Eureka

by Victoria Chang, Catherine Ho (Narrator)

For fans of Inside Out and Back Again , Other Words for Home , and A Place to Hang the Moon — Eureka is a gorgeous and emotionally resonant novel-in-verse by multiple-award-winning poet Victoria Chang that sensitively and lyrically renders the tragic events surrounding the 1885 expulsion of Chinese Americans from Eureka, California.

Love illuminates the dark.

The year is 1885. San Francisco is dangerous for Chinese immigrants like 12-year-old Mei Mei. She must venture on her own, without her family or friends, to Eureka, California, where it is supposedly safe.

But 300 miles from home, Mei Mei misses her Ma Ma's kindness, helping out in her Ba Ba's store, and playing hide-and-seek with her best friend, Hua Hua. Despite her fear and the increasing violence against her community, she finds hope in an unexpected friend, the giant Redwood trees, and a new learning how to read in English. As the world around her grows more scary, Mei Mei discovers her own power, as well as the joy of found family, the importance of courage, and the nature of freedom.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Poetry, Aapi, Historical, Fiction, Novel In Verse

Audible Audio

Published January 27, 2026

About the author

Victoria Chang's latest book of poems is With My Back to the World (Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Corsair in the UK), which received the Forward Prize in Poetry for the Best Collection. Her most recent book is The Trees Witness Everything (Copper Canyon Press, 2022). Her prose book, Dear Memory, was published by Milkweed Editions in 2021. Her recent book of poems, OBIT, was published in 2020 by Copper Canyon Press. It was named a New York Times Notable Book, as well as a TIME, NPR, Publisher's Weekly, Book of the Year. It received the LA Times Book Prize, the PEN Voelcker Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Award. It was also a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the NBCC, and long listed for the NBA. She is the Bourne Chair of Poetry and the Director of Poetry@Tech at Georgia Tech.

Her website is www.victoriachangpoet.com. Twitter: @VChangPoet.

Reviews

[Meredith Waggoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

conflicted on this review! I love when a book shines a light on a time period/event and furthers learning and personal discovery. however !! I wasn’t blown away by the free verse. at times there were a few memorable lines - describing someone as having “a star in their eye” but then were ones like “I smell the smell I’ve smelled.” I love middle grade free verse so this might be borderline 2/2.5 for me.

[rachel x]

"For fans of Inside Out and Back Again, Other Words for Home, and A Place to Hang the Moon -- Eureka is a gorgeous and emotionally resonant novel-in-verse that sensitively and lyrically renders the tragic events surrounding the 1885 expulsion of Chinese Americans from Eureka, California."

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie’s Picks: EUREKA by Victoria Chang, Macmillan/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, January 2026, 272p., ISBN: 978-0-374-39353-3

“People come in diff’rent sizes
Colors, shapes and names
Tho’ we're diff’rent on the outside
Inside I think we’re the same!
– Peter Alsop, “Kid’s Peace Song” (1986)

November 5, 1884

“I don’t want to go.
‘You have to go,’ says Ma Ma.
‘If you stay here,
you won’t be safe,’
says Ba Ba.
‘San Francisco’s getting
more and more dangerous
for Chinese people.
You
must
go.’
I don’t want to go.
‘I’m safe here with
you’ I say.
Ma Ma tries to
stand up.
Her face bends
in pain as she
leans over to
rest.
‘Sit,’
says Ba Ba.
Ma Ma sits back
down, and I am suddenly
amazed by her
smallness.
She lifts her feet
back up on the lounge,
little lotus feet,
each one only
two inches long,
each broken toe
like a lotus flower petal,
soft
and
beautiful.
I don’t want to go.
Ma Ma and Ba Ba
want me to
move to Eureka!
Almost three hundred miles north of
San Francisco, the only
home I’ve ever known.
They say it’s safer there,
that a judge just said
schools must let Chinese
kids like me go to school with
the white kids.
‘This is for you,’ says Ma Ma
as she pulls
out a necklace,
bright yellow gold,
from a tin box.
‘Real gold,’ she says.
I don’t want to go.
A round circle hangs
from the necklace, with a Chinese
character in the middle,
愛, ‘love.’
‘When you’re scared,
touch the necklace, and you will
feel my love,’ says Ma Ma.
‘And you will feel brave.’
She waves me over
and I move closer to her.
She drops the necklace over
my head.
It slides over my hair
onto my shoulders,
settles around my neck.
I don’t feel brave.
It just feels
like a gold stone that
pulls me down.
Ma Ma places her palm on
my heart,
closes her eyes.
A tear hangs on her
eyelashes, drops
down and
catches her cheek,
bleeds down
her face, and then
so many tears,
they all
become
one.
A drop
lands on my hand,
mixes with my own tears.
I don’t want
to go.”

