The Great Wall of Lucy Wu - by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Paperback)

About the Book

A humorous and heartwarming debut about split cultural identities, and all the ways life fails to go according to plan for sixth-grader Lucy Wu. "[T]hought-provoking, funny, and incredibly heartwarming."N"Booklist."

Book Synopsis

A humorous and heartwarming debut about split cultural identities, and all the ways life fails to go according to plan for sixth-grader Lucy Wu.

Lucy Wu, aspiring basketball star and interior designer, is on the verge of having the best year of her life. She's ready to rule the school as a sixth grader, go out for captain of the school basketball team, and take over the bedroom she has always shared with her sister. In an instant, though, her plans are shattered when she finds out that Yi Po, her beloved grandmother's sister, is coming to visit for several months -- and is staying in Lucy's room. Lucy's vision of a perfect year begins to crumble, and in its place come an unwelcome roommate, foiled birthday plans, a bully who tries to scare Lucy off the basketball team, and Chinese school with the annoying know-it-all Talent Chang. Lucy's year is ruined -- or is it? A wonderfully funny, warm, and heartfelt tale about the ways life often reveals silver linings in the most unexpected of clouds.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Great Wall of Lucy Wu: Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Children's Literature"A delightful story about assimilation and family dynamics . . . sure to appeal to young readers struggling with issues of self-identity, whatever their heritage." -- Los Angeles Times"Thought-provoking, funny, and incredibly heartwarming." -- Booklist"A realistic and amusing portrait of family dynamics, heritage, and the challenge of feeling like an outsider." -- Publishers Weekly"Genuinely touching." -- Kirkus Reviews"A unique look at the power of family." -- Discovery Girls Magazine

""A delightful story about assimilation and family dynamics, 'The Great Wall of Lucy Wu' is sure to appeal to young readers struggling with issues of self-identity, whatever their heritage."" -Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Wendy Wan-Long Shang is the author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which was awarded the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature; The Way Home Looks Now, an Amelia Bloomer Project List selection and a CCBC Choices List selection; The Secret Battle of Evan Pao, which received multiple starred reviews; Sydney Taylor Honor Book This Is Just a Test, which she cowrote with Madelyn Rosenberg; and Not Your All-American Girl, a Tablet Magazine Best Children's Book, also cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg. She lives with her family in the suburbs of Washington, DC.