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American Girl: Julie #7
Good Luck, Ivy
When Ivy Ling, a young, Chinese-American girl growing up in San Francisco during the 1970s, has to choose between attending a gymnastics tournament or a family reunion, her brother helps her find a solution to her dilemma.
85 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
573 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Yee
40 books557 followersLisa Yee has written over 20 novels. Her most recent book, Maizy Chen's Last Chance, is about a fifth-generation Chinese American girl, and is a National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, and the Asian Pacific American Children's Literature Award winner.
Lisa's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Other books include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, Absolutely Maybe, and a series about a 4th grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes), illustrated by Dan Santat.
Lisa is also the author of several American Girl books and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, Lisa's books have been named a NPR Best Summer Read, Sports Illustrated Kids Hot Summer Read, and USA Today Critics’ Top Pick.
Lisa lives In Western Massachusetts, but spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, especially when it's cold. Her next book, an awkward and hilarious mystery, is called The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum, and is illustrated by Dan Santat.
You can visit Lisa at www.lisayee.com.
Lisa's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Other books include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, Absolutely Maybe, and a series about a 4th grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes), illustrated by Dan Santat.
Lisa is also the author of several American Girl books and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, Lisa's books have been named a NPR Best Summer Read, Sports Illustrated Kids Hot Summer Read, and USA Today Critics’ Top Pick.
Lisa lives In Western Massachusetts, but spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, especially when it's cold. Her next book, an awkward and hilarious mystery, is called The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum, and is illustrated by Dan Santat.
You can visit Lisa at www.lisayee.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 13, 2020
I am 42-years-old in 2020 and I still enjoy re-reading this for three reasons. First the character, Ivy is not just an underdeveloped sidekick to European American Julie. Second, the minor characters that include Ivy's brother are not overcompensating stereotype breakers. Instead the characters are realistic with just the right amount of tension. For example, Ivy's mom is returning to law school and a bit stressed transitioning into a new career. Ivy's bro is depicted as handsome and sought after by his classmates for romantic attention (way way before Crazy Rich Asians and talks about Asian Male attractiveness etc). Yet he does in fact idolize Bruce Lee with all the tension that brings. Lastly, the character journey is realistic. Ivy is under an enormous amount of pressure for a kid living in two plus cultures. That is a balancing act even for grown up East Asian Americans. Despite the parents progressiveness regarding Ivy's mom's second career, Ivy is forced to choose allegiances that are silly yet serious. Feelings will be hurt no matter what she chooses. Thankfully, Ivy's grandparents are her allies. When her parents go Pan Asian about food, Ivy's grandparents who actually own a Chinese eatery go with Ivy to grab some heart attack burgers and fries to demonstrate that sometimes grownups overreact. There's not one way to be Chinese American and Lisa Yee does a super job using more than a chocolate chunk almond cookie recipe to show that multiple times and in multiple ways. I will always appreciate Pleasant Company American Girls, though they are not perfect. In 1999, in college I wrote an appeal the company to make a Chinese American doll part of the official American Girl Doll canon. I received a personalized letter from Pleasant Company telling me that they read about my second grade memoir of racism where I was told that I was un-American and to sit down when all Americans were told to stand. I am still waiting for Ivy or the next generation of American Girl Dolls to have an East Asian main character as canon.
December 20, 2011
julie's best friend ivy finally gets a book to herself. it is worth noting that ivy is the first & only asian american character created by american girl. & as such, she is a poster child for asian american stereotypes. her story is all about how she is torn between fealty to her family & her passion for her american hobbies.
ivy is apparently a competitive gymnast who has a thorny relationship with the balance beam. in the last big competition, she fell off the balance beam & had a meltdown when she couldn't get back on within ten seconds, so she ran off crying. now she is terrified of something similar transpiring in a future competition, even though she is very gifted at all other gymnastic pursuits, especially the floor routine.
