In Last Chance, Minnesota, with her family, Maizy spends her time at the Golden Palace, the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations, where she makes some discoveries requiring her to go on a search for answers. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)
NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR YOUTH LITERATURE
Twelve year-old Maizy discovers her family’s Chinese restaurant is full of secrets in this irresistible novel that celebrates food, fortune, and family.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY School Library Journal • Booklist • The Horn Book • New York Public Library
Welcome to the Golden Palace!
Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota . . . until now. Her mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple weeks, until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance and at the Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations—she makes some discoveries.For instance:
- You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food.
- People can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways.
- And the Golden Palace has secrets...
But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like, why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone has left a racist note—Maizy decides it’s time to find the answers. - (
Random House, Inc.)
Lisa Yee is a Newbery Honoree and National Book Award finalist for Maizy Chen’s Last Chance. She is also the author of over 21 books for young people, including the groundbreaking Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time; and the DC Super Hero Girls novel series. Lisa is a frequent contributor to NPR’s Books We Love. A third-generation Chinese American, Lisa says, “I wrote Maizy Chen’s Last Chance as a tribute to my grandparents and to all the immigrants who made the journey to America.” Lisa divides her time between Western Massachusetts and Los Angeles. - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* It's summer when 11-year-old Maizy first visits her grandparents' home in Last Chance, Minnesota, and their family business, the Golden Palace restaurant, founded by Lucky, her grandfather's grandfather, in 1886. For several months, Maizy helps out at the restaurant and, in her grandparents' home, looks after Opa, her grandfather, whose health is failing. She's fascinated by his stories about Lucky, whose experiences as a cook's assistant in San Francisco, a worker on the transcontinental railroad, and a businessman in Last Chance resembled those of many Asian immigrants. A racist attack on her grandparents' restaurant stuns Maizy and drives her to investigate the mystery. She also reaches out to the descendants of the "paper sons" Lucky helped years ago. The novel features many convincing characters with complex relationships, from Opa's long-standing feud with his childhood best friend to insights about Maizy's mother, revealed only when she returns to her roots. In the first-person narrative, Maizy struggles to understand her mother and her grandparents, observing their interactions and learning about their experiences. While the mystery element adds a dimension to the plot, the real story here lies in Maizy awakening to her ancestral heritage and choosing to make it part of her life. A moving, multilayered family narrative. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.
Horn Book Guide Reviews
Eleven-year-old Maizy and her mother leave fast-paced Los Angeles to spend the summer in languorous Last Chance, Minnesota. Oma and Opa, Maizy's grandparents, own Golden Palace, the only Chinese restaurant in the area. Although she finds life in the Midwest boring at first, Maizy begins to make friends and connect more deeply with her family. As she spends time with her sick grandfather, Maizy learns about the history of those who came before her -- in particular, her great-great-grandfather Lucky, whose fascinating life story is told in interspersed flashbacks. As Maizy learns about Lucky's struggles against racism, she also confronts microaggressions and hate crimes that still plague Last Chance. Told through the eyes of a spirited and likable protagonist, the story explores evergreen issues of immigration, intergenerational trauma, and the many dark aspects of U.S. history alongside Lucky's adventures with sailing ships, outlaws, and a gold mountain. Through this captivating story of the Chen family legacy, Yee (Millicent Min, Girl Genius, rev. 9/03; The Kidney Hypothetical, rev. 5/15) makes the personal political, and prompts readers to consider what it means to be American. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
Eleven-year-old Maizy and her mother leave fast-paced Los Angeles to spend the summer in languorous Last Chance, Minnesota. Oma and Opa, Maizy's grandparents, own Golden Palace, the only Chinese restaurant in the area. Although she finds life in the Midwest boring at first, Maizy begins to make friends and connect more deeply with her family. As she spends time with her sick grandfather, Maizy learns about the history of those who came before her -- in particular, her great-great-grandfather Lucky, whose fascinating life story is told in interspersed flashbacks. As Maizy learns about Lucky's struggles against racism, she also confronts microaggressions and hate crimes that still plague Last Chance. Told through the eyes of a spirited and likable protagonist, the story explores evergreen issues of immigration, intergenerational trauma, and the many dark aspects of U.S. history alongside Lucky's adventures with "sailing ships, outlaws, and a gold mountain." Through this captivating story of the Chen family legacy, Yee (Millicent Min, Girl Genius, rev. 9/03; The Kidney Hypothetical, rev. 5/15) makes the personal political, and prompts readers to consider what it means to be American. Gabi K. Huesca January/February 2022 p.126 Copyright 2022 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
A Chinese American tween learns that what's on the inside matters most during a summer living with her grandparents in their small Midwestern town. When her grandfather falls ill, 11-year-old Maizy and her food stylist mother leave their home in Los Angeles to spend the summer with her grandparents in Last Chance, Minnesota. Maizy, who hasn't seen Oma and Opa since she was 8, puzzles over mysteries during their stay. Mom and Oma don't get along; a wall of the Golden Palace, the family's Chinese restaurant, is covered in old photos; and someone is targeting the restaurant with racist attacks. As Maizy searches for answers while helping to care for Opa, battling homesickness, and making a new friend, she learns that people aren't always as they seem on the outside. She learns about Lucky Chen, her great-great-grandfather, who immigrated to the U.S. from China in the 1860s, and the impact of his story on her family today, which in turn leads her to help others uncover their own families' secrets. The pace is lively and the writing strong, seamlessly weaving together themes of belonging, racism, and anti-immigration sentiment. Each member of the large cast of characters from multiple times and locations is vividly portrayed, and a variety of subplots—that might be confusing in less skilled hands—keeps reader interest high. A moving, engrossing story of a girl's transformative change and strengthened sense of belonging. (author's note, recipe, resources) (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
In this fast-paced narrative, Chinese American only child Maizy Chen travels with her food stylist single mother from Los Angeles to her mom's hometown of Last Chance, Minn., to care for Maizy's ailing grandfather. As the 11-year-old gets to know her estranged grandparents—mischievous poker player Opa and stern but loving Oma, proud restaurant owners— she must navigate unfamiliar stressors both familial and social, including the tension between her mother and Oma, and microaggressions as the only child of color in town. Over the course of an unpredictable summer, Maizy learns how to play poker, how her ancestors helped to support paper sons, and how to insert custom messages into the restaurant's fortune cookies, all while solving a mystery or two. Interspersed segments reveal Maizy's great-great-grandfather's journey to Last Chance, efficiently conveying historical struggles faced by Chinese emigrants to America. If the book feels overstuffed at times, Yee's (The Kidney Hypothetical) full house of endearing characters and assured voice prevail in a humorous, sincere story emphasizing the taut thread between past and present, and the imperative to aid others. Back matter includes an author's note with historical context, a recipe for Oma's Cream Cheese Wontons, and resources. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Feb.)
Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly.
