The Way Home Looks Now - by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1972, after his older brother is killed in a car crash, Peter Lee's mother is paralyzed by grief and his traditional Chinese father seems emotionally frozen--but Peter hopes that if he joins a Little League team in Pittsburgh he can reawaken the passion for baseball that all the members of his family used to share and bring them back to life.

Book Synopsis

From the award-winning author of THE GREAT WALL OF LUCY WU comes a beautifully written and poignant story of family and loss, healing and friendship, and the great American pastime, baseball.

Twelve-year-old Chinese American Peter Lee and his family always shared a passion for baseball, bonding over backlot games and the Pittsburgh Pirates. But when a devastating tragedy strikes, the family flies apart and Peter's mom becomes paralyzed by grief, drifting further and further from her family. Hoping to lift his mother's spirits, Peter decides to try out for Little League. But his plans become suddenly complicated when his strict and serious father volunteers to coach the team. His dad's unconventional teaching methods rub some of Peter's teammates the wrong way, and Peter starts to wonder if playing baseball again was the right idea -- and if it can even help his family feel less broken. Can the game they all love eventually bring them back together, safe at home?Acclaimed author Wendy Wan-Long Shang brings her signature warmth, gentle humor, and wisdom to this poignant story of healing and loss, family, and the great American pastime, baseball.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Way Home Looks Now: A CCBC Choices selectionBook Page Best of the Year selectionAmelia Bloomer Project List selectionNational Book Festival Great Reads selection* "[A] fine story of family, loss, growing up and learning to play baseball, raised to a higher level by gracefully incorporated themes of feminism and kindness." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Shang (The Great Wall of Lucy Wu) skillfully balances the different aspects of Peter's life, robustly characterizing his friendships and his time at school and home. Issues of sexism, racism, and struggles with depression are handled deftly in scenarios grounded in reality, including an ending that's hopeful without being pat." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"Readers will cheer Peter on as his love for his family drives him to persevere at home and on the field. Parallels between home plate and home as place abound as grief completes its work and relationships are restored. Interwoven with cultural ties to both Peter's Chinese heritage and to the women's liberation movement, this touching novel shows the importance of patience - baseball." -- BooklistPraise 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

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; Bubble Trouble; 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.