My sister got to grow up with my parents. Me? I grew up with postcards from my parents.

When ten-year-old Lina Gao steps off the plane in Los Angeles, it’s her first time in America and the first time seeing her parents and her little sister in five years! She’s been waiting for this moment every day while she lived with her grandmother in Beijing, getting teased by kids at school who called her “left behind girl.” Finally , her parents are ready for her to join their fabulous life in America! Except, it’s not exactly like in the

1. School’s a lot harder than she thought. When she mispronounces some words in English on the first day, she decides she simply won’t talk. Ever again.

2. Her chatty little sister has no problem with English. And seems to do everything better than Lina, including knowing exactly the way to her parents’ hearts.

3. They live in an apartment, not a house like in Mom’s letters, and they owe a lot of back rent from the pandemic. And Mom’s plan to pay it back sounds more like a hobby than a moneymaker.

As she reckons with her hurt, Lina tries to keep a lid on her feelings, both at home and at school. When her teacher starts facing challenges for her latest book selection, a book that deeply resonates with Lina, it will take all of Lina’s courage and resilience to get over her fear in order to choose a future where she’s finally seen.

This was an absolute gem of a book.

After 5 years of living in China with her grandmother, 10 year old Lina is finally able to move to the US to join her parents and her younger sister. As soon as she steps off of the plane in Los Angeles, she soon learns that her family’s life is not as wonderful as they had made it sound in their letters.

I was 13 when my family moved to Canada and I related so much to Lina’s experiences of immigrating. School was so different and while I understood English, I didn’t understand a lot of the slang and I was afraid of mispronouncing words so I opted to talk as little as possible. Reading about Lina’s struggles brought me to that time in my childhood and while I never had a book like this growing up where I could see my experiences in a book, I’m glad it exists now and more kids (and adults!) like me can read it.