EUREKA is an exceptional piece of historical fiction for tweens. Beginning with a “Content warning: This book contains violence and racism,” we see the White majority on the West Coast terrorizing and uprooting Chinese Americans.

“President Trump unleashed a xenophobic tirade against Somali immigrants on Tuesday, calling them ‘garbage’ he does not want in the United States in an outburst that captured the raw nativism that has animated his approach to immigration.”
– NYT (12/02/2025)

As a student of American history (and current events), it’s hard to shake the belief that the normal state of affairs in the U.S. of A. over the past 250 years has, time and time again, involved attacking or taking advantage of immigrants, women, or anyone else who is not a straight White European male.

“‘They said they’ll hang
us on the new gallows they’re
building right now, if we’re
still here after three tomorrow,’
Uncle Wong says between
breaths.
‘We have to go, now!’
People are running everywhere,
back and forth in the streets,
packing their things,
talking loudly.
I’m so scared,
I can’t move.
My body weighs as much
as the trees.”

As Victoria Chang explains in her Author’s Note:
“On May 6, 1882, the US government signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years (and was extended and made permanent in 1902). This was the first major US law that prevented a specific nationality from immigrating. The act represented years of racial tensions, violence, and hostility by the government
and white Americans toward Chinese immigrants.”

EUREKA begins two years after that enactment, and includes a horrific Chinese American “expulsion” in Eureka, California (which did, in fact, take place). The Chinese Exclusion Act apparently made Whites feel that they had government sanctioning to maim, kill, and burn down Chinese-American neighborhoods.

Given what was going on in San Francisco’s Chinatown in those dangerous days, Mei Mei’s parents, and other parents believed that Eureka would be a safer place for their Chinese American kids. This certainly does not turn out to be true. Twelve-year-old Mei Mei gets sent up there, gets stuck slaving in a White family’s kitchen, and not getting to go to school. Through her eyes and her story-in-verse, readers get a vivid picture of the hatred and violence surrounding her.

“Kids like us live everywhere
Around the world, in ev’ry land
The words we speak are not the same
But Peace on Earth we understand”

A generation after Peter Alsop encouraged kids to see beneath the skin colors and other surficial differences, things still don’t seem much better.

Exposing young readers to books like this enlightens them and helps break the spiral of hate that continues to be passed down from parents to their children. Let’s hope that something miraculously happens in 2026 to rid us of today’s continued ignorance and prejudice against immigrants.

