this empowering collection of stories!

“You are Here Connecting Flights” is written by multiple award-winning and best selling Asian American authors. It will be released on March 7, 2023.

I am honored to have received an eARC from Net Galley and HarperCollins Children’s Books.

This book contains 12 chapters each from different authors and unique yet interwoven viewpoints of a day at the airport in Chicago. All of the stories are connected through an initial incident at the TSA checkpoint, misunderstood by many.

I read this book in one sitting- I enjoyed it.

Wow. Words can't describe how much my teacher heart needed this book. Ellen Of masterfully edited and compiled some outstanding stories that interwove the various character experiences in a Chicago airport. Each story had a lesson to learn through the characters experiences, and the end provided some explanation of terms and author biographies. I devoured it and now I'm looking into the other works of these outstanding authors, as well as the nonprofit, We Need Diverse Books. As Oh writes in the Note from the Editor: "Books can be important discussion starters, and I've always believed ghat diverse children's books with authentic representation are both our weapons and our defense against prejudice, because children's books teach empathy."
#elloecho #youarehereconnectingflights #netgalley

I enjoyed this book so much I flew through it (pun intended) and now want to read it again! I will definitely purchase for my library! What a beautiful, heartfelt collection of stories - some which made me laugh, some made me cry, some made me angry! I would love to pour a Jamba Juice on top of that pink track suit lady! I even tried some cheese-caramel popcorn combo after reading, and loved that too!
These are some of my favorite authors, showing that they can write incredible, powerful short stories - and I loved the way they all "connected!"
Don't miss this amazing celebration of being Asian-American. It needs to be in the hands of readers everywhere!

Connecting Flights is a series of short stories that connect to one another, told by a myriad of fantastic authors. Detailing the Asian American experience from a variety of backgrounds, realistic stories are told in the setting of the Chicago Airport. This novel is exemplary and vitally important for students to read. It provides both a window and a mirror for students to understand their own and others' experiences. Told with humor and poignancy, the added element of connection to each story adds beautiful complexity. This book would be an excellent model for creative writing for elementary and middle school students. This book is not to be missed and comes highly recommended.

This collection of short stories was charming and striking. For readers who are not of Asia descent, this was hopefully a very helpful look into how racism, both intentional and not, can affect people of all ages. For all readers, this collection also has a great message of learning to stand up for yourself and discover ways to be proud of your identity.

I loved this collection of interconnected short stories written by some of my favorite kidlit authors. Each story centers around a unique Asian-American tween who experiences or witnesses racial harassment or discrimination while stuck waiting for their flight in a busy Chicago airport. I loved the variety of perspectives, family types, concerns, and personalities that are showcased. As a white, cisgender person, it gave me a new level of empathy to understand the painful comments that are made to Asian-Americans that belittle their culture, associate them unfairly with the Coronavirus, and reinforce a sense of 'otherness.' I especially enjoyed the exposure to a variety of East Asian cultural norms that were specific to each character's background like delicious homemade food and a deep love and respect of family. And, the threads that tie each story together brought an extra element of delight.

I would recommend this to kids who like short stories, but myself, I am not a fan of short interconnected stories. I found myself wanting more of each character, which is my problem with the genre style, not necessarily with the writing of these authors.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Twelve interconnected stories about East/Southeast Asian Americans who get stranded in a Chicago airport during a storm and each deal with racism, sometimes from family or friends.

All of the stories were fun and entertaining. Most are told in normally in either first or third person, but one of them is told in lists, which is a fun deviation from regular story telling.

There was no indication from the synopsis, but every single story has its character confront racism in some way, sometimes from strangers and sometimes from loved ones. If you're unable to deal with that, this is not the book for you.

Rep: MCs who are Thai, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Jewish, and autistic

CW: racism, terminal illness, racially-motivated physical violence, mention of police violence.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this digital ARC. I do hope the Harper Collins Union strike is resolved soon so I can promote this book on my social media platforms when it comes out in March.

I adored this anthology of short stories, featuring Asian American kids, all of them passing through a busy airport terminal on a busy summer day. With the rise of anti-Asian sentiment the past couple of years, it seems that some of the experiences I had as a child traveling to the continental United States 30 years ago still ring true. I will never forget the time we were in Las Vegas (visiting from Hawaii) for a family reunion and a white lady called my Aunty a derogatory slur. It left an impression on me then, and made me realize for the first time that there are others in this country who don't see me as American, even though I was born and raised in Hawaii.

These stories offer hope and comfort. They also demonstrate activism and using your voice to stand up for what's right. I was proud of each of these kids. I felt like I knew them. I felt like I could relate to them.

Airports are busier and more stressful than ever. So many flights are delayed or outright canceled, and traveling can make even the most calm person a little unnerved. So the airport was the perfect setting for these stories. A canceled flight can bring out the worst in people. Being late and stuck in TSA is stressful. Being around crowds of people with nowhere to go is a nightmare. And it added to the everyday racism that Asian Americans experience, being in an enclosed, stressful place.

I'm so thankful that books like this exist. The 12 authors who gifted us these stories are truly remarkable and an all-star list of beloved Asian American authors. I'm excited to purchase copies for my kids' teachers and get this book into classrooms!

This collection of stories is fantastic! It provides insight into what Asian-Americans experience on a daily basis, the ignorance, assumptions, and prejudice. It also helps to provide windows to other cultures that may be different from your own but just different, not lesser. This book will give you courage to stand up for yourself and for others who are facing racism. This collection is a great book to add to your classroom library!

I loved this book so much! A rich collection of short stories featuring Asian American characters stuck in a Chicago airport, their stories somehow intertwine in the best of ways. It’s like a spotlight illuminating each person, one at a time, empowering and strengthening each other. Brilliant, heartwarming.

This book was very well written! I really enjoyed the multiple points of view and how each individual story was connected with the others in some way!

This was a fun concept and I'm surprised that I hadn't thought about it sooner. It was great to have multiple authors to tell the stories about other characters. We don't all have the same voice so it worked really well. I enjoyed how the stories were connected and it was what I was hoping for.

"“I’m okay, Dad—I bet this trip’s less stressful than when I was four and we flew to Washington, DC, right?” Henry said. It was a blatant attempt to change the subject, but Henry knew it would probably work, because that kind of thing usually worked on Henry when other people did it to him."