meanwhile, a big family reunion is coming up, resplendent with visiting aunts & uncles. it will, of course, be held at the happy panda chinese restaurant. ivy is cringing in advance because a) some of her relatives are a little embarrassing, like her aunt who was a chinese acrobat back in the old country & always wants to spin plates to prove she's still got the chops (i'm not even joking) & her uncle, who terrorized san francisco one christmas season when he sold a fuzzy adorable little monster to a dumbass white kid who spilled water on it & created a race of murderous killer monsters (okay, i am just joking about that one). & b) ivy is sick & tired of chinese food. her mom, who by all rights should be slaving away barefoot & pregnant in the kitchen like a real woman, is instead putting herself through law school because this book is set in the mid-1970s when women rose up & started going to law school. she doesn't have time to cook elaborate family dinners that might stave off the social & moral decline of the 1980s, & it's not like ivy's dad is gonna cook anything. he's too busy having a penis. so her grandparents, proprietors of the happy panda restaurant, bring dinner by for the family all the time. & ivy is tired of it. she wants to eat "normal" food, like her white american friends. because, you see, ivy is an assimilated chinese american girl who is torn between two cultures in all the most stereotypical ways possible. i imagine that she grows up to be amy tan's muse.
ivy is also attending chinese school with her older brother, andrew. andrew is obsessed with martial arts (of course), especially bruce lee (of course). it's shocking to me that these books were actually written by an asian american woman because she is dinging every box on the asian american stereotypes list. andrew also rules at chinese school. he's great at speaking & writing the language, while ivy struggles. which is in direct contradiction to scenes in the julie books in which ivy is perfectly content to sit around all day painting chinese characters into phone books & translating the panicked chinese screaming of a young immigrant mother who has lost her child. the chinese school teacher tells the students that they can earn extra credit by writing a report about their families. ivy thinks she should do the report because she needs the points. she thinks the family reunion will be an ideal time to interview everyone.
but oh no! the big city-wide gymnastics competition, at which ivy hopes to redeem herself for her previous balance beam failures, is the same day as the family reunion! & surely it is too obvious for ivy & her family to say, "go to the meet in the morning & come to the reunion after, since the reunion is mainly a dinner thing anyway." no, instead mr. ling insists that ivy skip the meet to prove her loyalty to family & tradition, & ivy's mother insists that ivy attend the meet in order to show her independence & assimilation into american culture. whatever will ivy do?
in the morning, she goes to the meet. she is surprised & touched by a special note andrew hides in her gym bag. it's a drawing of a chinese dragon & it says "dragons rule!" andrew is a big fan of dragons. he also had the whole family pose holding a banner that says, "good luck, ivy!" this is all ivy needs to nail her balance beam routine. she takes third-place overall & finishes fifth in balance beam. then, rather than go out for pizza with her teammates, she changes into her cheong-sam & hits the reunion, where she earnestly asks aunt acrobat to spin some plates & thinks about how lucky she is to have her family & culture.
ivy is apparently a competitive gymnast who has a thorny relationship with the balance beam. in the last big competition, she fell off the balance beam & had a meltdown when she couldn't get back on within ten seconds, so she ran off crying. now she is terrified of something similar transpiring in a future competition, even though she is very gifted at all other gymnastic pursuits, especially the floor routine.
meanwhile, a big family reunion is coming up, resplendent with visiting aunts & uncles. it will, of course, be held at the happy panda chinese restaurant. ivy is cringing in advance because a) some of her relatives are a little embarrassing, like her aunt who was a chinese acrobat back in the old country & always wants to spin plates to prove she's still got the chops (i'm not even joking) & her uncle, who terrorized san francisco one christmas season when he sold a fuzzy adorable little monster to a dumbass white kid who spilled water on it & created a race of murderous killer monsters (okay, i am just joking about that one). & b) ivy is sick & tired of chinese food. her mom, who by all rights should be slaving away barefoot & pregnant in the kitchen like a real woman, is instead putting herself through law school because this book is set in the mid-1970s when women rose up & started going to law school. she doesn't have time to cook elaborate family dinners that might stave off the social & moral decline of the 1980s, & it's not like ivy's dad is gonna cook anything. he's too busy having a penis. so her grandparents, proprietors of the happy panda restaurant, bring dinner by for the family all the time. & ivy is tired of it. she wants to eat "normal" food, like her white american friends. because, you see, ivy is an assimilated chinese american girl who is torn between two cultures in all the most stereotypical ways possible. i imagine that she grows up to be amy tan's muse.
