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madhamster's review against another edition
5.0
A story that encompasses so much, but is not over full, just like life. Life is not a one issue thing, which this story bears out.
There is the struggle to settle in a new country, with another language. There is annoying little brother. There are bullies, who are not the stereotypical bully-boys, but just normal kids.
Then, there's the grief and guilt over his father's death two years earlier.
A powerhouse of a novel.
There is the struggle to settle in a new country, with another language. There is annoying little brother. There are bullies, who are not the stereotypical bully-boys, but just normal kids.
Then, there's the grief and guilt over his father's death two years earlier.
A powerhouse of a novel.
mbrandmaier's review against another edition
4.0
Jingwen is not adjusting well to his big move to Australia. He misses his grandparents and is having trouble learning English. If he can just bake all the cakes that he and his father used to bake together before the accident, everything will be ok again. The only problem is, he is not allowed to use the oven!
ghutter05's review against another edition
3.0
Liked it, but I'm afraid I didn't find it tugging at my heartstrings as much as I expected it to.
jkenna1990's review against another edition
5.0
This book is about two Chinese brothers that move to Australian with their mother and the consequences of that move. When they first get there Jingwen feels like an alien. He can't speak the language (or understand it) and is forced to watch out for his kid brother a lot of the time. To pass the time while they are at home they break one of their mother's rules - no using the oven when she is not at home - to bake cakes. They have to hide the cakes from their mom in creative ways to hide the fact that they are breaking her rules.
This is a fantastic middle grade book that I think would be a great read along between parents and thir children. It has a lot of good lessons in it and also talks about how children can feel isolated after a big move. I loved the graphic novel type illustrations that accompanied the story as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
This is a fantastic middle grade book that I think would be a great read along between parents and thir children. It has a lot of good lessons in it and also talks about how children can feel isolated after a big move. I loved the graphic novel type illustrations that accompanied the story as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
angiedkelly's review against another edition
5.0
While on the onset this book seems light and cute about two brothers who set out to make cakes while their mom is at work, it is actually much more than that. It deals with grief, sudden loss of a parent, feeling of guilt, starting over and overcoming a huge language barrier. There is a lot to unpack in this book and lots to treasure as well. Highly recommend to middle grade readers as well as adults. Especially recommend for adults that have English learners in their lives/classrooms.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
5.0
When I was a kid, growing up in the northwest corner of amerika, Australia seemed like the most exciting, alluring place in the world to visit. Was that true for you? Or was it just me?
Pie in the Sky is about Jingwen, a kid who moves to Australia. He moves there with his brother and his mom, but this book is completely in his head & from his perspective. As such, the author includes illustrations intermittently within the text (Diary of a Wimpy Kid style), which are sometimes apparently realistic, and other times very much the product of Jingwen's feelings and daydreams and thoughts about the world surrounding him.
Using the mechanism of illustrations, Lai vividly introduces Jingwen's idea that he's moved to a land of aliens. He struggles with the culture, social interactions, and most of all, the language.
Being in such a foreign environment forces Jingwen to spend a lot of time with his brother, which is also a source of frustration. Their mother is working nights, so Jingwen is left alone with Yanghao a lot.
Jingwen's father's plan had been to set up a cake shop in Australia. They'd had a cake shop where they'd moved from (where exactly that was is never specified explicitly). So now, Jingwen and his brother start making cakes at night.
There is a LOT going on in this book. Immigration, baking, learning a second language, grief, sibling relationships, outsiders & insiders, cultural norms....
But the book has an overall, rather surprising, sense of lightness to it. A lot of that can be chalked up to the expressive, cartoony illustrations. And the characters really grab you, as well.
It was a joy to read, and I'm pushing for it to be included on our school district's Battle of the Books list for 2020-2021 (one extra-curricular that can Totally still happen, even if we're all still doing virtual learning!). Giving it five for the unique combination of elements - I've never read anything quite like this before.
Pie in the Sky is about Jingwen, a kid who moves to Australia. He moves there with his brother and his mom, but this book is completely in his head & from his perspective. As such, the author includes illustrations intermittently within the text (Diary of a Wimpy Kid style), which are sometimes apparently realistic, and other times very much the product of Jingwen's feelings and daydreams and thoughts about the world surrounding him.
Using the mechanism of illustrations, Lai vividly introduces Jingwen's idea that he's moved to a land of aliens. He struggles with the culture, social interactions, and most of all, the language.
Being in such a foreign environment forces Jingwen to spend a lot of time with his brother, which is also a source of frustration. Their mother is working nights, so Jingwen is left alone with Yanghao a lot.
Jingwen's father's plan had been to set up a cake shop in Australia. They'd had a cake shop where they'd moved from (where exactly that was is never specified explicitly). So now, Jingwen and his brother start making cakes at night.
There is a LOT going on in this book. Immigration, baking, learning a second language, grief, sibling relationships, outsiders & insiders, cultural norms....
But the book has an overall, rather surprising, sense of lightness to it. A lot of that can be chalked up to the expressive, cartoony illustrations. And the characters really grab you, as well.
It was a joy to read, and I'm pushing for it to be included on our school district's Battle of the Books list for 2020-2021 (one extra-curricular that can Totally still happen, even if we're all still doing virtual learning!). Giving it five for the unique combination of elements - I've never read anything quite like this before.
dswhite's review against another edition
4.0
Nice story of an eleven year old boy who moves to Australia with his mom and brother. He father died the year before. I laughed and cried reading this book.
lololauren23's review against another edition
4.0
What a beautiful story of immigration, family, growing up, and finding oneself in the midst of it all.
rachtat's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25