That’s my New Year’s wish.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Set in 1884, this novel in verse follows the journey of Mei Mei from San Francisco to Eureka, California. Mei Mei's parents run a grocery store in the city, but are increasingly concerned about their daughter's welfare, as other young Chinese girls have been kidnapped. They send her 300 miles north to live with her aunt and uncle, who have told them that Eureka has schools where Chinese students attend with white students. Since Mei Mei has been attending a small school held in a church basement, she is very excited about this new opportunity, although she doesn't want to leave home. Her best friend, Hua Hua, also leaves, but Her entire family goes to live in Arcata. Her aunt, however, lets her know that she will be working as a servant in the home of the wealthy Bobbitt family. The father is a local banker, the mother and young son are very mean, and the daughter, Sara, is kind and offers to teach Mei Mei how to read. The cook, Mrs. Yu, and the kitchen boy, Tom, help Mei Mei navigate life in the new town. There are many problems between the white and Chinese population, and the Chinatown area is at the end of a sewer line, so always smells like garbage. The homes are ramshackle, and the local tongs frequently clash with each other. Mei Mei's uncle is heavily involved in this activity, so her aunt is very concerned. Both Mei Mei's mother and aunt had their feet bound as children, so find it hard to walk. Mei Mei's mother never leaves the home, but her aunt is able to get around with some help. When the tong activity escalates and two white people are shot, the town tells the Chinese population that they must leave or be forcibly removed. Sara manages to get a wagon for Mei Mei so that she can get her aunt to San Francisco, but when she arrives home with Mrs. Yu and Tom, her aunt and uncle have fled. As the group leaves, they can tell that the Chinatown has been burnt. The journey to San Francisco is treacherous, but Mei Mei's parents welcome all three travelers and settle them into life in the city.
Strengths: Historical fiction is a great way to learn about what life was like in different places and times, and I was not familiar with the details of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 or the impact that it had on Chinese American society at the time. Viewing this time from the point of view of a young girl was a good choice, and young readers will be appalled at how Mei Mei is treated. I loved that she was interested in education, and it was a bright spot to see Sara helping her to learn to read. Later in the book, it comes out that she taught Tom as well, and this small act of humanity made life seem a tiny bit less bleak. The details about bound feet were interesting as well. Thank goodness the practice was banned in 1912, although it was enforced until 1949.
Weaknesses: This is a really interesting topic, but I could have used more details about the general politics and events at the time. Novels in verse are more poetic, and often lack the details needed for readers who may not have background knowledge. Since I can't think of any nonfiction books for middle grade readers that could be used to scaffold this knowledge, more information would have been helpful.
What I really think: It's hard to find fictional books about this period of US history, so this is a good choice for readers who enjoyed stories about the Chinese American experience like Ingold's Paper Daughter or Yee's Maizy Chen's Last Chance Yep's The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a middle grade historical fiction verse novel which describes the Chinese banishment and anti-Chinese sentiment of 19th century Eureka, CA. Readers experience these events through the perspective of Mei Mei, a Chinese-American 12-year-old. The book opens with a snapshot of Mei Mei's life in San Francisco. She lives in the Chinatown neighborhood. Her father runs a sausage and herbs shop that the family lives above. Mei Mei spends her days playing hide and seek with her best friend and going to a makeshift school in their church. She is not allowed to go to public school due to racial discrimination. Violence and risk of Mei Mei being kidnapped force her parents to send her to Eureka to live with her aunt and uncle. She is promised a better life in Eureka. After making the journey alongside a friend's family, she is immediately put to work within a rich family's household. There she is mentored by Ms. Yu and befriends Tom, another household servant. She also meets and is tutored by Sara Bobbitt, one of her employer's children.

This novel details the lesser known events of historical Asian discrimination in California. This is a portrayal of a American child trying to find herself between the old world traditions of Canton, China that her parents represent and her present-day surroundings. She regularly muses on the idea of freedom through descriptions of possessing unbound feet and learning to read. This book is welcomed to any historical fiction collection. Fans of Stealing Home or In the Beautiful Country would enjoy this historical fiction verse novel as well.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ebook arc of this novel.

[Pete Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eureka is a historical fiction based on the 1885 expulsion of the Chinese from Eureka. We follow the life of 12-year-old Mei Mei as her parents decide to send her 300 miles north from San Francisco to Eureka to live with her aunt and uncle. The parents feel life isn't safe for Mei Mei and believe their daughter will thrive in the safer environment of Eureka, living with her aunt and uncle. Mei Mei doesn't want to leave, even though her parents paint a positive picture of Eureka. Mei Mei's good friend, Hua Hua, is also going north with her family to Aracta, a city close to Eureka.

Despite the belief that Eureka will be so much better, Mei Mei must work for a wealthy family instead of attending school, where she longs to learn English. The family is cruel, except for their daughter, Sara, who secretly befriends Hua Hua and begins teaching her English. When an Eureka city councilman is inadvertently killed during a fight between two rival Chinese gangs, the townspeople decide to expel all the Chinese living in Eureka. Where will Hua Hua go, and will life be better there, or will she still experience the same level of racism and hate?