ivy is also attending chinese school with her older brother, andrew. andrew is obsessed with martial arts (of course), especially bruce lee (of course). it's shocking to me that these books were actually written by an asian american woman because she is dinging every box on the asian american stereotypes list. andrew also rules at chinese school. he's great at speaking & writing the language, while ivy struggles. which is in direct contradiction to scenes in the julie books in which ivy is perfectly content to sit around all day painting chinese characters into phone books & translating the panicked chinese screaming of a young immigrant mother who has lost her child. the chinese school teacher tells the students that they can earn extra credit by writing a report about their families. ivy thinks she should do the report because she needs the points. she thinks the family reunion will be an ideal time to interview everyone.
but oh no! the big city-wide gymnastics competition, at which ivy hopes to redeem herself for her previous balance beam failures, is the same day as the family reunion! & surely it is too obvious for ivy & her family to say, "go to the meet in the morning & come to the reunion after, since the reunion is mainly a dinner thing anyway." no, instead mr. ling insists that ivy skip the meet to prove her loyalty to family & tradition, & ivy's mother insists that ivy attend the meet in order to show her independence & assimilation into american culture. whatever will ivy do?
in the morning, she goes to the meet. she is surprised & touched by a special note andrew hides in her gym bag. it's a drawing of a chinese dragon & it says "dragons rule!" andrew is a big fan of dragons. he also had the whole family pose holding a banner that says, "good luck, ivy!" this is all ivy needs to nail her balance beam routine. she takes third-place overall & finishes fifth in balance beam. then, rather than go out for pizza with her teammates, she changes into her cheong-sam & hits the reunion, where she earnestly asks aunt acrobat to spin some plates & thinks about how lucky she is to have her family & culture.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2022
Okay, "Good Luck, Ivy" convinces me that Ivy should have been the American Girl for 1974 instead of Julie and Lisa Yee should have written all the books. So much better than the clunky, cheesy Julie books.
I did find it weird that the gymnastics team held a fundraiser for the end of year party. Most sports teams just have the parents contributing to a pot unless the team is in an under privileged area. That's not Ivy.
I'm a little concerned that Ivy's father is so disengaged from her life that he has no idea how much gymnastics means to her or how important the upcoming tournament is. I was heartened when Ivy's mom took her side and made Ivy's father see reason. I was kind of hoping that some of Ivy's relatives would turn up at the event to cheer her on. Oh well. I do think Ivy made a good decision, competing in the tournament then skipping the pizza party to spend time with her family at the reunion. A good lesson about compromising.
I enjoyed the interaction between Ivy and her grandparents. I also thought the part where Ivy hears her parents arguing and wonders if this is what it was like when Julie's parents got divorced was well done. Very natural and realistic reaction.
My biggest problem is with the illustrator. Robert Hunt is very talented, but just as with the Julie books, he pays scant attention to details. The story states that Ivy's mother has feathered hair, but she is not pictured this way in any of the illustrations. Also, the illustration on page 48 where Ivy and her grandparents are eating at the diner, shows the grandfather holding a cheeseburger and another one on his plate. He did not order two cheeseburgers.
I really enjoyed Ivy's story better than the Julie series, so it's a nice way to end my reading of the American Girls canon.
I did find it weird that the gymnastics team held a fundraiser for the end of year party. Most sports teams just have the parents contributing to a pot unless the team is in an under privileged area. That's not Ivy.
I'm a little concerned that Ivy's father is so disengaged from her life that he has no idea how much gymnastics means to her or how important the upcoming tournament is. I was heartened when Ivy's mom took her side and made Ivy's father see reason. I was kind of hoping that some of Ivy's relatives would turn up at the event to cheer her on. Oh well. I do think Ivy made a good decision, competing in the tournament then skipping the pizza party to spend time with her family at the reunion. A good lesson about compromising.
I enjoyed the interaction between Ivy and her grandparents. I also thought the part where Ivy hears her parents arguing and wonders if this is what it was like when Julie's parents got divorced was well done. Very natural and realistic reaction.
