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Pacy #3
Dumpling Days
There was no day that dumplings couldn't make better.
Pacy is back! The beloved heroine of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat has returned in a brand new story. This summer, Pacy's family is going to Taiwan for an entire month to visit family and prepare for their grandmother's 60th birthday celebration. Pacy's parents have signed her up for a Chinese painting class, and at first she's excited. This is a new way to explore her art talent! But everything about the trip is harder than she thought it would be--she looks like everyone else but can't speak the language, she has trouble following the art teacher's instructions, and it's difficult to make friends in her class. At least the dumplings are delicious...
As the month passes by, Pacy eats chicken feet (by accident!), gets blessed by a fortune teller, searches for her true identity, and grows closer to those who matter most.
Pacy is back! The beloved heroine of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat has returned in a brand new story. This summer, Pacy's family is going to Taiwan for an entire month to visit family and prepare for their grandmother's 60th birthday celebration. Pacy's parents have signed her up for a Chinese painting class, and at first she's excited. This is a new way to explore her art talent! But everything about the trip is harder than she thought it would be--she looks like everyone else but can't speak the language, she has trouble following the art teacher's instructions, and it's difficult to make friends in her class. At least the dumplings are delicious...
As the month passes by, Pacy eats chicken feet (by accident!), gets blessed by a fortune teller, searches for her true identity, and grows closer to those who matter most.
261 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
111 people are currently reading
1510 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews
March 3, 2017
My daughters and I are quite possessive of Grace Lin. We've been reading her books and following her blog for so long, we feel that we know her.
Our favorites are probably The Red Thread and The Ugly Vegetables, but we loved this chapter book for older kids as well.
I think the best audience for Dumpling Days is the 3rd-6th grade crowd, and it's especially good for any kid who has ever felt (culturally) like a stranger in a strange land.
Personally, I wish this book had been available to read before my first trip to China in '09. Ms. Lin accurately conveys what a "typical" trip to China might involve, and it would have been helpful to understand in advance why that woman was angrily ramming her dim sum cart into our table.
The spitting can't really be explained. That will appear one day in MY book.
Our favorites are probably The Red Thread and The Ugly Vegetables, but we loved this chapter book for older kids as well.
I think the best audience for Dumpling Days is the 3rd-6th grade crowd, and it's especially good for any kid who has ever felt (culturally) like a stranger in a strange land.
Personally, I wish this book had been available to read before my first trip to China in '09. Ms. Lin accurately conveys what a "typical" trip to China might involve, and it would have been helpful to understand in advance why that woman was angrily ramming her dim sum cart into our table.
The spitting can't really be explained. That will appear one day in MY book.
October 17, 2017
I borrowed this from a coworker who's using it in a middle grade English class. It's a cute story of a Taiwanese-American girl traveling to Taiwan for the first time. It's pretty simplistic, even for middle grade fiction, but what I absolutely loved about it was the depiction of Taiwan. I'd love for people I know in the US to read this just get such an accurate glimpse of what Taiwan is like. At times I felt like I was reading about my own first impressions of Taiwan and seeing my exact experiences reflected back - my first time trying to eat with chopsticks and feeling everyone in the restaurant watching me, not having any clue how to use a squat toilet and trying to figure out for sure if it was a toilet at all, being overwhelmed by traffic and scooters, accidentally eating a huge mouthful of wasabi and thinking my head might explode, being amazed by all the types of fruit I'd never seen before, eating so many specific foods for the first time, gagging at the smell of stinky tofu, feeling that the HSR is pretty futuristic, and the list goes on and on. The author does a brilliant job of bringing Taiwan to life here.
February 1, 2013
I loved this book! I've loved the earlier books about Pacy too, but this one really hit home. I could completely relate to Pacy's experience being thrust into a new culture, which was supposedly her own culture, wary and not-so-thrilled with it at the beginning, and loving it by the end, and at the same time, making peace with her own identity, having the best of both worlds, rather than being alienated in each world. This has been a struggle of mine throughout my life, and to have this book so clearly address it, and come to a satisfying closure, I felt like it gave ME closure in my own search for cultural identity. I loved that this book paralleled so many of my own thoughts and reactions of when I went to Taiwan as a kid. It brought back so many memories, and its making me crave some good quality dumplings now! I also loved the stories interwoven throughout the book of old legends and memories of the older generation. Part of Chinese culture is the connection with the past, wisdom and tradition passed down through many generations, and this book (as her other ones do as well) really integrates past and present so well.
July 26, 2023
I was going through my Goodreads account and realized I read this book without reading the first two in the series. But this book slapped and I still think about it to this day every once in a while.
