I thought this book did an excellent job of touching on being multicultural as a child. Navigating that good enough to be something feeling of dread that comes with not feeling adequate for either side of yourself. Lucy Wu is an American Born Chinese child which makes her an American. Her love of basketball, parties, space (her room) & junk food don't make her ashamed of her Chinese heritage. They just make her feel inadequate in the love of all things authentic Chinese.

As Lucy navigates the 6th grade, an unwanted relative from China in her room, being bullied & being forced to quit basketball for Chinese school you get to experience through her very frustrated eyes. She not only makes it through but she learns some important life lessons along the way. She learns that having two cultural identities doesn't have to mean the erasing of one for the other. Lucy also learns how to accept being different, defend herself through her adversity & how to appreciate change.

I subtracted 1 star for the Yi Po character. All the hidden references & the anticlimactic departure.

It took me a while to get into this book. Lucy is definitely a brat at the beginning and the rivalry between Lucy and Sloane doesn't feel dangerous until about halfway through the story. But once everything starts falling in place, it's so good.

 

I definitely related to Lucy, and this book includes some of the best written basketball I've ever read (except for one incorrect use of the term air ball). There is a little disparagement of all things girly/pink, but not too much. I appreciated all the translations of the Chinese dialogue (since my own understanding of Chinese is very, very limited) and I think it works since Lucy is also very removed from her Chinese heritage. Sometimes it felt strange when she was translating phrases she clearly understood, but it helped me as a reader to understand the story (I'm not sure if that would be annoying to any Chinese speakers though).

 

There were discussions of what it means to be Chinese American (nothing too explicit/didactic) and some causal racism/microaggressions that were handled in a realistic way.

 

I also love the way Shang handled the tension between Lucy and Yi Po. It wasn't a linear progression, but one that felt natural and ended in a sad yet satisfying way.

 

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu is a well-written, all together enjoyable MG read. Check it out.

I am not sure if I liked the book or hated it. So 2 stars for now.

Sorry, but Lucy was for most of the book a whiny, conceited little brat. She started to change around halfway, but sorry, that won't save the book any more for me.

I really wanted to slap Lucy and tell her to just look at the good things instead of focussing on everything that is OH SO BAD, boohoo. 

Sure her parents also aren't that great, not telling Lucy about things, or having high expectations of her. And Regina, gosh I was so happy she was out of the picture soon. I can't imagine a whole book with miss know-it-all and miss I-am-sooo-much-better-than-you. I really hate that kind of character.

And we still didn't have any conclusive in regards with Harrison and Lucy. I would love to know if they got a bit further then the whole shuffle-around-each-other-phase, which was just awkward.

So yeah, nice book at times, but mostly I was just annoyed with most of the characters.

I am not sure if I liked the book or hated it. So 2 stars for now.

Sorry, but Lucy was for most of the book a whiny, conceited little brat. She started to change around halfway, but sorry, that won't save the book any more for me.

I really wanted to slap Lucy and tell her to just look at the good things instead of focussing on everything that is OH SO BAD, boohoo.

Sure her parents also aren't that great, not telling Lucy about things, or having high expectations of her. And Regina, gosh I was so happy she was out of the picture soon. I can't imagine a whole book with miss know-it-all and miss I-am-sooo-much-better-than-you. I really hate that kind of character.

And we still didn't have any conclusive in regards with Harrison and Lucy. I would love to know if they got a bit further then the whole shuffle-around-each-other-phase, which was just awkward.

So yeah, nice book at times, but mostly I was just annoyed with most of the characters.

loved it! This book will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy. It is so full of love and so much fun to read. It made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes.