The Newbery books of 2023 - Freewater - D&A September 2025

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

2023 Medal Winner:

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

2023 Honor Books:

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat (Gee, that name is familiar!)
Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I've actually already enjoyed Maizy Chen's story and recommend it. Off to request the others!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I, personally, gave Iveliz Explains It All three stars but I have no doubt it's a better, and more important, read for others.

I did notice one thing early on: Sometimes it's difficult to understand the Spanish words, but mostly I can get them from context, and from what little I've picked up over the years. It's an exercise in empathy for me, of course, too; I'm reminded what it must be like to be a person learning English, or learning to master reading independently.

My review goes on to say a lot more.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Reading The Last Mapmaker.

Takes 77 pp to get past the street urchin w/ a drunk & shiftless father setup. By the time we meet Grebe on the ship, I've forgotten about the boy from the fens who we now see on this ship. And I'm not nearly as convinced as Sai is that her mentor would be pissed if the secret that Sai doesn't have a proper family, who will provide her with a lineal, came out. But maybe I'm just too jaded of a reader.

And how do other reviewers know that this is about Thai culture? Apparently the author is of Thai heritage and visits family there often, so are readers just assuming that the world that is being built is based on Thailand?

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Done. I've no idea how true to Thai culture it is. No author's note. The theme of colonialism is important, so I guess I'm glad this was recognized by the Newbery committee and will therefore find more readers, but honestly it's just not that interesting a story, at least to me.

Her father is revealed as someone to pity, someone who did try to do, and be, better, but honestly I just can't have much sympathy for him. I do like that gender doesn't seem to have much to do with anything. Captain and villain are both female, as is Doctor.

"You could fill the ocean with sailors' tales and have no more than a thimbleful of truth in the whole thing."

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I gave up on Freewater after reading the first few pages and the author's note. I just can't deal with the traumatic intensity. And then I read some negative reviews. Notable is this: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... The Library Lady is a good source of information; if I'd read her review before requesting the read the book I might not have even tried.

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

The only book of this bunch that I have read was The Last Mapmaker by Soontornvat. I did like it, I think mostly for the adventure aspect of the story. But I didn't write a review for the book.
I read some summaries of Maizy Chen's Last Chance. If her grandparents are Chinese, as seems evident from the summaries, why are they called Oma and Opa--German names for grandma and grandpa, not the Chinese names? That just seems weird to me.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Beverly wrote: "The only book of this bunch that I have read was The Last Mapmaker by Soontornvat. I did like it, I think mostly for the adventure aspect of the story. But I didn't write a review for the book.
I r..."

I checked online if Oma and Opa could also be Chinese, but they are basically German or Dutch, so yes, that would be weird.

I was not going to bother reading the books, but now I am interested since online it also states that the Oma and Oma thing results from a linguistic misunderstanding.

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

Manybooks wrote: "Beverly wrote: "The only book of this bunch that I have read was The Last Mapmaker by Soontornvat. I did like it, I think mostly for the adventure aspect of the story. But I didn't write a review f..."

I looked up the Mandarin Chinese words for grandma and grandpa.
The words depend on whether one is speaking of maternal or paternal grandparents; and neither set of words is anywhere near sounding like "Oma" or "Opa."

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Beverly wrote: "The only book of this bunch that I have read was The Last Mapmaker by Soontornvat. I did like it, I think mostly for the adventure aspect of the story. But I didn'..."

It seems it was some kind of a linguistic miscue, that a German speaking midwife in the USA (in the 19th century) used the term Oma and Opa and it was assumed by a Chinese American boy that in the USA Oma and Opa meant grandma and grandpa (and this became a family tradition). Found this online but of course will need to read the book in order to verify.

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

Manybooks wrote: "Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Beverly wrote: "The only book of this bunch that I have read was The Last Mapmaker by Soontornvat. I did like it, I think mostly for the adventure aspect of the st..."

Thanks for the explanation. I don't have time to read the book myself.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Beverly wrote: "The only book of this bunch that I have read was The Last Mapmaker by Soontornvat. I did like it, I think mostly for the adventur..."