October 31, 2011
I have to admit that I might have a deeper resonance to the themes in this book than most, considering the fact that I'm Korean American and was raised in the Midwest. I look Asian on the outside but my cultural connection is to my white parents, I've been to Korea and I felt super American. Where do you fit in? How do you deal with the subtle racism that you meet with every day? There were parts that made me want to cry because they were true representations of my experience.
I really enjoyed this book, Grace Lin does a really eloquent job of putting together the traditional themes of a middle grade book - acceptance, growing up, finding your special abilities, and family - with issues of race and cultural confusion. She never gets preachy, she laces everything with humor and levity, it's never over anyone's head and still makes an impact.
Bonus: as I finished the book I craved dumplings like never before. Does anyone know where I can get soup dumplings? Cha siu bao? Because seriously, they sound like a miracle.
I really enjoyed this book, Grace Lin does a really eloquent job of putting together the traditional themes of a middle grade book - acceptance, growing up, finding your special abilities, and family - with issues of race and cultural confusion. She never gets preachy, she laces everything with humor and levity, it's never over anyone's head and still makes an impact.
Bonus: as I finished the book I craved dumplings like never before. Does anyone know where I can get soup dumplings? Cha siu bao? Because seriously, they sound like a miracle.
March 7, 2021
A twinkie. That's how people describe Grace Pacy Lin. White on the inside, but yellow on the outside. "Wo shi mei guo ren, (I am American) mei guo ren!" Pacy would say. "Wo bu hui han yu (I don't know Chinese), bu hui han yu!"
During summer break, Pacy travels to Taiwan with her family, a completely unfamiliar place. A place where people don't know her language, her culture, her society. The place where she is stuck with her family, the place where she accidentally eats chicken feet, the place where she is blessed by a fortune-teller, and the place where she grows closer to those that matter the most.
During summer break, Pacy travels to Taiwan with her family, a completely unfamiliar place. A place where people don't know her language, her culture, her society. The place where she is stuck with her family, the place where she accidentally eats chicken feet, the place where she is blessed by a fortune-teller, and the place where she grows closer to those that matter the most.
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May 22, 2020I should've known from the title but wow did this book make me hungry 😂 I can't imagine anyone reading this book and NOT coming out of it with a strong desire to go to Taiwan and eat their way through everything!! These books are so sweet, but this was definitely my favorite of the three. Also, I'm slightly angry I didn't know soup dumplings are a thing, as I am a big fan of every country's version of dumplings I've ever met lol it also made me remember the time I told my work mom it was dumpling day and the next day she brought in a giant bag of freshly homemade dumplings just for me and I had to hide them from my coworkers 😋😍 note to self: look up dumpling day and remember to celebrate every year. Haha 🎊🎉
September 15, 2013
Have you ever been forced to go on a family trip? Sometimes they can be fun, like a trip to Disneyland, but sometimes you'd rather just stay home. That's how Pacy feels about her family's trip to Taiwan. To her mom and dad it's a trip to their homeland, but Pacy's home is back in America. And the worst part is that they have to stay the whole summer. A whole summer away from her friends in a country where she can't even understand what people are saying or read the signs if she gets lost. As if that wasn't bad enough she finds out that her parents have signed her up for classes at the cultural center--classes during summer vacation! But when she gets there Taiwan isn't anything like what she expected. Her relatives are pretty nice, the food is delicious, and she is determined to win the top prize in her painting class. Maybe the summer will be great, or maybe it will be a disaster after all. One thing is for sure though--she'll never forget it!
I am a big fan of Grace Lin and this title did not disappoint. Pacy was charming and I loved her narrative voice ("Dad always spouted in dramatic ways about things, sometimes to be funny but other times because he really meant it. When he meant it, we usually ignored him.") The information about Taiwan was fascinating and left me wanting to learn more (and of course go and eat some dumplings!) Like with her other books, Lin weaves brief stories throughout the main narration about Chinese legends or Pacy's family history. I always looked forward to these. With everything else going on Lin manages to work in some great life lessons about embracing new experiences, focusing on enjoying each moment, and the importance of family. As if her skills as an author aren't enough Lin is an excellent illustrator as well and she skillfully fits her drawings into the story as if Pacy is doodling in the margins of her diary. These add extra character and humor to the novel as well as helping the reader visualize the new concepts introduced.
I'd give this to fans of the Amelia's Notebook series and other novels that are written in the style of a kid's diary with doodles. Fans of her other novels will naturally enjoy this one. It would make an excellent class read for an elementary classroom because despite its light and humorous style there's plenty of themes that would make for good class discussions. I'd say it's good for third to fifth grade.
