Mia

American Girl: Mia #1

by Laurence Yep

Mia St. Clair is a ten-year-old girl living in upstate New York. She has grown up playing ice hockey wit her three older brothers on the pond behind their house. Mia’s got the skills and the scrappiness it takes to be a star hockey player, but she’s tired of skating in her brothers’ shadows and has decided to follow her heart and pursue figure skating instead. Does she have what it takes to grow and compete as a figure skaters?

When a new coach arrives, Mia finds herself gently pushed by the coach at the same time that she’s pulled by her brothers. Can she stay true to her heart and follow her own path? Can she hold her own in a world of competitive skating?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Contemporary, Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile

130 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Born June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.

Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You all probably dream about making Nationals and even the Olympics ... But your toughest competition will always be your own selves."

With three older brothers who are OBSESSED with hockey, no wonder why Mia is great at that sport and only good at figure skating. But she tries, regardless of what anyone - even her coach - says about her skating.

"Coach Nelson wouldn't have kept you as a student if you were that bad."
... "I never understood that, because all he did was point out my mistakes."

But then a new Coach is hired by Mia's skating rink and soon Mia finds herself pushed in exciting ways...but no matter what she says, her brothers seem to always give their own opinions.

"You don't belong in figure skating," Skip urged. "You skate better than most guys I know, and you handle a stick as well as Perry. You'd be a star player on any girls' team."

Should Mia give up figure skating just because she's a better hockey player? Or should she continue doing what she enjoys?

Overall, a fairly good book in the Girl of the Year series by American Girl.

The story itself was only okay for the first half. I enjoyed getting to know Mia and learning about what hockey/figure skating culture is like for a ten-year-old but the story was missing that spark that turns a good book into a great one.

That being said, after we got halfway through the book picked up wonderfully and I was fully invested in the story.

Also, I loved her older brothers in this one. They were ridiculous, overprotective and (at times) obnoxious but you could absolutely tell from the start how much they cared for her.

Overall, quite an enjoyable read!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a little girl and it meant the world to me. All of the American Girl books helped me develop a true love for reading at a young age. That <---will definitely sound strange or immature on the internet coming from a (almost) 16 year old girl I guess, but these books are really special; I recommend them :)

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia is my favorite Girl of the Year character from American Girl. I read this duology twice in 2008, the year it released, and just enjoyed reading it again. I was afraid that the story wouldn't live up to my memory, but I really enjoyed it. Mia's family dynamics are wonderful and memorable, and I remember really liking her relationships with her older brothers. They are very realistic teenage boys, and Mia's family makeup is very different than any other I've seen in American Girl so far.

Mia's family is also working class and struggling to make ends meet, and it's great to see that representation in an American Girl book. Many of the contemporary series focus on girls from privileged backgrounds, but this one involves very real financial constraints, parents working multiple jobs, and stress over being able to pay for kids' extra-curricular activities. This made a major positive impression on me at the time, since it was 2008 and we were in the midst of the Great Recession. If American Girl was going to finally write about people struggling to make ends meet, they picked a good time to do that.

Also, this was the first book I ever read that mentioned an mp3 player and earbuds. I still think about that sometimes. Now, it's an interesting time capsule, but the story is strong enough that it should appeal to kids now. The skating story and family elements are all appealing, and even though some reviewers criticized American Girl for having catty mean girls in the story, I don't think that the publisher needed to ignore reality to uplift girls and women. Everyone knows that there are going to be jerks in competitive environments, and this book provides a positive model for how Mia deals with that.

Overall, I was very pleased with this book again, and I would recommend both Mia titles to people who are interested in finding older, out-of-print American Girl books for themselves or their kids.

[amanda luke ✡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia was the first GOTY doll I got and probably my favourite because of that, so she’ll always have a special place in my heart. My thoughts of this book might I might be biased because of that. This is the first time I’ve read her book and I really enjoyed it. Her personality and perseverance really stick with me as an adult, and if I’d read this as a child, I’m sure it would’ve had a big impact on me too.

[Mary Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

[Mairead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute :( perfect for winter too

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!
Mia was fun and funny! A hard worker, and not willing to give up. Kind.
Her, and her family, felt real. The good and the hard.
A great book!

[Gabbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

mia u should check this out

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia's brothers call her a human hockey puck puck because when she was young she was excellant at hockey. Now she wanted

[Makayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally think this book was good. It could've been better, but it had a good moral. For example, it could've had more detail and longer chapters, but as seeing this was written for older children from about ages 10-13, it makes sense. But, personally, it had given me a really nice upbeat, uplifting, stunning feel when I was reading it. Take for example on page 116, "For one moment, I felt as if someone had repealed the law of gravity so that I could just go on floating forever." Doesn't that give off that kind of vibe? So, overall, I thought this book was really cute and aspiring for any reader who is in need of inspiration.

