Isabelle in the City

American Girl: Isabelle

by Laurence Yep

Isabelle and her sister, Jade, are off to New York City for a summer ballet program. It feels like a dream come true - until Isabelle meets her Japanese roommate, Miki, who doesn't seem to want to spend any time with her. When Isabelle realizes that Miki has trouble speaking English, she searches for a way to bridge the gap between them. Can the two girls from different cultures find a way to communicate through their shared love of dance?

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2014

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

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

I really like Isabelle as a character and a person definitely the type of person I wish all kids could be. Her stories are great and I definitely recommend for your girls to read and have as a role model. This book also teaches the important lesson that all people are the same inside even if they look different and come from different places.

[Antonela LoRusso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. I loved the friendships that were built. I have Autism, Social Anxiety Disorder, and other mental conditions so I loved the inclusion of how to socialize with new people because it is hard for me to make conversation with a new person.

[Vanessa Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story! Another point for American Girl!

This e-book has a great storyline! I love American Girl. This story is about how Isabelle makes new friends in New York City. It's very detailed and is good for all ages! I definitely recommend this book and all other American Girl books!

[Olivia Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This book is so good i can't even spell right I mean it was the best book ever I wish I could read it again

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Love the story so realistic shows true friendship between totally different girls the book is one of the best American girl books

[Ariana McDaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doll

I think it would be a good book for my doll izzy. If you got books
I recommend this book to you .

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun addition to the Isabelle series.