Read more of my reviews at http://auldschoollibrarian.blogspot.com/
I am a big fan of Grace Lin and this title did not disappoint. Pacy was charming and I loved her narrative voice ("Dad always spouted in dramatic ways about things, sometimes to be funny but other times because he really meant it. When he meant it, we usually ignored him.") The information about Taiwan was fascinating and left me wanting to learn more (and of course go and eat some dumplings!) Like with her other books, Lin weaves brief stories throughout the main narration about Chinese legends or Pacy's family history. I always looked forward to these. With everything else going on Lin manages to work in some great life lessons about embracing new experiences, focusing on enjoying each moment, and the importance of family. As if her skills as an author aren't enough Lin is an excellent illustrator as well and she skillfully fits her drawings into the story as if Pacy is doodling in the margins of her diary. These add extra character and humor to the novel as well as helping the reader visualize the new concepts introduced.
I'd give this to fans of the Amelia's Notebook series and other novels that are written in the style of a kid's diary with doodles. Fans of her other novels will naturally enjoy this one. It would make an excellent class read for an elementary classroom because despite its light and humorous style there's plenty of themes that would make for good class discussions. I'd say it's good for third to fifth grade.
Read more of my reviews at http://auldschoollibrarian.blogspot.com/
December 22, 2011
This one falls outside of my normal reading habits; while I’ve developed a bit of a weakness for teen lit/YA/whatever you want to call it, I don’t typically delve into middle-grade fiction now that I’m so far beyond my middle grades. I picked up an ARC of this because it looked cute, though, and it didn’t disappoint.
This is apparently the latest in a series of Lin’s books about Taiwanese-American girl Pacy. In this volume, she goes on a summer trip with her family to Taiwan. In the past, Pacy has felt like the odd girl out for being the only Asian kid in the room, but she feels a new anxiety exploring her parents’ homeland as she realizes she now sticks out for being profoundly American. Even her talent for art, the thing that she truly believes makes her special, is put to the test. Thanks to the company of her family and plenty of interesting things to see and do, though, what starts as a scary journey to an unfamiliar land ends up being fulfilling and even profound.
There isn’t much to say about this book that the description doesn’t tell you, but as the title suggests, Pacy’s tour of Taiwan revolves around the food she eats. Maybe my gluttony is showing, but I can’t think of a better way to do it. The descriptions of all the various foods were a nice, immersive touch, and the occasional illustration of said foods and other Taiwanese cultural items were a whimsical addition to the story. This is definitely targeted towards younger readers, but it’s a cute story that offers a friendly introduction to Taiwanese culture, and the travails a kid must go through when trying to navigate their own ethnic identity.
This is apparently the latest in a series of Lin’s books about Taiwanese-American girl Pacy. In this volume, she goes on a summer trip with her family to Taiwan. In the past, Pacy has felt like the odd girl out for being the only Asian kid in the room, but she feels a new anxiety exploring her parents’ homeland as she realizes she now sticks out for being profoundly American. Even her talent for art, the thing that she truly believes makes her special, is put to the test. Thanks to the company of her family and plenty of interesting things to see and do, though, what starts as a scary journey to an unfamiliar land ends up being fulfilling and even profound.
There isn’t much to say about this book that the description doesn’t tell you, but as the title suggests, Pacy’s tour of Taiwan revolves around the food she eats. Maybe my gluttony is showing, but I can’t think of a better way to do it. The descriptions of all the various foods were a nice, immersive touch, and the occasional illustration of said foods and other Taiwanese cultural items were a whimsical addition to the story. This is definitely targeted towards younger readers, but it’s a cute story that offers a friendly introduction to Taiwanese culture, and the travails a kid must go through when trying to navigate their own ethnic identity.
April 10, 2012
i'm only thirty pages into this book and getting REALLY hungry.
i read the advanced readers copy so i assume the line on p250 "I covered my hands with my ears." was changed, if not still an interesting image.
told from the viewpoint of a third grader obsessed w/food and toilets, i suppose kidsthat age are, but she comes across really whiny
grace lin does have quite a few old stories/tales that are enjoyable.
and p.213 mentions vending machines in taiwan w/kittens and puppies in them. cruel.
i read the advanced readers copy so i assume the line on p250 "I covered my hands with my ears." was changed, if not still an interesting image.
told from the viewpoint of a third grader obsessed w/food and toilets, i suppose kidsthat age are, but she comes across really whiny
grace lin does have quite a few old stories/tales that are enjoyable.
and p.213 mentions vending machines in taiwan w/kittens and puppies in them. cruel.
