Middle Grade Madness! discussion

Rules on spoilers:
*All spoilers for book 2 DO need to be hidden in spoiler tags.*
All spoilers for book 1 DO NOT need to be hidden.
It's a given that if you're on this discussion page then you've read book 1, so all spoilers for book 1 don't need to be hidden. If you haven't read book 1 and you're here, read comments at your own discretion!

Here we are, book 2! Anyone reading this/has read this?

Kadi wrote: "Rules on spoilers:
*All spoilers for book 1 (this book) DO need to be hidden in spoiler tags.*

Here we are, book 2! Anyone reading this/has read this?"


Ah! I've been forgetting to comment. I audio booked this. And so far, I think this sequel expands on the themes of the first book. I would say, this book is much more political than the first.

Once again, I enjoyed the relationships between the characters. Jason personally is my fav. I appreciate that Yang still utilized him because he could easily had been dropped after book one along with his father.

Anyone else out there?

@Autumn Aaah so I haven’t forgotten about this book I’m just not sure if I want to read it. I’m wavering a little because of the political aspects of it like I’ve seen some reviews say it was too political and some say that it was political enough for the subjects it covered. The thing was that I really liked the first book and don’t want to be turned off by too much of a political message if that makes sense. But what did you think, was it too political or just the right amount?

Also ahaha I totally get you, Jason was my fave in the first book too. I wonder what his and Mia’s chemistry is like in this considering he said he liked her in the first book🤔 I do feel like I should read this just to see more of the trio.

Kadi wrote: "@Autumn Aaah so I haven’t forgotten about this book I’m just not sure if I want to read it. I’m wavering a little because of the political aspects of it like I’ve seen some reviews say it was too p..."

I found it highly political, which makes sense as Yang is making an argument with this book. Its not a book that has a political slant, it is something that was crafted to specifically talk about a political issue: Immigration and discrimination. A lot of it is based directly in her personal experience and specific policies. (view spoiler)[a big part of the book is about an election where one of the main policies being pushed would prohibit undocumented children from attending school. One of the main arguments (besides that this is wrong and discriminatory) is that this type of policy affects ALL immigrants and therefore all immigrants should stand in solidarity against it regardless of personal legal status. Which is then reflected in the different status of the main three characters. (hide spoiler)]

Personally, I like political books. There is a point where politics can be exhausting. (There's only so many books about anti-blackness that I can handle.) But I also feel that politics directly affect my life on a daily basis (legal rights, our perceptions of events and peoples, how we frame concepts.) I am interested in how we use narratives to advance our own agendas. So this book was interesting because it got into the specific way immigrants are framed in anti-immigrant rhetoric.

I dunno who said it wasn't political enough (are they okay??) I thought this was very political for that age group (not necessarily a problem.) But it also had lots of feels in it. The relationships are very well done and I even got weepy eyed during some scenes (view spoiler)[such as when the mother began changing herself to fit in with her wealthy Chinese 'friends' whom she desperately wants to approve of her (hide spoiler)]

Lastly, I appreciate how even the 'bad guys' were humanized. Framing political issues as 'bad guys versus good guys' is reductive. So I appreciate the implicit message that people can change, and that people's baggage influence how they perceive the world.

@Kadi

is there no discussion page for book 3!?!?!?

What cruel trick is this?

@Autumn no I've got you girl! Book 3's discussion page is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

@Autumn Also woah thank you for such a detailed response! You've really made me want to read this book now! I have so many books I'm planning to read this month for the October Readathon but I really want to read this one in November then.

I think the person who said the book wasn't political enough was a reviewer I came across on the book's goodreads entry. I think they were coming at the book from their own perspective but I feel like the whole point of the book is to look at it from Mia's perspective and of course we're not all young Chinese immigrants to the US so we couldn't have that same perspective as her from the outset. That's actually what I really loved about the first book. I felt like it was really eye-opening for me because a lot of what Mia talked about/experienced in the first book were things I wouldn't even consider for a second.