My biggest problem is with the illustrator. Robert Hunt is very talented, but just as with the Julie books, he pays scant attention to details. The story states that Ivy's mother has feathered hair, but she is not pictured this way in any of the illustrations. Also, the illustration on page 48 where Ivy and her grandparents are eating at the diner, shows the grandfather holding a cheeseburger and another one on his plate. He did not order two cheeseburgers.
I really enjoyed Ivy's story better than the Julie series, so it's a nice way to end my reading of the American Girls canon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2024
So many people have so much love for Ivy, I was really looking forward to this one.
This is the first Best Friend book I’ve read that wasn’t written by Valerie Tripp (see Elizabeth, Nellie and Emily). And, for that matter, also wasn’t written by the Julie author, Megan McDonald. For the first time since Addy, they actually found an own-voices author to write a non-white character.
For that reason, I give this book a lot of leeway. While some elements seem cliché, perhaps that’s just Adult Me having read a fair number of stories by and about first and second generation Asian Americans. Sometimes things start to look cliché because they were true for a lot of people. And since the author herself grew up Asian American in the ‘70s, I trust that this is good representation.
Compared to Nellie and Emily, I think Ivy’s book benefits from not sharing a household with the main character – Tripp goes out of her way to keep Samantha and Molly offstage, shortchanging the friendship in the service of trying to spotlight the friend. Here, it’s well established that Ivy and Julie only see each other on weekends, so instead we’re able to get a good picture of Ivy’s large and busy family. And between gymnastics, homework, family and Chinese school, Ivy has a very busy life herself – which is what creates the main conflict here: compete in a big deal gymnastics meet, or attend a big deal family reunion. In standard AG style, Ivy finds a way to do both, also solving some secondary problems along the way.
There’s nothing the strikes me as revolutionary or unusual about this book – and like much of Julie’s series, it hardly feels like historical fiction to me, though I imagine it might to my daughter. But it’s a strong, positive portrayal of an Asian American girl and her family, and it’s clear that Ivy’s life could easily sustain a six-book series every bit as much as Julie’s did.
More Julie babble:
Meet Julie | Julie Tells Her Story | Happy New Year, Julie | Julie and the Eagles | Julie's Journey | Changes for Julie
Good Luck, Ivy
The Tangled Web | The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter | The Silver Guitar | Lost in the City | Message in a Bottle
A Brighter Tomorrow
This is the first Best Friend book I’ve read that wasn’t written by Valerie Tripp (see Elizabeth, Nellie and Emily). And, for that matter, also wasn’t written by the Julie author, Megan McDonald. For the first time since Addy, they actually found an own-voices author to write a non-white character.
For that reason, I give this book a lot of leeway. While some elements seem cliché, perhaps that’s just Adult Me having read a fair number of stories by and about first and second generation Asian Americans. Sometimes things start to look cliché because they were true for a lot of people. And since the author herself grew up Asian American in the ‘70s, I trust that this is good representation.
Compared to Nellie and Emily, I think Ivy’s book benefits from not sharing a household with the main character – Tripp goes out of her way to keep Samantha and Molly offstage, shortchanging the friendship in the service of trying to spotlight the friend. Here, it’s well established that Ivy and Julie only see each other on weekends, so instead we’re able to get a good picture of Ivy’s large and busy family. And between gymnastics, homework, family and Chinese school, Ivy has a very busy life herself – which is what creates the main conflict here: compete in a big deal gymnastics meet, or attend a big deal family reunion. In standard AG style, Ivy finds a way to do both, also solving some secondary problems along the way.
There’s nothing the strikes me as revolutionary or unusual about this book – and like much of Julie’s series, it hardly feels like historical fiction to me, though I imagine it might to my daughter. But it’s a strong, positive portrayal of an Asian American girl and her family, and it’s clear that Ivy’s life could easily sustain a six-book series every bit as much as Julie’s did.