July 31, 2015
This one was a little disappointing. Based on the description--sisters travel for the summer to a new place to learn about their culture--I was hoping for a "One Crazy Summer" -ish story but in Taiwan. This one just didn't have the same sparkle. Meant for a slightly younger audience, this one had more literal description than descriptive language, and thought there was definitely conflict and self-discovery, it was at a level that just wasn't quite enough for me. Still a cute read, but simple.
April 29, 2024
I've read this book, um, four+ times, and um, I love it!! It's so funny and heartfelt. I also love the food... I know I can't eat it because it's in a book, but I still love it! I like the POV it's in. It's just a simple, sweet story, but boy does it pack a punch! It really gets you thinking about yourself, and you almost evaluate yourself, comparing who you are to Pacy. I loved the Night Market, but not the part where gets lost. Even though I know the outcome, it's still always stressful when I read it! Overall five stars (again). :D
June 15, 2018
I liked this book because it was cool to learn what Taiwan was like. The author did a really good job making you feel as if you were in the story.
January 2, 2019
this book helped me so much as a child, even thinking back on it now it brings tears as to how much the representation actually meant to me and helped me as a taiwanese-australian
November 27, 2019
2.5 stars. I really didn't connect with Pacy in this one and it felt a bit too direct/ preachy to be a fully enjoyable book. There just wasn't enough showing and too much telling.
June 10, 2022
"Pain is not a flavor!" (76)
Dang, I was kinda harsh to Pacy a decade ago, lmao (see my older review below). I was her age then, but it's funny because I feel slightly more sympathetic toward her now that I'm older. Pacy still got on my nerves throughout this book—she spends the majority of it whining, right from the first page. At one point I literally sighed out loud and muttered to myself, "You know, this entire trip would be a lot less painful if you spent significantly less time whining and at least tried to be openminded, Pacy..." I thought she'd undergone a lot of character growth in The Year of the Rat, so it was disappointing that she behaves so immaturely and seems to revert back to how she was in The Year of the Dog.
I mean, one of the first things she does in this book is "dumb down" her cousins' names to "Shogun" and "Julian" because "Xiaoquan" and "Chulian" are "too hard" to pronounce. Names are so important (she should know this; it's quite literally one of the realizations she comes to over the course of this book), so it was upsetting that I had to sit through Pacy deliberately butchering her cousins' names for the entire book. She's so white-washed! Not only is it incredibly lazy and disrespectful of her (I would've been like "use my proper name or don't speak to me again" if I were one of her cousins), but "Shogun" is Japanese??? So Pacy can "speak" Japanese but can't be bothered to speak Chinese? And as a Chinese speaker, it's just jarring that Julian is used as a substitute for Chulian when they don't even have the same amount of syllables! I can see how they look practically identical to a non-Chinese speaker, but there's no way I can interchange the two when Julian has 3 syllables and Chulian has 2. I had to spend the whole book mentally "autocorrecting" Pacy because I didn't want to partake in her blatant disrespect, which was so not fun.
Pacy also harbors a lot of resentment—resentment toward Audrey Chiang, resentment toward Taiwan, resentment toward her own culture—and it's disappointing that she stays largely static instead of growing throughout this book. On one hand, it does feel rather realistic that she goes from hating Taiwan to find it "tolerable" at most, but it also makes for a really disappointing read. Pacy spends this whole book actively "resisting" her heritage and essentially throwing a temper tantrum anytime she encounters something new and uncomfortable, which made me uncomfortable. I tried to sympathize with her because I remember what it was like to be a bratty tween, lmao, and I'm pretty sure I also would have complained about travelling to my parents' homeland when I was her age, but she definitely made it difficult. She's a very unlikeable protagonist in this book, in my opinion, so much that I was glad she didn't . And while I can relate to her obsession with dumplings, her rejection of stinky tofu, and her scorn for overly-spicy food (though I like and can handle wasabi, haha), I couldn't fathom that she'd pick Taiwanese McDonald's over the hundreds of other things she could've eaten while she was in Taiwan. Also, I'm Team Chicken Feet, sorry Pacy, lmao.