[Elise • valkyrieslanding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always loved Mia but I thought her story was just ok. I liked that it taught courage and believing in yourself. I did not like how Mia’s brothers looked down on her at times and didn’t support her. Even her parents letting her brothers eat all of dinner and not saving her any and then roping her into cooking another meal for herself and them. That was really mean. Also some of the skating details were unrealistic. It’s very unlikely that a young skater doing double jumps would have never done a solo before but then was all of a sudden going to regionals.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these books when I was younger and absolutely fell in love with Mia. I wish they would have written an entire series on Mia versus just the two books available. Mia is an inspirational American Girl because she is determined to become an ice skater no matter how many times she falls. Additionally, I love the illustrations in this book!

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite AG book yet, but not bad. Mia is a tomboy from a family of hockey loving brothers, learning how to branch out in her own sport. Contemporary. Perhaps one of the more difficult readalouds for my five year old to follow along with. I changed a lot of words and skipped over extra fluff descriptions to keep her interested.

[Angie Gazdziak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually liked this one a bit better than the AG books I grew up reading. It's substantially longer than the others and gets into more detail. Everything is wrapped up neatly by the end, but it's still a good read for kids struggling with self-esteem and challenges. Perfect for my perfectionist 10 yo who gets frustrated when something isn't "easy" on the first try.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really sweet book for readers around 8-11. It is American Girl, so it is fun to learn about stories of girls and then have a doll with them. It is great for growth mindset. This book teaches that as long as you stay committed and try your best, you can make improvements even if they are just small improvements.

[Jesten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very cute and sweet. Mia is adorable.

[Booknerdreads Grace Haddad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good! It’s also got an important lesson for young girls!

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book, Laurence Yep! Enjoyed it a lot!!

[Rebecca Trushenski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story read strange and the figure skating details weren’t realistic or accurate. Not the best AG book but Mia is a favorite anyway.

[Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Mia St.Clair, the reason that child me wanted to be an ice skater. I did not end up following that path, but hey it's something interesting to think about. Rating is based purely on nostalgia

[Amanda Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mia’s stories are well done, with a focus on family.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the strongest GotY books, I loved Mia

[Rena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a comfort read, and continues to live up to how I remembered it. The relationships depicted are realistic, and it is overall a lovely read.

[Antonela LoRusso · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. I love the relationship of Mia and her brothers and I love how Vanessa became nice at the end.

[Robert Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this story. It was very easy to understand. I believe any preteen 👧 girl would love 😍 it.

[hima]

okay i know im larping being a sports fan rn but a sport that i've like always loved was figure skating, so i ate this up!!!!!!!

[Shani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve now read it in full. Starting out, I wasn’t sure about how I’d like it. But I’m happy to say that I’ve been proven wrong. I throughly enjoyed it.

Honestly, I found myself relating to Mia, in a way that rarely happens for me with characters. And I’m tickled pink about it.

I like the way it ended, too. While it does give a nice lead into the next book (or so I’m guessing, not there yet), it reminds me of how some other middle grade books I’ve read end off. I feel like you could leave it there, without reading the second.

Not that I’m doing that. I’m off to the next one. (As well as the other books I’m reading.)

[Ashlyn Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Mia, the main character is a little girl. She is ten years old and has 3 older brothers, Rick, Perry, and Skip. Mia's brothers are all hockey players, but Mia is a figure skater. After Mia's old coach leaves and a new coach moves to town, Mia is pushed harder then ever. She must learn to get back up when she falls and choose her own destiny.
In the book the main character Mia is challenged. She lacks confidence in her figure skating and wonders if she would be better off playing hockey with her brothers. After Mia gets a new coach she is pushed a little harder. Her coach gives her a solo. Mia is nervous but in the end only she can solve her problems.
This book was really easy, it is a good book for younger kids. It was a cute book that encourages following your dreams. It would be a really fun read along for younger grades. I enjoyed this book but it was easier and didn't grab my attention really.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved American Girl dolls as a kid, but I never got into the Girl of the Year. They were around for a limited time, and I liked the dolls that had more history to them. My one exception was Mia. I loved Mia because she felt familiar to me. I grew up as a hockey sister, and though I never played, Mia's world was familiar to me. She was the first American Girl doll I really identified with. She was a kindred spirit, and I still love both of her books. They've stayed on my bookshelf because they are genuinely good stories. Mia struggles between what her brothers want and what she wants. She wants to be someone other than the St. Clair's little sister. She wants to make a name for herself, and figure-skating is how she wants to do that. There's a great scene with her brothers cleaning up after dinner, and their argument about Mia not playing hockey is one of my favorite scenes in children's fiction. Recommended!