The book is written in verse, and I finished it in one sitting. While it's fast-paced, which should appeal to children, I thought it would have worked better as prose, which would have allowed the author more opportunity to provide more character depth and delve more into the historical aspects of racism and discrimination.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eureka is a fictional story based on a real event where Chinese people were expelled from Eureka and the burning down of Chinatown on February 7th, 1885. The day before, on February 6, 1885, Eureka City Councilman David Kendall was killed after being caught in the crossfire between two rival Chinese gangs. The next day, the white people decided that "all Chinamen be expelled from the city and that none be allowed to return."

Victoria Chang took this real event and wrote about Mei Mei, who was sent to Eureka by her parents, thinking she would have a normal life with her aunt. Unfortunately, Mei Mei was actually made to work as a maid/cook, facing so much racism at such a young age.

This book is definitely meant for younger readers, but it still leaves a meaningful impression on me. I am saddened that the tragedy in this book was something that happened in real life a long time ago, and it broke my heart to think that there must be a little girl who went through similar things as Mei Mei at the time. I hope younger readers will get to read this and learn more about the lives of immigrants in the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the e-ARC.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a highly anticipated 2026 MG read that ultimately didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Eureka by Victoria Chang is a new novel in verse set in Northern California in 1885, a time period leading up to the expulsion of Chinese Americans from the small town of Eureka. Prior to reading this book, I was unfamiliar with Eureka’s history, and I was absolutely captivated (and horrified) by the historical aspects of the book. I wish that Chang had spent more time elaborating on the details of these events. Eureka is written in verse, a genre that I typically love, but one that didn’t quite work for this story. Chang’s storytelling style mostly focused on plot rather than language, and this usually poetic genre felt choppy instead. In my opinion, this book would have been stronger as an epistolary novel. I did appreciate the quick pace of the book, as I was able to finish it in a single sitting. Mostly, I just wanted more–more historical details, more character development, more words. Still, I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a quick read that offers a glimpse into a secret and shameful story of California’s past.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written completely in verse, this is the story of the 1885 expulsion of Chinese from Eureka, California. It centers around a young girl who is sent to Eureka because it is thought to be safe, but for her, it turns out to be the most dangerous time of her life and not just when she is forced to flee the city. It's a heartbreaking rendering of a time in history that needs to be remembered and not repeated.

I enjoyed this story for it's historical content. I wasn't even aware of it before reading this book, so I felt like I learned a lot and want to learn more about this horrible time. The book is a quick read, but I think it gives just enough information for its intended middle grade and ya audience. I, personally, wanted a bit more of the story, but I can research it on my own. I appreciated that, although there was plenty of violence, it was handled with tact for a younger crowd. The poetic verse was also a great way to tell this story, and I think it will hit well with a lot of young historical fiction fans and with grown ups like me who feel like they missed this lesson in school.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the free arc!

A well-written YA story in verse about the events surrounding the 1885 expulsion of Chinese Americans from Eureka, California told through the eyes of 12 year old Mei Mei. Living in San Fransico, things are dangerous for Chinese immigrants. Mei Mei must go to Eureka, California, for increase safety on her own. Promised that she will have more freedom and be able to attend school, she is soon disappointed to discover that things are not as they were advertised. Mei Mei must work long hours in a kitchen, making food for white people that she will never see. The promised safety does not exist and she soon finds out that the fights that occurred between Chinese people and the fights between Chinese and White people that occurred in San Fransico, also happen in Eureka. Through meeting new people and making a new friend, Mei Mei starts to learn how to read English and begins to learn about her own power, courage, and freedom.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of Eureka by Victoria Chang! Eureka follows a twelve-year-old girl, Mei Mei, as she explores her own identity in tumultuous 1885 California. Throughout the book, Mei Mei finds parallels between herself, her mother, and those around her as she tries to find safety in a world that is not accepting of Chinese immigrants. She finds her voice and position in a world that does not want the same for her. Chang builds Mei Mei as a character through her interactions and actions, strongly connecting to her feelings and reflecting on her life as a whole, making this novel relatable to the targeted demographic. This novel in verse was both educational and accessible for middle grade students, and I'm looking forward to supplying it in my classroom library to build understanding in a little-known piece of American history.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: "Eat before you go out,"
says Ma Ma. "And be
back for Chinese school!"
Ma Ma says this to me
every single day.
I'm not allowed to go to a public school
in San Francisco
with the American kids.