But despite all my griping about Pacy, I still really enjoyed this book. Not as much as I might've if Pacy was less irritating, but like the other books in this trilogy, I found many aspects relatable and comforting. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse into Taiwan since I've never (sadly, unlike Pacy!) gotten the chance to go there myself. Because I'm older, it also hits differently to read this book now that I'm more educated and connected to my culture and heritage, have strong(er?) opinions about femininity, know about Taiwan's colonial and pre-colonial history and Japan's WWII brutality, etc... Overall, this book has a lot more "meat" to it than the first two in the series. Not only is it twice the size, but it talks much more about serious issues, like the struggle of trying to balance being both Chinese and American. My favorite moments in the book are the ones that capture that theme, like Pacy and Lissy sharing sisterly solidarity over their uncertain cultural identities (89). They fight so much that I thought it was heart-warming to see them support each other when it really comes down to it. Similarly, I loved it when Pacy realizes that despite how mean and superficial Lissy can sometimes be, she loves Lissy for her true self, not any fake persona (177). Other favorite parts:
I wish there was another book in this series because it feels weird to leave Pacy in such an unlikeable and static point of her character journey, but overall, I still really enjoy this trilogy and will no doubt read and appreciate it again ❤︎
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2012:
Not really the best book, but good enough. Pacy is not my favorite character because she just seems to lack in thought sometimes (pressing the red button? wasabi doesn't look familiar?) and she is not very faithful to her culture. I feel culture is very strong and even though you might call me a Twinkie too, at least I'm TRYING to learn how to speak Chinese and WILLING to learn more about my culture! My perspective of her has changed a little from reading the book, though, because she shows visible growth in her relationship to both her American culture and Chinese culture. A quick, easy, laugh-aloud read.
Dang, I was kinda harsh to Pacy a decade ago, lmao (see my older review below). I was her age then, but it's funny because I feel slightly more sympathetic toward her now that I'm older. Pacy still got on my nerves throughout this book—she spends the majority of it whining, right from the first page. At one point I literally sighed out loud and muttered to myself, "You know, this entire trip would be a lot less painful if you spent significantly less time whining and at least tried to be openminded, Pacy..." I thought she'd undergone a lot of character growth in The Year of the Rat, so it was disappointing that she behaves so immaturely and seems to revert back to how she was in The Year of the Dog.
I mean, one of the first things she does in this book is "dumb down" her cousins' names to "Shogun" and "Julian" because "Xiaoquan" and "Chulian" are "too hard" to pronounce. Names are so important (she should know this; it's quite literally one of the realizations she comes to over the course of this book), so it was upsetting that I had to sit through Pacy deliberately butchering her cousins' names for the entire book. She's so white-washed! Not only is it incredibly lazy and disrespectful of her (I would've been like "use my proper name or don't speak to me again" if I were one of her cousins), but "Shogun" is Japanese??? So Pacy can "speak" Japanese but can't be bothered to speak Chinese? And as a Chinese speaker, it's just jarring that Julian is used as a substitute for Chulian when they don't even have the same amount of syllables! I can see how they look practically identical to a non-Chinese speaker, but there's no way I can interchange the two when Julian has 3 syllables and Chulian has 2. I had to spend the whole book mentally "autocorrecting" Pacy because I didn't want to partake in her blatant disrespect, which was so not fun.
Pacy also harbors a lot of resentment—resentment toward Audrey Chiang, resentment toward Taiwan, resentment toward her own culture—and it's disappointing that she stays largely static instead of growing throughout this book. On one hand, it does feel rather realistic that she goes from hating Taiwan to find it "tolerable" at most, but it also makes for a really disappointing read. Pacy spends this whole book actively "resisting" her heritage and essentially throwing a temper tantrum anytime she encounters something new and uncomfortable, which made me uncomfortable. I tried to sympathize with her because I remember what it was like to be a bratty tween, lmao, and I'm pretty sure I also would have complained about travelling to my parents' homeland when I was her age, but she definitely made it difficult. She's a very unlikeable protagonist in this book, in my opinion, so much that I was glad she didn't . And while I can relate to her obsession with dumplings, her rejection of stinky tofu, and her scorn for overly-spicy food (though I like and can handle wasabi, haha), I couldn't fathom that she'd pick Taiwanese McDonald's over the hundreds of other things she could've eaten while she was in Taiwan. Also, I'm Team Chicken Feet, sorry Pacy, lmao.
