Maizy Chen's Last Chance: (Newbery Honor Award Winner)

Maizy's Opa is ill and she and her mother drive from L.A. to Last Chance, MN, to help Oma and Opa. During that summer, Opa shares stories of Lucky, an ancestor, and how he came to the U.S. from China, and the challenges and discrimination he faced. Slowly, Maizy learns about her family history, and

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about the experiences of the paper sons whose pictures are displayed in Oma and Opa's restaurant. Opa's poker lessons serve as metaphors for figuring out people's stories and motivations and help Maizy crack the case of a racist incident at the restaurant. Chapters are never more than three pages long; such pacing makes Opa's stories and Maizy's discoveries fresh and revealing. This is a timely novel about the history of Chinese immigration, and the importance of preserving stories and understanding history. Young readers may well be inspired to look into their own ancestral backgrounds.

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Maizy Chen is an LA girl through and through -- but when her grandfather's failing health inspires a cross-country trip to Last Chance, Minnesota, she's not opposed to spending some time with the grandparents she's never really gotten to know. In Last Chance, she hears fascinating family stories

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and learns to play poker from her grandfather, eats delicious food at the family restaurant, and even makes some new friends. But life's not all rosy: she also experiences instances of racism and bullying directed at both her and her family. As her grandfather's health declines, Maizy is left with a mystery to solve...

This novel exhibits strong and engaging writing. I enjoyed the family stories interspersed with the present-day events -- both were equally interesting, which is not always the case with such split narratives! This book also made me super hungry for Chinese food, as there are many delicious descriptions of meals served up at the Golden Palace. The story feels familiar to me, as there are plenty of kids' books with a character transplanted from one place (usually the big city) to another (often a small town) for a summer, but Yee's writing and the timely issues she addresses make the book feel fresh. I also thought that both the struggles she faces and the way she goes about solving the mystery I mentioned above are realistic. I can see how this Newbery Honor book managed to stand out in the eyes of this year's committee.

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First sentence: The pies were fake, but my grandparents didn't know that. Not at first, anyway. My mother had invited them to watch her work on a Tasty Flaky Pie Crust commercial.

Premise/plot: Maizy Chen and her mom go "home" to Last Chance, Minnesota, to visit her [maternal] grandparents, Opa and

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Oma. Opa [her grandfather] is in poor health. Though Oma isn't ready to say it out loud, he is dying. They've come to help out, mend fences, etc. This is the first time that Maizy is spending time with her grandparents. And she finds herself loving them and their "Lucky" stories. (Lucky is her second-great-grandfather, I believe. Her grandfather's grandfather.) He is the one who started Golden Palace in Last Chance. The restaurant has been in the family ever since.

Maizy Chen's Last Chance is a coming-of-age story focusing on family, friendship, and larger life lessons. For example, she's hearing about discrimination and prejudice in the Lucky stories of the past. AND ahe's learning first hand about discrimination and prejudice as she walks the streets in town. (Well, as she is encountering the townsfolk. Not everyone, of course, but there are a few rude people who are directly or indirectly hateful.) Race plays heavily in this NEWBERY honor book.

My thoughts: I loved so many things about this one. I liked Maizy getting to know--really, truly know--her grandparents. Particularly she bonds with her Opa. I love their scenes together. I love all the family scenes really. Though she doesn't always understand all the complexity--the tension--of her family relationships. She also starts making a few friends. I enjoyed her writing the fortunes for the family restaurant. I loved her interest in researching the paper sons.

There were times, however, I felt it was slightly info-dump-y. I loved so many things about this one. But there were places here and there where I wished it was a little less heavy. (Though the mystery in the middle was a plus.)

Overall, I liked this one.

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Maizy Chen and her mom spend the summer in Last Chance, MN, to spend time with her ailing Grandfather. The two develop a quick bond. Grandpa tells Maizy the story of her great-grandfather, Lucky, a Chinese immigrant who created this oasis for other Chinese people in the small Minnesota town with

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his Chinese restaurant, the Golden Palace.
A touching book about family, connections, microaggressions, racism, building community.
It was charming, touching.
Maizy is a spit-fire and a character who does a lot of learning and growing during her summer in Minnesota.

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There was just too much stuffed into one 11 year old's summer in the rural town where her mother's parents are the owners of what must be the oldest Chinese restaurant in Minnesota. Maizy's mother has brought her to Last Chance because, though she doesn't say so, her grandfather is fatally ill.

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There is racism, tales of the gold rush era great-great grandfather who founded the restaurant, a broken friendship to mend, a disappearing stuffed bear to find, fortune cookies to write, friendships to make, people who reveal hidden sides, much more than is needed and all chopped up and mixed together so, however worthy, it just stays lots of pieces.

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What a wonderful book -- pretty much couldn't put it down. I loved how the short chapters keep the storytelling moving along, the wonderful inclusion of Maizy's great-grandfather Lucky's story parsed out in between the daily interest of getting to know her grandparents and their town. Highly

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entertained by the friendship feud, the personalities in the town, the way Maizy deals with racism, the personalized fortune cookies, the paper sons, and about 600 other things in this book. Great story.

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Maizy Chen and her mom travel from LA to Last Chance, Minnesota for an extended stay with her grandparents while her grandfather is ill. Her grandparents own a Chinese restaurant, and Maizy finds herself getting to know the locals through their visits to the Golden Palace. She watches as her mom

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negotiates her rocky relationship with her own parents, learns from her grandfather about the history of her family and the discrimination that Chinese Americans have long struggled against, all while experiencing it firsthand in this small mid-western town. When the beloved bear statue, for years has stood outside the restaurant, is stolen, Maizy sets out to solve the mystery and discovers racism in obvious and surprising places.

A solid middle grade novel about family, loss, friendship, difference, and the importance of family roots and history. All of these elements are nicely blended, and the characters feel believable and interesting.

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