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Ma, Diana

The Unbeatable Lily Hong

304 pp. | HarperCollins/Clarion | January, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9780358617235 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780063341876 $11.99
(2) 4-6 Ma offers a fresh take on the local fundraiser story by weaving in themes of community, identity, and gentrification. Nerdy, mythology-obsessed Lily Hong, twelve, leads a split life in the Seattle exurbs. At school, Lily competes academically with Max Zhang, the other Chinese American student in her seventh-grade class. After school, Lily reluctantly attends her parents' Mandarin academy at the local community center. She yearns to make a Buffy-style vampire film for the local talent competition, but problems arise when Max's rich parents want to buy the building and replace the community center with a new office building. The Hongs organize a last-minute Chinese dance fundraising show; suddenly Lily is taking fan- and lion-dance lessons alongside her archnemesis and discovers there is more behind his snobby facade. Ma empathetically portrays Lily's conflict between making the film with friends and her family obligations. A little-known phoenix myth is cleverly used as a symbol to show Lily's slow realization of how important the Chinese school and community center are to her and her small town. An enjoyable read, especially for arts-obsessed or community-focused tweens.
Reviewer: Michelle Lee | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

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