Gr 4 Up—When 11-year-old Maizy's grandfather falls ill, she and her mother visit her grandparents for the first time.
While helping to run their Chinese restaurant, Maizy learns about her family history with enduring roots in the town
since the 1880s. This fast-paced, humorous, heartwarming tale will appeal to readers of all ages.

Maizy Chen spends the summer away from her LA home to visit her grandparents in Last Chance, MN. Her grandparents run a Chinese restaurant in town and they are the only Asian American family. Maizy and her mother are visiting because Opa is sick and her Oma needs help in the restaurant. Maizy time in Last Chance givers her an opportunity to more about the family restaurant the Golden Palace and her family legacy in Last Chance. While Maizy ask questions to learn more about her family's history, she learns that people can surprise you and she finds both family and new friends in Last Chance aren't always as they appear.

This is a great middle school book! I thought the story within a story worked well, as did the combination of historical and realistic fiction. Great tribute to Chinese Americans and immigrant families. ( )

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 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. ( )

Great audiobook! This is exactly the kind of book I expect to get Newbery recognition because it's well-written with a serious history element and a memorable kid narrator. The author struck a nice balance between serious themes (like racism and an ailing family member) and lighter fare (like writing fortunes for fortune cookies and watching reality TV). It reminded me a lot of [b:Front Desk|36127488|Front Desk (Front Desk, #1)|Kelly Yang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507986199l/36127488._SX50_.jpg|51903030] (even the covers look like they could be by from the same artist). ( )

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 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. ( )