From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026…

Finally Seen

Kelly Yang

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 30, 2023

Discussion: Newbery 2024

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Newbery 2024

* 2024 ALA Newbery Award
By Kristen · 36 posts · 198 views

last updated Feb 03, 2024 05:00AM

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* Final Round - 2024 Mock Newbery Award
By Kristen · 34 posts · 187 views

last updated Jan 16, 2024 06:26AM

What Members Thought

Feb 26, 2024 Barbara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: art, languages, prejudice, cooking, friendship, cultural-identity, education, loss, death, journeys

Although this middle-grade novel might have a little too much going on as far as plots and subplots go, it's another fine read [3.5] from the reliable Kelly Yang. Surely, there will be plenty of readers who will see themselves in its pages, whether they are immigrants or not. The protagonist, Lina Gao, arrives in California when she is ten, having been separated from her parents and living with her grandmother for five years. Lina, a talented artist, has dreamed of what life might be like with h Although this middle-grade novel might have a little too much going on as far as plots and subplots go, it's another fine read [3.5] from the reliable Kelly Yang. Surely, there will be plenty of readers who will see themselves in its pages, whether they are immigrants or not. The protagonist, Lina Gao, arrives in California when she is ten, having been separated from her parents and living with her grandmother for five years. Lina, a talented artist, has dreamed of what life might be like with her family, especially after the rosy picture her mother has painted. But to her surprise, nothing is the way she expected. For starters, the family lives in a cramped apartment without a bathtub, they owe back rent due to the pandemic, and her father is hardly ever home since he works long hours at grueling tasks on an organic, regenerative farm. As Lina struggles to fit in, she encounters racism and the same sort of treatment that she experienced in China from classmates who ridiculed her for being left behind by her parents. One classmate, Jessica, constantly belittles her for her awkward English and emergent reading skills, while another one, Finn, is almost overly helpful, offering to translate for her when he only knows the words for certain Chinese dishes. Eventually, Lina finds her way, through the help of a patient ELL teacher, Mrs. Ortiz; a savvy librarian, Mrs. Hollins; and Mrs. Carter, a teacher open to the possibilities of graphic novels as teaching tools. In some respects this book is a shout-out to all those teachers and librarians who work so hard to reach their students through engaging reading material as well as rebuttal to all those would-be censors who want to remove certain materials from classroom and/or library shelves since part of the plot concerns a parent who dislikes graphic novels, regards the one that Mrs. Carter is reading aloud to be divisive, and she complains to the administration about the book. Teachers will love this book for that part. It made me want to cheer, but I also loved small touches that made the book seem authentic to its main character, calling a Green card a "leafy card," for instance, or thinking that the offer of "something else" when choosing an ice cream is actually a flavor. Her mother's wishful trips to the Imagination Hotel added depth and verisimilitude to the story as so many children and adults dream of what their future will be but in an over-the-top way. The relationship between Lina and her Lao Lao is so poignant, and I wonder what will happen there. In the end, I was pleased that Lina found her voice and was finally seen and heard. ...more

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Mar 04, 2023 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Richie’s Picks: FINALLY SEEN by Kelly Yang, Simon & Schuster, February 2023, 304p., ISBN: 978-1-5344-8833-5

“Welcome to our most glorious nation
Papers please, and we'll get you on you way
Please, provide some identification
Tell me now, how long do you plan to stay?”
– Random Encounters, “Papers Please” (2018)

“Heart-glasses girl shrugs.
The cupcake purse steps up to the counter. ‘Can I get two free samples?’
‘Absolutely!’ the staff member behind the counter says.
Mom pokes me with a smile. I watch in d ...more

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Jun 12, 2023 Dolores rated it really liked it

Shelves: juvenile, self-esteem, friendship, middle-grade, new-house-school, courage, diverse-cast, strong-heroine, homeschooling, artists

When Lina's parents went to America in search of a new life, they took her younger sister along--but left Lina in China with her Grandmother. Five years later, they are finally ready for Lina to come, but Lina feels like she doesn't even know her family any more. Nothing is like it was in the letters her parents sent, her little sister is SO American, and there isn't even a single picture of Lina up in the house. When she starts school and the students laugh at her mistakes, Lina just stops talk ...more

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Aug 06, 2024 Mari Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Sunshine State Reader nominee....
A sweet, poignant story with a lot of heart. I felt like it dealt with the issue of banking books with a fairly even hand and didn't make it overly political.

Recommended for grades 3-6. ...more

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