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Starred review from January 23, 2023
Written by 12 authors, including Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Grace Lin, Linda Sue Park, and editor Oh, a dozen vibrantly told, overlapping stories center East and Southeast Asian American characters at a Chicago airport as a thunderstorm delays departing flights. “Something to Declare” by Christina Soontornvat sets the stage, describing a TSA checkpoint incident involving Thai American Paul and his family. The event triggers a discriminatory domino effect that echoes throughout the other narratives, which converge seamlessly. In Mike Chen’s “Jam Session,” security guards harass musician Lee Chang about his instrument case: “You don’t look like someone who plays guitar.” Traci Chee’s “Costumes” involves Natalie Nakahara confronting her white best friend about trying to look Japanese: “My face isn’t a costume... it’s not something you can just parade around in like a cosplay outfit.” Witnessing characters across the stories take a stand, each protagonist is empowered to speak out against cultural assumptions, model minority stereotypes, and racism. Callbacks and details are effectively interwoven throughout each telling, making for an intersectionally diverse, multifaceted collaboration that’s artfully conceived and executed. Ages 8–12. Agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt and Zacker Literary.

Starred review from April 1, 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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2023
In this collection of linked short stories, a nasty storm strikes Chicago's (fictional) Gateway International Airport, delaying flights and suspending travel plans. Twelve-year-old Paul and his family, who are flying to Thailand to visit family, are stopped by security when his grandfather's remains, which his grandmother is trying to bring aboard the plane, trigger an alarm; then Paul's missing little sister causes subsequent delays. In the midst of the chaos, readers meet eleven other Asian American young people throughout the airport who find themselves in situations where they witness and experience (and also stand up to) racism: Mindy, an adoptee from Korea who doesn't feel ready to visit the country of her biological origin; Ari, who is tired of explaining that she is Jewish and Chinese; Jane, whose Gonggong (grandfather) was attacked for simply being Asian. Oh and the other eleven short-story authors -- who include Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Linda Sue Park, and Christina Soontornvat -- paint a picture of what it means to navigate being Asian American in a post-2020 world, where the burden of being blamed for COVID-19 is thrust on young shoulders. An editor's note defines the term Asian American and explains the rationale for highlighting East and Southeast Asian American experiences. Gabi K. Huesca

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 15, 2023
Interwoven stories explore themes of identity and belonging from the perspectives of 12 young Southeast and East Asian Americans. Noted crowd pleasers, including Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Linda Sue Park, Randy Ribay, and Christina Soontornvat, contribute to this volume. As a storm rages outside a chaotic Chicago airport, an interruption at a TSA checkpoint involving Thai American Paul and his family sparks racist rumors and confusion. The event has a ripple effect on each of the protagonists' lives, prompting them to find their voices and fight for what's right in their own ways as uncomfortable feelings bubble to the surface. Each story is seamlessly interconnected with the whole, allowing moments to be revisited from multiple points of view and creating a sense of intrigue as readers piece together the larger picture. Although each character's journey leads them to different destinations--a guitar jam session, a basketball tournament, a first trip to Vietnam--there are glowing moments of solidarity ranging from the subtle to the profound as they cross paths. The stories are imbued with a strong sense of authentic lived experiences as well as moments that will resonate with readers of other backgrounds, prompting examination of their own interactions or unconscious biases; it welcomes non-Asian readers to learn and connect. This remarkable anthology offers a warm and heartfelt reassurance to all those who recognize themselves reflected in its pages: You are seen, and you do belong. Compelling and nuanced. (editor's note, meet the authors) (Fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from December 1, 2022
Grades 4-7 *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, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
In this collection of linked short stories, a nasty storm strikes Chicago's (fictional) Gateway International Airport, delaying flights and suspending travel plans. Twelve-year-old Paul and his family, who are flying to Thailand to visit family, are stopped by security when his grandfather's remains, which his grandmother is trying to bring aboard the plane, trigger an alarm; then Paul's missing little sister causes subsequent delays. In the midst of the chaos, readers meet eleven other Asian American young people throughout the airport who find themselves in situations where they witness and experience (and also stand up to) racism: Mindy, an adoptee from Korea who doesn't feel ready to visit the country of her biological origin; Ari, who is tired of explaining that she is Jewish and Chinese; Jane, whose Gonggong (grandfather) was attacked for simply being Asian. Oh and the other eleven short-story authors -- who include Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Linda Sue Park, and Christina Soontornvat -- paint a picture of what it means to navigate being Asian American in a post-2020 world, where the burden of being blamed for COVID-19 is thrust on young shoulders. An editor's note defines the term Asian American and explains the rationale for highlighting East and Southeast Asian American experiences.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)