But despite all my griping about Pacy, I still really enjoyed this book. Not as much as I might've if Pacy was less irritating, but like the other books in this trilogy, I found many aspects relatable and comforting. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse into Taiwan since I've never (sadly, unlike Pacy!) gotten the chance to go there myself. Because I'm older, it also hits differently to read this book now that I'm more educated and connected to my culture and heritage, have strong(er?) opinions about femininity, know about Taiwan's colonial and pre-colonial history and Japan's WWII brutality, etc... Overall, this book has a lot more "meat" to it than the first two in the series. Not only is it twice the size, but it talks much more about serious issues, like the struggle of trying to balance being both Chinese and American. My favorite moments in the book are the ones that capture that theme, like Pacy and Lissy sharing sisterly solidarity over their uncertain cultural identities (89). They fight so much that I thought it was heart-warming to see them support each other when it really comes down to it. Similarly, I loved it when Pacy realizes that despite how mean and superficial Lissy can sometimes be, she loves Lissy for her true self, not any fake persona (177). Other favorite parts:
(127) I still felt as if I were a twisted knot. I was angry at all of them—the bus driver, the convention girls, the market lady. I wanted to yell "I'm American!" but they wouldn't have believed me. Inside, I felt hard and stubborn, like a fist clutching a stolen pearl... I didn't want to be in Taiwan. Here, people either despised me or acted like I wasn't there, looking through me like a ghost. (It's interesting that Pacy never comments on experiencing racism or being "othered" in America. I can understand her feeling of alienation and her resentment toward the prejudice that she experiences in Taiwan, being an overseas-born Chinese, but surely she experiences a different kind of prejudice in America...)
(139) In some ways, not being able to read the papers or signs or menus was worse than not being able to speak. All the unreadable words felt like a secret that everyone knew except me.
"You know, the longer I've been here," Clifford said, "the more I realize how hard it must've been for our parents, moving to the United States. It's all the little things, like not being able to read signs or understand directions, that make things so hard."
Mom and Dad had told us about how they had moved to the United States, but I hadn't thought about their not understanding TV commercials, not being able to order food, being ignored because you didn't speak the language—all the things I found hard here in Taiwan. Maybe when Mom and Dad were first in America, everything was just as strange and confusing to them as Taiwan was to me now. It was surprising to think about."
(183) "I always thought they only pickpocketed tourists," Mom said, more to herself than to us. "I guess they can tell that I am not from here anymore."
Mom's face looked kind of sad. I hadn't thought about Mom not being from Taiwan anymore. It was probably weird coming back to Taiwan, the place that used to be her home but wasn't anymore. She was really from America now, just like us. And we were all just like visiting ghosts."
I wish there was another book in this series because it feels weird to leave Pacy in such an unlikeable and static point of her character journey, but overall, I still really enjoy this trilogy and will no doubt read and appreciate it again ❤︎
-----
2012:
Not really the best book, but good enough. Pacy is not my favorite character because she just seems to lack in thought sometimes (pressing the red button? wasabi doesn't look familiar?) and she is not very faithful to her culture. I feel culture is very strong and even though you might call me a Twinkie too, at least I'm TRYING to learn how to speak Chinese and WILLING to learn more about my culture! My perspective of her has changed a little from reading the book, though, because she shows visible growth in her relationship to both her American culture and Chinese culture. A quick, easy, laugh-aloud read.
July 7, 2019
The third in a series which I have not read, this book is about Chinese-American girl Pacy, who visits Taiwan for the first time with her family for the summer. Since Pacy (pretty clearly a stand-in for the author) is skilled at drawing, her parents have signed her up for a painting class. She begins the trip excited, but this is a fish-out-of-water story (or rather, the more modern version of the fish-returned-to-the-pond-but-doesn't-belong story), and Pacy feels like an outcast, unable to understand the language and not understanding the Chinese style of painting. Food, as the title indicates, is the one thing her American family and her Taiwanese family can understand equally, and she dives into the new and delicious dishes they introduce her to. Soon Pacy is even eating chicken feet!
This is a great book for kids who feel like they don't belong, especially multi-cultural kids. Pacy is ashamed to be thought of as a Twinkie ("yellow on the outside, white on the inside"), not belonging fully to either culture, laughed at for being different in both New York and Taiwan. Lin writes with sympathy about Pacy's plight, and also weaves in details (and detailed pictures!) about the food and the language, and even some of the grimmer history of China, so readers can learn along with Pacy. It's an engaging story that encourages kids to open their minds and their palates to travel and food.
This is a great book for kids who feel like they don't belong, especially multi-cultural kids. Pacy is ashamed to be thought of as a Twinkie ("yellow on the outside, white on the inside"), not belonging fully to either culture, laughed at for being different in both New York and Taiwan. Lin writes with sympathy about Pacy's plight, and also weaves in details (and detailed pictures!) about the food and the language, and even some of the grimmer history of China, so readers can learn along with Pacy. It's an engaging story that encourages kids to open their minds and their palates to travel and food.
