Reviews

Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte

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A delicious tale about a Taiwanese girl moving to America and wanting to bring her beloved grandmother for a visit. To do that, she sets a goal to win a cooking competition for the cash prize and learns about herself and her culture through food. I really liked Cici’s determination and drive to learn. I was so happy for her in the end and I just hope that she pursued cooking in her future. I liked seeing her complicated new relationships with the American kids and how she dealt with the incredible pressure her family put on her.

Overall, wonderful story with a wonderful message wrapped up in delicious food!

itselvv's review against another edition

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قصة مصورة تناقش الهجرة والغربة بطريقة مختلفة، تنتقل بطلة القصة مع عائلتها من تايوان إلى الولايات المتحدة، وهناك، لا تشعر بأن ثقافة بلدها مفهومة، ولذلك، وكأي طفل، تُحرَج منها وتحاول اخفاءها، إلى أن تتعلم بنهاية القصة أننا قد لا نختلف كثيرًا عن بعضنا البعض، وأن الاختلاف يعطي الحياة معنى مختلف، وأبعاد أخرى أكثر جمالًا وامتاعًا.

القصة ناقشت العديد من المواضيع والمشاكل بشكل جدِّي، كاختلاف الثقافات، علاقة الأب بابنته وتعاليمه الصارمة التي وإن كانت تفيدها مستقبلًا فإنها تؤذي علاقتهما الآن، ضعف التواصل بين الاباء والابناء، التأقلم والتكيف مع البيئة الجديدة، واختلاف الاحلام والفرص والامكانيات. ولكن، ومع كل هذه الافكار، استطاعت الكاتبة المحافظة على نبرة قصص الأطفال، فلم تبد القصة صعبة أو كئيبة للنشء، ولم أشعر — من وجهة نظر بالغ — أنها تناولت المواضيع بسطحية، وتحقيق هذا التوازن لهو أمر شديد الصعوبة وتستحق الكاتبة الإشادة على إتقانها لذلك.

raheadley's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

4.0

megdaven's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was a reread for me because it’s part of the library’s upcoming community read. It is a middle grade graphic novel that satisfies you with laughter and tears. A Taiwanese immigrant girl does fairly well moving to America, albeit this book does a good job showing the effects of micro aggressions, but doesn’t have enough money to bring her gma over for a visit. So she enters a cooking contest, and what transpires involves a hilarious portrayal of cooking show tropes, a Julia Child love affair, and an appreciating of her culture and cooking.

heidisreads's review against another edition

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4.0

My 3rd grader read this first and couldn’t stop talking about it so I read it, too and we both loved it. It made us want to look at recipes and try to cook something together.

mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition

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4.0

*I am reading all of the books on the 2022 SSYRA Grades 3 to 5 list. As of 7/31/22 this is book #1 out 15 in terms of quality. If you want to see a complete list altogether in one place in order of best to worst check out my ko-fi*.

I don't read many graphic novels any more - not from dislike, it's simply my normal reading patterns diverging - and when I picked this up I was looking forward to the easy enjoyment they often bring. It's rare that I have a problem with a middle grade graphic novel that's so big I actively dislike it.

As expected, Measuring Up was a delight.

I always enjoy reading about other cultures and Measuring Up used food as a wonderful way to bridge the gap. Food is important in general, but the passing of recipes and history of dishes and the act of creation has unique significance to collectivist identities compared to the individualism above all else prevailing in the West, namely the United States where Cici suddenly finds herself after her big move from Taiwan. Cici entering the contest becomes a way to share her heritage with those around her in-story and out.

Like most kids Cici's worried about fitting into her school and making new friends. Over the course of the book she comes to realize that she doesn't just want to be Taiwanese passively, she's proud to be Taiwanese and if other people can't accept it then they're not worth her time.

What kept it from being a 5 star read which is the abrupt end to a few different key plot points.

For instance, Cici initially wants to keep her entrance into the contest a secret from her father because if she wins she wants her grandmother's arrival to be a surprise for him since he misses her so much. Almost immediately she is 'forced' to tell him about her plan which ended up undermining the long term conflict between the two. It would have added some fun tension watching her juggle two lives and ultimately created a more satisfying confrontation when the two finally had their heart to heart.

Similarly, when she does have the confrontation with her father he immediately capitulates which was unrealistic given the attitude he had previously. It almost felt like Lily LaMotte was scared to see certain elements through so she smothered the potential conflict before it had time to catch fire.

The story was still good, but it did often feel a little too simplistic when it came to the emotional beats. It kind of makes sense given the age grouping this is part of, still I think some parts didn’t need to be quite as easily rectified as they were. Kids can handle complexity.

Nevertheless, it's a comfortable recommend. I think kids will connect with its themes and outside of that it's a pleasant, enjoyable read all on its own.

jannythelibrarian's review against another edition

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4.0

middle graders graphic fiction. taiwanese girl protagonist moves to US, misses home but makes friends. joins cooking competition to win $$ for ama. friendship, cooking, immigrants, learning, kindness. fun light story