Premise/plot: Eureka is historical fiction set in 1884/1885 California. When Mei Mei's parents feel their young daughter is in danger if she remains in San Francisco (in danger of being taken and sold), they send her--for her own good--to Eureka, California, little knowing that they are sending her to even greater danger. In just a few months, all the Chinese will be expelled--much violence--from Eureka. Mei Mei and her new friends will have to find their own way back to San Francisco in the hope of finding refuge.

My thoughts: I enjoy verse novels. I enjoy historical fiction. I definitely enjoyed this one. It was a quick read.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this middle grade novel in verse set in California in the late 1800s, the Chinese are being discriminated against. The racism leads the main character, Mei Mei, to leave her family in San Francisco and go live with her aunt and uncle in Eureka, where they are told the brutality against the Chinese isn’t as bad. Unfortunately Eureka has it’s issues as well. Mei Mei is required to work for pennies instead of going to school, and some of the people she encounters are not nice. The girl of the house she works at, Sara, is friendly and even teaches Mei Mei some English. All in all, this was a quick but emotionally rich story, about a time in history that most people aren’t aware of. Recommended for middle school readers.

[Manon the Malicious · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided an audio ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really short but really intense and powerful story. I had a few issues with the audiobook, because it was a verse novel and when the main character was learning English, some words and messages were spelled out and I didn't have time to piece them together so I missed some of the story and that was quite annoying to me. But, overall, it was just so emotional and captivating, I could not stop reading. It honestly made me want to learn more about this part of history and to read more books by this author.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of the book

Eureka was a moving and thoughtful look at a little known moment in history. I loved the use of novel in verse as it helped the reader not only move easily through the book but also feel the tension as it ebbed and flowed in the book. I loved the relationships that we saw form in the book and also wished that we could have seen more of it at times. I thought the use of culture was also very well done and would lead young readers to want to know more about it. Overall it was an amazing read.

[Erica Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

EUREKA is a fast-paced novel in verse that follows Mei Mei, a Chinese-American girl in 1885 who is sent to Eureka from San Francisco in search of a safer life. However, she quickly sees that life in Eureka is not all it is chalked up to be. This book was good, though I think that at times it felt like a prose work with linebreaks rather than a novel in verse. It lacked some of the poeticism that comes with a truly great novel in verse. That said, it sheds light on an under-explored area of history and does so unflinchingly, which I appreciated.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Farrar Straus & Giroux for the free e-ARC.

Giving this 4 stars. It's a very intimate yet informative look through a child's eyes, watching and living through a tragic moment in history. The story is written exclusively in verse, keeping us immersed in Mei Mei's perspective as she tries to make sense of the world around her.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about history, but especially to teachers, parents, or anyone else who could get this into the hands of kids.

[Lisa Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story at a middle school level about a Chinese girl in California. Forced to leave her home, she ends up traveling to a place where the situation was misrepresented, and it's really powerful how strong she was making it through that time.
The language is simplistic but easy to understand and I wanted to finish in one sitting. Thanks to Netgalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

Eureka is a story of a young girl removed from her family under the guise of staying safe, while coming to find the many dangers waiting for her. It is a journey where we get to observe her thoughts, processing, and hopes and dreams. It was a quick read and even though I do not have children to share it with at the moment I thoroughly enjoyed the history and story of Mei Mei and her family.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so powerful and gut wrenching. It pains a sad and moving picture of a very dark time in history. Our main character was such a resilient girl and I just wanted her to be safe at the end of this story. This book will really be a moving story for kids to read to help them understand others and to feel empathy for others.

[Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love historical fiction, but the in verse style made this hard to get into. Although Mei Mei is a likable and sympathetic character, I couldn't quite connect with her as much as I wanted to. I also wish her relationships with other characters, particularly Tom and Sara, had been developed more. There was just something lacking that prevented me from feeling fully immersed in the story.

[Laurel Zeisler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books in verse. The author did a nice job of teaching about a time in history that schools don't teach about and making the characters come to life. I would add this to a school library.

[Izzi Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written in prose, offers a poignant view into the racism Chinese people faced in California in the 1880s. 13+

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the premise of this book is excellent, but I feel that the story would be better suited as prose instead of verse. I wanted to know so much more about our characters and setting.