March 1, 2023
You know when it’s the first day of summer and you are ready to sleep in and watch TV for an hour…or 8 then your parents are like..in 2 days you’re waking up at 3:00AM and going on a bajillion hour flight and on the trip you’ll have to wake up at like 9:00AM still? Well Pacy definitely does! It’s her Grandma’s birthday and she’s staying in Taiwan for the whole summer! It’s not like she asked for it, but its not like she can refuse. An extremely relatable story for middle schoolers. Like how right now, I’m telling you to read this book and dip in thinking it won’t be a splendid book but by the end, you’ll be sad that it’s done. Definitely 100% recommend this book by my favorite author Grace Lin!
April 16, 2021
What a lovely book to share Chinese and Taiwanese culture with my kids. Loved how well Lin captured Pacy’s feelings of not fitting in in either America or Taiwan. It also made us excited to try different foods! We are headed out today to taste bubble tea.
Great book about cultural nuance and identity. Recommend.
Great book about cultural nuance and identity. Recommend.
dnf
March 24, 2021While I wasn't super enjoying this book, I probably would have pushed through just for the feel of getting to vicariously travel to Taiwan, if it hadn't been due back at the library. I may still finish it some other time.
May 5, 2025
really enjoyed the book, made me think a lot about my time in taiwan last year. I also connected a lot to the identity portions of the book. random surprise adoption point too, possibly a research topic to look into later. good read, glad I could finally finish it!
November 16, 2017
This was a read-aloud to Willow (age 6) and she LOVED it. Great descriptions of Taiwan from a kid's perspective. Made me hungry for dumplings!
January 21, 2019
can't wait til Ellie can read this series! i thought this was the best one yet!
July 1, 2023
I loved this book! I always like books that aren't all about American people. Also, I love that you also learn a little about Chinese/Taiwanese culture. I would definitely recommend to people who like books that are like that, and/or who are just looking for a cute book to read!
June 23, 2024
was my childhood fav asian kid book lmao 💀
June 24, 2025
Def the best of all three. Should be a 4.5 to reflect that. These books are so lovely yes they read like children’s books but they’re still so enjoyable even as an adult. Sad to be done
June 11, 2023
I’ve always liked this book because it’s a nice, short, and entertaining read! I liked learning about all the little bits of Taiwan and thought the author’s experience was pretty cool! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
October 23, 2018
I love it because I love Taiwan
June 25, 2016
It's summertime and Pacy Lin and her younger sisters Ki-Ki, 7 and older sister Lissy, 14, are on their way to Taiwan with their parents for their grandmother's 60th birthday and staying for a whole month. Even though Taiwan is where their parents are originally from, only Lissy has ever been there to visit but she was too young to remember it.
The Lins arrive in Taiwan right at the beginning of Ghost Month, a time when the ghosts and spirits of people's ancestors visit the realm of the living. Pacy isn't really in touch with her Taiwanese roots, and finds herself worrying about these ghosts, and, feeling invisible much of the time anyway, becoming one. This introduction to Chinese beliefs is a stark reminder to Pacy that even though she has always felt different from everyone else at home in upstate New York because she is Asian, now in Taiwan, where she may look just like everyone else, she doesn't know much about Chinese culture, and can't speak the language or understand social cues. One thing she has no trouble understanding, though, is the disapproving look on the faces of the Taiwanese people who try to speak Chinese with her.
But her relatives are a fun and friendly bunch, and the food, especially the dumplings, is spectacular. And there is sightseeing to do, and things to learn. When Pacy finds out that her mother has signed her up for a painting class, she isn't very happy until she sees the tubes of color paint she needs. But, the class is in Chinese painting, which means it is done differently than what she is accustomed to, from the way she must hold the paintbrush to never erasing her mistakes to painting the same bamboo over and over again. It frustrates Pacy, who keeps waiting for her art talent to show up and, to make matters worse, the girl next to her, competitive Audrey Chiang, keeps shooting her disapproving, condescending looks that at first shake Pacy's confidence somewhat.
As the Lin family experiences Taiwan, plus a few days in Taichung, Pacy (and the reader) learns all about her family as well as Taiwanese history, customs, culture, and traditions. Dumpling Day is an episodic novel, describing the different experiences Pacy has on her own journey to self-discover and acceptance. Lin has masterfully worked in so much information without making it sound too teachy about it. Occasionally, there are some short interesting culturally historical folktales or family stories set off from Pacy's narrative that add more depth to the story, such as the Thanking the Emperor, the Story of Dumpling Soup, and Grandma Breaks Tradition .
