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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
It's summertime and Pacy Lin and her younger sisters Ki-Ki, 7 and older sister Lissy, 14, are on their way to Taiwan with their parents for their grandmother's 60th birthday and staying for a whole month. Even though Taiwan is where their parents are originally from, only Lissy has ever been there to visit but she was too young to remember it.
The Lins arrive in Taiwan right at the beginning of Ghost Month, a time when the ghosts and spirits of people's ancestors visit the realm of the living. Pacy isn't really in touch with her Taiwanese roots, and finds herself worrying about these ghosts, and, feeling invisible much of the time anyway, becoming one. This introduction to Chinese beliefs is a stark reminder to Pacy that even though she has always felt different from everyone else at home in upstate New York because she is Asian, now in Taiwan, where she may look just like everyone else, she doesn't know much about Chinese culture, and can't speak the language or understand social cues. One thing she has no trouble understanding, though, is the disapproving look on the faces of the Taiwanese people who try to speak Chinese with her.
But her relatives are a fun and friendly bunch, and the food, especially the dumplings, is spectacular. And there is sightseeing to do, and things to learn. When Pacy finds out that her mother has signed her up for a painting class, she isn't very happy until she sees the tubes of color paint she needs. But, the class is in Chinese painting, which means it is done differently than what she is accustomed to, from the way she must hold the paintbrush to never erasing her mistakes to painting the same bamboo over and over again. It frustrates Pacy, who keeps waiting for her art talent to show up and, to make matters worse, the girl next to her, competitive Audrey Chiang, keeps shooting her disapproving, condescending looks that at first shake Pacy's confidence somewhat.
As the Lin family experiences Taiwan, plus a few days in Taichung, Pacy (and the reader) learns all about her family as well as Taiwanese history, customs, culture, and traditions. Dumpling Day is an episodic novel, describing the different experiences Pacy has on her own journey to self-discover and acceptance. Lin has masterfully worked in so much information without making it sound too teachy about it. Occasionally, there are some short interesting culturally historical folktales or family stories set off from Pacy's narrative that add more depth to the story, such as the Thanking the Emperor, the Story of Dumpling Soup, and Grandma Breaks Tradition .
For the most part, however, Pacy's adventures are the day-to-day kind, things such as the fortune tellers at the market, using the squat toilet, eating chicken feet by mistake, and so much more. These were the things that made this a particularly enjoyable book to read. Many of Pacy's adventures are similar to my Kiddo's when she went to China for a few years, particularly the food. I have email after email telling me how wonderful Chinese food is, with dumplings being the favorite.
I should say that I have not read the previous two Pacy novels, The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat, but I feel like Dumpling Days is really a stand alone novel. And I did choose it intentionally because I felt it expresses the idea behind Asian Pacific American Heritage Month perfectly.
Besides that, Dumpling Days is one of the best novels I've read about what it is like to grow up in a family that is multicultural, plus it is also an engaging story that will easily appeal to most young readers. Lin has included simple line drawings throughout the novel that also reflect Pacy's experience (after all, how many of middle graders know what a squat toilet looks like).
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
The Lins arrive in Taiwan right at the beginning of Ghost Month, a time when the ghosts and spirits of people's ancestors visit the realm of the living. Pacy isn't really in touch with her Taiwanese roots, and finds herself worrying about these ghosts, and, feeling invisible much of the time anyway, becoming one. This introduction to Chinese beliefs is a stark reminder to Pacy that even though she has always felt different from everyone else at home in upstate New York because she is Asian, now in Taiwan, where she may look just like everyone else, she doesn't know much about Chinese culture, and can't speak the language or understand social cues. One thing she has no trouble understanding, though, is the disapproving look on the faces of the Taiwanese people who try to speak Chinese with her.
But her relatives are a fun and friendly bunch, and the food, especially the dumplings, is spectacular. And there is sightseeing to do, and things to learn. When Pacy finds out that her mother has signed her up for a painting class, she isn't very happy until she sees the tubes of color paint she needs. But, the class is in Chinese painting, which means it is done differently than what she is accustomed to, from the way she must hold the paintbrush to never erasing her mistakes to painting the same bamboo over and over again. It frustrates Pacy, who keeps waiting for her art talent to show up and, to make matters worse, the girl next to her, competitive Audrey Chiang, keeps shooting her disapproving, condescending looks that at first shake Pacy's confidence somewhat.
As the Lin family experiences Taiwan, plus a few days in Taichung, Pacy (and the reader) learns all about her family as well as Taiwanese history, customs, culture, and traditions. Dumpling Day is an episodic novel, describing the different experiences Pacy has on her own journey to self-discover and acceptance. Lin has masterfully worked in so much information without making it sound too teachy about it. Occasionally, there are some short interesting culturally historical folktales or family stories set off from Pacy's narrative that add more depth to the story, such as the Thanking the Emperor, the Story of Dumpling Soup, and Grandma Breaks Tradition .
For the most part, however, Pacy's adventures are the day-to-day kind, things such as the fortune tellers at the market, using the squat toilet, eating chicken feet by mistake, and so much more. These were the things that made this a particularly enjoyable book to read. Many of Pacy's adventures are similar to my Kiddo's when she went to China for a few years, particularly the food. I have email after email telling me how wonderful Chinese food is, with dumplings being the favorite.
I should say that I have not read the previous two Pacy novels, The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat, but I feel like Dumpling Days is really a stand alone novel. And I did choose it intentionally because I felt it expresses the idea behind Asian Pacific American Heritage Month perfectly.
Besides that, Dumpling Days is one of the best novels I've read about what it is like to grow up in a family that is multicultural, plus it is also an engaging story that will easily appeal to most young readers. Lin has included simple line drawings throughout the novel that also reflect Pacy's experience (after all, how many of middle graders know what a squat toilet looks like).
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
I have been enjoying Grace Lin's middle grade writing and this is no exception. I will say that this story made me very hungry for dumplings but it was such a great story. Lin does what she has done in the other books I've read and included other stories within the overarching plot. These ministories, however, are family stories, instead of folk tales, which makes for interesting parallels.
Quietly sweet. The language was a little plain for my tastes, but the thinking and the morals throughout were really sophisticated and earnest.
This is another solid addition to the Pacy series by Grace Lin. In this story, the family travels to Taiwan for their grandmother’s 60th birthday. Along the way, there are some struggles with identity—who am I and where do I belong? I think Lin’s message resonates well with third culture kids.
One tiny thing that did confuse me—I’m not sure what the timeline of these books are, but I felt like the first two took place not today, but maybe in the 80s or 90s. So, one the plane trip, when she had her own TV in the seat, I was a little confused I think I need to reread the earlier ones, unless it was Lina’s intent to make that relevant to kids today.
One tiny thing that did confuse me—I’m not sure what the timeline of these books are, but I felt like the first two took place not today, but maybe in the 80s or 90s. So, one the plane trip, when she had her own TV in the seat, I was a little confused I think I need to reread the earlier ones, unless it was Lina’s intent to make that relevant to kids today.
Adorable! And now I am craving dumplings and pineapple cakes.
In this third book about Pacey and her family, we see Pacey and her family flying over to Taiwan for a month over summer break. Pacey's grandmother is turning 60, a very important number as she has lived to see 5 cycles of the Zodiac sign. Pacey's not sure she wants to go. She doesn't speak Chinese or Taiwanese and feels like a "Twinkie" yellow on the outside, white on the inside. I find Pacey's story really relateable. As a child of immigrants who was not spoken to in either Arabic or Portuguese I can relate to Pacey's struggle to find an identity all her own.
I should've known from the title but wow did this book make me hungry