I will see if I can get a copy because I am definitely linguistically intrigued now, but I am not all that interested either.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I am rereading it in audio, since apparently audiobooks are a thing I'm doing now. [sigh] I'll listen for the explanation.

The grandparents have lived most of their lives in a small town in Minnesota, which has a large German population. I wouldn't be surprised if they've adopted somethings from neighbors. They've adopted recipes, for sure, serving cream cheese wontons and chop suey for example. (It's funny how that comes up, and it's near the beginning, so read that far at least.)

In fact, one of the themes of the book is that ancestry & culture are not simple... starting with what the question "Where are you from?" means to different people with different agendas.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "I am rereading it in audio, since apparently audiobooks are a thing I'm doing now. [sigh] I'll listen for the explanation.

The grandparents have lived most of their lives in a small town in Minne..."

When I was in Mannheim, Germany, on a university exchange, one of my roommates was Chinese/German (Chinese mother and German father) and aside from her having huge amounts of freckles, she made the most amazing German food with a distinctive Chinese flair and also told me that with regard to basic ingredients, German and Chinese food was actually pretty similar, with lots of pork and fermented vegetables (her wontons filled with Sauerkraut were just delightful, and she also made Spätzle with stir fried vegetables that I still make today, although I use dried Spätzle since making them fresh takes a lot of work and I usually get the batter all over the kitchen).

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

That sounds amazing!

So, the audiobook isn't a great way to 'read' this but I'm glad I'm doing it anyway. I misremembered one bit of key information for one thing - turns out Maizy is Fifth generation American. The reason the grandparents are called Oma and Opa is funny; I won't spoil it for you.

It is a good story if one is interested in immigration and racism issues.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "That sounds amazing!

So, the audiobook isn't a great way to 'read' this but I'm glad I'm doing it anyway. I misremembered one bit of key information for one thing - turns out Maizy is Fifth genera..."

Yup, Spätzle can actually be used to replace all kinds of pasta.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Maizy Chen's Last Chance


Absolutely love the story, both Maizy's voice and the main narrative as well as Opa's stories about the Chen family history (which also includes why in Maizy's family they call grandparents Oma and Opa). A lovely story about family, friendship, immigration, fighting against racist idiots, five stars from me (but that unfortunately, what this story is about and that Lisa Yee points out anti immigrant sentiment, racist laws and the like could also easily get Maizy Chen's Last Chance challenged and/or banned).

And yes, I also do love how friendship, belonging, settling into a new country is also unilaterally tied to food (with much of Maizy Chen's Last Chance dealing with Maizy Chen's family's Golden Palace Chines restaurant and also Werner's German sausage restaurant and how there is a recipe for an American/Chinese fusion recipe for cream cheese wontons included, and that Opa and Werner begin mending their fraught friendship with food, with Opa once again eating and enjoying Werner's German Bratwursts).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I am so glad! I really did expect you to like it!

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "I am so glad! I really did expect you to like it!"

And you were right.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Started with Iveliz Explains It All, and I do have to pointedly ask (I guess the publisher) why the font size has to be so tiny. This is giving me eyestrain even with me wearing reading glasses and is giving me a bad mood as well.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Agreed! No need for small font size!!

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "Agreed! No need for small font size!!"

I started reading and ended up with a headache.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Iveliz Explains It All


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Free verse text is engaging, emotionally satisfying and also feels in many ways personally relatable as well. Five stars for Andrea Beatriz Arango's text, but lowered to four stars as the tiny font was so painful to read with my ageing eyes that I actually had to skim since I was getting eyestrain and a budding migraine.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

I have not read Freewater (not really interested enough to try to obtain a copy) and I have not yet started with The Last Mapmaker.

I have enjoyed both Maizy Chen's Last Chance and Iveliz Explains It All (but I have enjoyed Maizy's story a bit better than Iveliz', and indeed, the font size for Maizy Chen's Last Chance is much larger and considerably more easy to read than for Iveliz Explains It All).

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

(smiles)