Finally Seen

Five years after her parents left her in Beijing with her maternal grandparents, Lina Gao eagerly awaits being reunited in America, where she’ll be starting the fifth grade. Though she’s sad to leave her beloved Lao Lao behind, she’s enthusiastic about what she perceives as the American dream: endless Frappuccinos and saying “I love you” all the time without embarrassment. But American life isn’t how her parents have described it in letters. The two-story house she’s been told about is actually an apartment, its back rent looming ever since the pandemic closed the salon that employed her mother. To make ends meet, Lina’s mom sells bath bombs online, while her father works long hours for an irritable, xenophobic farmer who engages in shady business practices. As Lina attempts to adapt, facing bullying at school, she finds solace in the form of an encouraging teacher, new friends, and the school library. And gradually, when a class book selection that resonates deeply with Lina is challenged, her growing confidence develops into a tool she can use to speak out. In a thematically wide-ranging, character-driven novel, Yang (Front Desk) highlights the importance of representation alongside one child’s experience of navigating a complex reality. Ages 8–12. Agent: Tina Dubois, ICM Partners. (Feb.)