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| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
An incident at a TSA security check point sows chaos and rumors, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport.
| Editor: | Oh, Ellen |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.10 Points: 8.0 Quiz: 520698 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (01/15/23)
School Library Journal (+) (04/01/23)
Booklist (+) (12/01/23)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (+) (00/05/23)
The Hornbook (00/05/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 12/01/2022 *Starred Review* This short-story collection is unusual in several ways. Each story features a different East or Southeast Asian American young person. Some of them will observe, meet, or talk with others from the group. And all 12 stories take place on the same day in the same place: Gateway International Airport in Chicago, where a thunderstorm has led to numerous flight delays and cancellations, unhappy travelers, and crowded terminals. Each story has a different author and is complete within itself, yet the collection becomes more than the sum of its parts when readers become aware of the connecting characters and thematic links among the stories. A bystander in one narrative might be the protagonist in another, and one character’s choices may unintentionally affect another’s thoughts, decisions, and actions going forward. Some help others even when it involves some personal risk, while several stand up for themselves or their friends by explaining microaggressions, confronting prejudice, or speaking candidly to their parents. The list of authors includes familiar names such as Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, and Christina Soontornvat as well as other writers. The individual narratives are consistently engaging and rewarding, and together they form a unique collection of interconnected stories about young, contemporary Asian American characters. High-Demand Backstory: With a roster of high-profile authors in the contributor list, expect those writers' fans to be eager to get their hands on this one. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 04/01/2023 Gr 4–7—In this beautifully written short story anthology edited by Oh, every main character has three things in common: they are all East or Southeast Asian American; they are all stuck in an international Chicago airport with every flight delayed or canceled; and they all have racist interactions, most of them with the same white woman in a pink sweater who repeatedly spouts anti-Asian xenophobic comments. As quoted in Linda Sue Park's introduction, each author (including Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, and Christina Soontornvat) is "refusing to buy into the model-minority fraud, they're exploring what it means to be Asian American on their own terms." All of these characters are on unique journeys (shuttling between divorced parents, aspiring to become a rock star, visiting family in Thailand) and readers can feel how the authors bring their own life experiences to them. Every intertwined story builds on one another, allowing readers to see the same interactions from different angles and perspectives. Many of the characters experience racism so casual (and in a setting heavily informed by contemporary pandemic-related sinophobia) that it will probably make some readers examine their own biases, unconscious or not. In a world where anti-Asian hate is on the rise and a mass shooting occurred on the Lunar New Year, this collection is not only important, but essential. VERDICT A must-purchase for all middle grade collections.—Kerri L. Williams - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