For the most part, however, Pacy's adventures are the day-to-day kind, things such as the fortune tellers at the market, using the squat toilet, eating chicken feet by mistake, and so much more. These were the things that made this a particularly enjoyable book to read. Many of Pacy's adventures are similar to my Kiddo's when she went to China for a few years, particularly the food. I have email after email telling me how wonderful Chinese food is, with dumplings being the favorite.
I should say that I have not read the previous two Pacy novels, The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat, but I feel like Dumpling Days is really a stand alone novel. And I did choose it intentionally because I felt it expresses the idea behind Asian Pacific American Heritage Month perfectly.
Besides that, Dumpling Days is one of the best novels I've read about what it is like to grow up in a family that is multicultural, plus it is also an engaging story that will easily appeal to most young readers. Lin has included simple line drawings throughout the novel that also reflect Pacy's experience (after all, how many of middle graders know what a squat toilet looks like).
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
The Lins arrive in Taiwan right at the beginning of Ghost Month, a time when the ghosts and spirits of people's ancestors visit the realm of the living. Pacy isn't really in touch with her Taiwanese roots, and finds herself worrying about these ghosts, and, feeling invisible much of the time anyway, becoming one. This introduction to Chinese beliefs is a stark reminder to Pacy that even though she has always felt different from everyone else at home in upstate New York because she is Asian, now in Taiwan, where she may look just like everyone else, she doesn't know much about Chinese culture, and can't speak the language or understand social cues. One thing she has no trouble understanding, though, is the disapproving look on the faces of the Taiwanese people who try to speak Chinese with her.
But her relatives are a fun and friendly bunch, and the food, especially the dumplings, is spectacular. And there is sightseeing to do, and things to learn. When Pacy finds out that her mother has signed her up for a painting class, she isn't very happy until she sees the tubes of color paint she needs. But, the class is in Chinese painting, which means it is done differently than what she is accustomed to, from the way she must hold the paintbrush to never erasing her mistakes to painting the same bamboo over and over again. It frustrates Pacy, who keeps waiting for her art talent to show up and, to make matters worse, the girl next to her, competitive Audrey Chiang, keeps shooting her disapproving, condescending looks that at first shake Pacy's confidence somewhat.
As the Lin family experiences Taiwan, plus a few days in Taichung, Pacy (and the reader) learns all about her family as well as Taiwanese history, customs, culture, and traditions. Dumpling Day is an episodic novel, describing the different experiences Pacy has on her own journey to self-discover and acceptance. Lin has masterfully worked in so much information without making it sound too teachy about it. Occasionally, there are some short interesting culturally historical folktales or family stories set off from Pacy's narrative that add more depth to the story, such as the Thanking the Emperor, the Story of Dumpling Soup, and Grandma Breaks Tradition .
For the most part, however, Pacy's adventures are the day-to-day kind, things such as the fortune tellers at the market, using the squat toilet, eating chicken feet by mistake, and so much more. These were the things that made this a particularly enjoyable book to read. Many of Pacy's adventures are similar to my Kiddo's when she went to China for a few years, particularly the food. I have email after email telling me how wonderful Chinese food is, with dumplings being the favorite.
I should say that I have not read the previous two Pacy novels, The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat, but I feel like Dumpling Days is really a stand alone novel. And I did choose it intentionally because I felt it expresses the idea behind Asian Pacific American Heritage Month perfectly.
Besides that, Dumpling Days is one of the best novels I've read about what it is like to grow up in a family that is multicultural, plus it is also an engaging story that will easily appeal to most young readers. Lin has included simple line drawings throughout the novel that also reflect Pacy's experience (after all, how many of middle graders know what a squat toilet looks like).
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
This review was originally posted on Randomly Reading
March 1, 2017
In my opinion, this was a very good book, because of all it's humor, and great writing! It had many funny moments and was a very heartwarming story. It never fails at getting a reader to laugh. The main characters are Pacy Lin, and her family consisting of her two sisters, Kiki, and Lissy, and her parents. The minor characters in the book are Pacy's family in Taiwan, such as, Uncle Flower, Aunt Bea, Uncle Shin, etc. The story starts when Pacy is told that she and her family are going to Taiwan, for the whole summer! Pacy would rather stay in her homeland, and be in her normal daily life, not in a strange, new land. Pacy has many adventures meeting new people, getting closer to her family, and discovering her true culture. Find out more by reading the book! This was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone that likes chinese stories, and fiction/fantasy books. In conclusion, this was a very interesting book that I really enjoyed reading.
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