The Great Wall Of Lucy Wu [Hardcover]

Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2011 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 700L (What's this?)

In this humorous and heartfelt debut about a split cultural identity, nothing goes according to plan for sixth-grader Lucy Wu.

Lucy Wu, aspiring basketball star and interior designer, is on the verge of having the best year of her life. She's ready to rule the school as a sixth grader and take over the bedroom she has always shared with her sister. In an instant, though, her plans are shattered when she finds out that Yi Po, her beloved grandmother's sister, is coming to visit for several months -- and is staying in Lucy's room. Lucy's vision of a perfect year begins to crumble, and in its place come an unwelcome roommate, foiled birthday plans, and Chinese school with the awful Talent Chang.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Lucy knows that sixth grade is going to be the best year ever: she finally gets her own room now that her older sister is off to college, and she and her friend Madison are ready to rule the basketball courts. But Lucy's parents put a glitch in those plans when her father returns from a business trip to China with Lucy's great-aunt, who will visit until Christmas. Lucy again has a roommate, and resents this elderly lady who does not speak English and cooks only Chinese food for a family used to pizza and burgers. To make matters worse, her parents insist that she attend Chinese school on Saturday mornings, which means forgoing basketball practice. She is busy with her suburban American life and doesn't feel the need to converse in Chinese or to dwell on Chinese traditions. Slowly, though, she comes to appreciate all that Yi Po has lived through and the quiet ways that her great-aunt shows her love for the family. When Lucy is bullied by a popular girl, she thinks about what her brother told her about Yi Po's life during China's Cultural Revolution and determines that she will act with similar courage and conviction. Lucy is an engaging character, and Shang skillfully weaves in Chinese history and legend as she brings the relationships between Lucy and her family and friends to life. Fans of Grace Lin's Year of the Dog (2006) and Year of the Rat (2008, both Little, Brown) will enjoy meeting this feisty protagonist as she learns to dismantle some walls she has built around herself.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Lucy planned on having the best sixth-grade year ever. Her perfect older sister is going to college, so Lucy, about to turn 12, will finally have her own room to decorate with the help of her best friend and fellow basketball teammate, Madison. Instead, she gets Yi Po, her beloved late grandmother�s long-lost sister from China, who is coming to visit for half the school year and will be sharing Lucy�s room. Lucy doesn�t even speak Chinese, something her sister constantly belittles her about: You�re a banana, a Twinkie, white on the inside. In protest, Lucy builds a wall of furniture that separates her side of the room from Yi Po�s and vows she won�t like her great aunt. Shang�s solid debut wonderfully captures the seemingly unbearable unfairness of being a tween balanced between two cultures. Lucy�s struggles and frustrations are realistic, and her experiences take her from stubborn resistance to pride in her Chinese heritage. Readers will find her transformation thought-provoking, funny, and incredibly heartwarming. Grades 4-6. --Courtney Jones

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545162157
• ISBN-13: 978-0545162159
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Asian & Asian American

More About the Author

My favorite books have always been middle-grade books. For a long time, I tried to deny it; I trained to be a lawyer with big heavy books.* But I might have known I still had some middle-grade books in my blood when I kept mentally referring to a boring class in law school as "a spirited discussion on the buying and selling of pork chops," a line from one of my heroes, Harriet the Spy.

I think that middle-grade books are special because you reach that point where you've begun to form your own opinions of the world, but you're still open to change and moments of wonder. It's a good way to go through life, actually.

I feel very lucky to have a middle-grade book of my own to share now. I hope it makes a difference to its readers the way other books affected me, whether it is finding a character the reader can relate to, learning something interesting, or just finding a scene or phrase that sticks with the reader.

*I feel obliged to point out that there are many awesome children's book writers who went to law school, including Kathy Erskine, Moira Donohue, Fran Cannon Slayton, Rebecca Stead and Louis Sachar, just to name a few!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Wall of Lucy Wu is, well, GREAT. January 5, 2011

By LucilleA

Format:Hardcover

My daughter and I read an advanced copy of this book, and found it to be well-written, humorous, and so brilliantly layered that the final chapters of the book roll forth with one surprise after another. Eva (10 yrs old) finished the book in two days, and immediately asked if she could do a book report on it. Reading about other cultures can sometimes be a chore, but Ms. Shang blends the nuances of living in a dual culture (American kid, Asian descent) so well that you come away from the book feeling like you not only just read a great book, but learned something. Her descriptions of the food prepared in Lucy's house make you want to go out and grab a delicious bowl of soup, and my daughter wanted to try some of the recipes described in the text. The book deals with so much more than cross-cultural issues -- Lucy is 12, and deals with all the same things any 12-year-old would have to face at school and at home. She faces disappointments at first with petulance, but then learns to appreciate the changes in her life, and even stand on them to face down a bully. After I read the book, I started over again at page one. Our whole household hopes that Ms. Shang writes many more books in the future, because she has a perfect balance of humor and seriousness in her writing, and she does not talk down to the tween set. A wonderful first outing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucy Wu: A Great Realistic Fiction Read for Tweens April 10, 2011

By Tina Says VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang was a book I picked up at the public library, happy to have a chance to read it after seeing it a few places. Lucy is in sixth grade, loves basketball, and is upset when her grandma's sister visits from China, forcing Lucy to share her bedroom for several months. Lucy's family doesn't really understand Lucy's love of basketball, and Lucy often feels that attention is given to her older brother and sister for their academic success. Although Lucy resents her great-aunt's presence, she does eventually give her credit for her great cooking, and over time develops an appreciation of all Yi Po does for Lucy. Lucy's initial annoyance with Yi Po is replaced with an understanding the two seem to share as Lucy learns more about her great aunt's past and her life in China. The suspense in this novel is created by Lucy's rivalry with a classmate, Sloane, who tries to find ways to sabotage Lucy and her hopes of being the basketball team manager. When it comes right down to it, Lucy is happily surprised by the people in her life who do come through for her.

I liked this tween novel that explored issues many girls face- mean girls, a crush on a boy, and trying to fit in. I also liked that this novel explores what it is like for Lucy to be Chinese American and have parents who want her to continue to be Chinese - to attend a weekend Chinese school, to learn to speak Chinese, and to share the values and ideals her parents have.

This book will appeal to lots of middle grade readers who enjoy the realistic fiction genre.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This One's for You, Lucy Wu January 19, 2011

By Kathryn Gaglione

Format:Hardcover

As I've said before (and will probably say again), I love reading books where I see names and places I know and love. But what I love even more is reading a book where I get that plus it makes me laugh and cry and everything in between. This book has it all.

I may not be Chines, and baseball is way better than basketball, but I know just what it's like to be Lucy. Lucy is the every-girl. Feel like the black sheep of the family? Feel like you'll never live up to everyone's expectations? Feel lost in your own skin? Feel like no matter how hard you try, things never go your way? Well, Lucy can tell you all about it. And maybe, just maybe, she can also tell you how even when things are going terribly wrong, they always have a way of turning out right in the end.