Customer Reviews

Seeing Emily

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"Seeing Emily" is a real find, engaging and poignant. Formally simple yet poetically and thematically rich, Joyce Lee Wong's writing possesses the depth, delicacy and force of authenticity. Very highly recommended.

The novel weaves together a series of poems through which unfold the story and portrait of a Chinese-American teenager as she discovers and crafts her own identity. As Emily's childhood memories are collaged with more fragmented experiences from her fledgling present, the imagery is at times stark, lyrical, blunt and startlingly beautiful. At its best the poetry combines striking images with an unusual gentleness and warmth which subtly convey the author's profound feeling for her own roots.

Emily's close relationship with her parents, movingly depicted, is at the core of her strength even as it is her own examination of this closeness which propels her to break from the confines of her family background. Here, the refinement of Chinese culture -- skillfully communicated through a haunting accuracy of images rather than through philosophy -- and the dynamism of American youth form a tender mix.

Lee Wong also explores both thematically and stylistically the link between the transformative natures of love and art, as she pairs Emily's growing confidence as a young adult with her development as a painter.

The directness and beauty of the author's style give an elegance to the book's complex layering of meanings, while affecting the reader's heart in a disarmingly straightforward way.

The transformation of Emily's perspectives on herself, her parents, and her friends in shifting contexts will speak to any young person who has experienced a sense of being outside the mainstream, and to any reader who relishes fine and hopeful writing.

This is beautiful coming of age story. The poetic style is well written and striking in its imagery. I loved the cat themes. This was a great quick read and I think it will resonate well with teenage girls, who can relate to Emily's quest to see her true self, regardless of the racial elements of this book, which are also well done. This great pick.

Sixteen year old Emily has always done what is expected of her. She works hard, stays out of trouble, and gets along well with her parents. After meeting a new guy at school, Emily decides that like her drawings and paintings, she would like to be a blank canvas, ready to be designed differently. However, when Nick tries to get her to become someone she isn't, Emily becomes confused as to who she really is. A trip to her parents' homeland of Taiwan, Emily finds out who she really is.
The beauty of this novel is the metaphors. Emily's poetry often compares her feelings to that of animals in a poignant way. "I imagined I was a cat, her eyes shining as she watches a goldfish/ that shimmers on the floor" (Wong 12). The imagery is detailed and moving. During the course of the story, Emily is working on a mural for her school. The mascot is a tiger, so many references are made to the tiger and its prey, paralleling Nick and Emily's relationship and her own struggle to find herself. While the comparisons are clear, a teen reader would not feel overwhelmed with "lecturing" by the morale of the story. "Taking Flight" and the following poem "The Dance" cut to the heart of the matter: a tiger chasing a monkey and Nick forcing Emily to be someone she is not. These two poems could be a pair reading for high school students, comparing the poem about the animals to the one about a relationship that doesn't feel right. Many students struggle with writing metaphors or similes without using clichés, and these two poems balance each other perfectly.
A part of "Taking Flight"
With a rustle of leaves
and a graceful leap
to another tree,
the monkey swings herself away,
disappearing into the green.
Even after she's gone
her screams echo back
so raucous and wild
they startle
a flock of birds. (178)

A part of "The Dance"
Even the blessedly hot
water shooting out
from the shower head,
beating down loud
against the glass walls,
couldn't drown out
the words,
my geisha,
Emily,
My geisha (181).
In addition to discussing the rich language, the topic of fitting in is always timely with teens. They struggle to find their place, and this book examines a Chinese American girl's road to self-discovery.


I reviewed this book for my poetry class at Texas Woman's University for my master of library science degree.

Sixteen year old Emily is trying to make her place in the world, but first she has to figure out who she is as a person. She has wonderful skills as an artist, which have been nurtured by her mother who is also an artist. On weekends, she works in her family's Chinese restaurant and at school she seems quite respected by her teachers and she has two close friends. Emily is the only Chinese student in her school until Alex Huang appears and they're assigned to work on a school mural together because they are both so talented. After having been the only Chinese student in her school, Emily is unsure how to accept Alex into her world. Besides that, there's Nick, a hot White guy that she's attracted to and who happens to like her as well. Emily doesn't realize his attraction is based solely upon his quest for the exotic until she has a very awkward dinner with his parents. Wong provides realistic insights into Emily's life as an ABC (American Born Chinese) who doesn't feel that she fits in in the US or in Taiwan. Emily pushes limits to question and shape her identity and when her parents sense her flailing, they send her to Taiwan under the guise of learning Chinese.

Seeing Emily is told in free verse. I typically have issues with this format, however in this scene in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, you can actually feel Emily shrinking as she becomes aware of the errors of her ways.

Hearing the sincerity in his voice,

I thought of the resentment,

even anger I'd been feeling

toward my parents

before I left for Taipei

and I felt a twinge

of regret, perhaps

or even guilt.

Through Emily and Alex, Wong relates the heavy expectations placed on immigrant children, not only for cultural reasons but to fulfill the dreams of parents who left their homeland so that their children could have a better life. Emily grew up speaking Chinese in her home and she learned English herself when she began school. I had never really considered the skills it would take for a child to be able to make the connections to be able to maneuver between two different languages. Wong didn't point this out, it was just an `aha moment'.

Impulsively, I say, "Tell me in Chinese."

Alex looked surprised.

"I didn't know you knew Chinese."

"I don't know it very well," I said.

"But I'm trying to improve."

"Mei ban fa. Wang ze cheng long." he said.

"Did you understand that?"


"Your mother said, `There's no help for it.'

But what does `wang zi cheng long' mean?"


"That's the part I was trying to translate.

It's a saying that expresses the hope

of Chinese parents

that their sons will one day

become dragons,

and that their daughters will become

phoenixes. This means

they want their children to grow up

to achieve their fullest potential."



As I considered this,

I understood Alex's mother was saying

that she accepted the inevitable yet wished for the best,

every imaginable blessing

for her son.

To Alex, I said, smiling

"Your mother hopes

you'll become a dragon."

In Seeing Emily, we find a talented author who takes us inside Taiwanese culture, who paints events with vivid accuracy and creates a character for whom we can't help but like. Seeing Emily was an International Reading Association Notable Book and was widely reviewed. At this time, it is Wong's only book

"SEEING EMILY" by Joyce Lee Wong is a delightful and refreshing read.

Joyce Lee Wong's poetic writing style was like sweet music to my ears.
I saw myself in her descriptions. I highly recommend this book.

Seeing Emily is a novel told in free verse poetry. While this allows the author to weave in beautiful symbolism and meaning, it also can be slow in places. Emily is Chinese-American, the only child of a couple that runs a Chinese restaurant in Virginia. She is struggling with issues of identity, wearing lipstick, dating white boys, and finds expression through her art. What I really liked about how her struggles were depicted was that she always had respect towards her parents, there were never screaming fights or things like that. They didn't always understand her, but they loved her, and she acknowledged and appreciated that. Too many young adult novels portray the struggles of growing up and differentiating from your parents as this epic battle, but not all teenagers go through that. Details of the Chinese culture were woven throughout, and quite interesting, and I liked how Chinese words were occasionally used.

The plot wasn't hugely original, and I did have to question its relevance. I grew up in a big city where Chinese-Americans were commonplace, so the way she is teased for being 'different,' etc, seems a bit out-dated to me. While the poetry is gorgeous I have to question whether or not a teenager would be willing to stick with it, and would only recommend this book to dedicated readers. Even still, most adults would enjoy it.