Seeing Emily
Grade 6-9–In free verse, 16-year-old Emily Wu, a talented artist, describes her daily life as she interacts with her Chinese immigrant parents; with her best friends, Nina and Liz; and with her first boyfriend, Nick. In the process, she lies to her parents, experiments with makeup, and, little by little, loses her values. Readers will smell the aromas of the traditional dishes that her mother cooks, see the vibrant colors of the mural she paints, and relate to the discussions she and her friends have about grades, parents, and boys. They will also sense Baba and Mama's concern when they decide to send Emily to visit her aunt in Taiwan, where she comes to the realization that she can be both Chinese and American. Rich in language and imagery,Seeing Emilyis a good choice for fiction collections.–Pat Bender, The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.