More Julie babble:
Meet Julie | Julie Tells Her Story | Happy New Year, Julie | Julie and the Eagles | Julie's Journey | Changes for Julie
Good Luck, Ivy
The Tangled Web | The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter | The Silver Guitar | Lost in the City | Message in a Bottle
A Brighter Tomorrow
August 2, 2015
'Kay, the last new AG book I read was Caroline's meet book and half of her second one last year. I was left feeling kinda disappointed that the series wasn't as fun as I'd remembered it being. This one, however, reminded me that author is everything.
Good Luck, Ivy was so much more fun than I expected. The jokes made me smile (and would have had me rolling as a munchkin) and the first-world problem-sounding plot (do I go to a gymnastics tournament or see my family?) was really relevant when framed by an accurately childlike worldview.
AG usually goes overboard with cultural stuff if the character is of a popular culture, Kanani being the worst of them, so I didn't not expect them to be eating Chinese food and wearing qipao and enjoying martial arts. It's still fun, though, to learn about other cultures and places, even if they overdo it. Kids are pretty sheltered and self-absorbed, so it's good for them to see other ways of living.
I've had this book for over a year and never bothered to read it. I'm delighted that I did. It was fun and charming and sweet, and it's making me feel sad for not getting Ivy's New Year dress before it retired (even though my Ivy is Japanese).
I think I'm going to go make almond cookies now.
Good Luck, Ivy was so much more fun than I expected. The jokes made me smile (and would have had me rolling as a munchkin) and the first-world problem-sounding plot (do I go to a gymnastics tournament or see my family?) was really relevant when framed by an accurately childlike worldview.
AG usually goes overboard with cultural stuff if the character is of a popular culture, Kanani being the worst of them, so I didn't not expect them to be eating Chinese food and wearing qipao and enjoying martial arts. It's still fun, though, to learn about other cultures and places, even if they overdo it. Kids are pretty sheltered and self-absorbed, so it's good for them to see other ways of living.
I've had this book for over a year and never bothered to read it. I'm delighted that I did. It was fun and charming and sweet, and it's making me feel sad for not getting Ivy's New Year dress before it retired (even though my Ivy is Japanese).
I think I'm going to go make almond cookies now.
September 4, 2024
Not a critique of the book itself, which was fine, but I just wanted to use this platform to talk about how utterly humiliating and pathetic it is for American Girl that Ivy is to date still their first, last, and only Asian-American historical doll. Their only Asian-American historical doll was a supporting character from the story of another white doll with a full collection, meanwhile her entire collection consists of a single book and 3 outfits (and that’s including the outfit she comes in when you buy her.) AND she was only available for 7 years before being discontinued. It’s 2024 (a full decade since Ivy was discontinued but who’s counting) American Girl should be embarrassed about this. We need to keep shaming American Girl about this until they make a proper Asian-American historical doll with her own book series and full collection of outfits and accessories.
March 5, 2015
My 9yo says, "The author wrote the book with a lot of details that made me feel what the character felt."
August 29, 2020
After I finished reading the Julie series, I pictured this cover and remembered that even though the American Girl company never made a movie about Julie, they did publish a companion book about her friend. I looked for it on the library website, and was pleased to find that there were still two copies available. However, even though I was relieved that I didn't have to buy this, now that I have read it, I would definitely be interested in adding it to my collection in the future.
This book is far superior to the Julie series in writing style, story, and thematic content. It provides a detailed, personal, and non-stereotyped glimpse into the lives of Chinese immigrants in San Fransisco in the 1970s, and even though Ivy and her family were just tokens in the primary Julie series, in this book by an Asian author, they seem like real people. I enjoyed this a lot, and think that it was a lost opportunity for the Julie series to have ever been about Julie in the first place. I wish that Lisa Yee had gotten to write a whole series about Ivy, especially considering that American Girl still does not have any main historical characters who are Asian.
I enjoyed the complex characterization, and the conflicts and tensions in the story are real and believable. Even though facing a schedule conflict between a family reunion and a gymnastics meet is hardly an earth-shattering event, that is a very stressful thing for a kid to face, and was the perfect catalyst to emphasize the tensions that Ivy felt between her heritage and her life as a modern American kid. This author handled this very well, and the story is warm, meaningful, and satisfying. The historical note is also great, sharing lots of information about Chinese immigrants throughout time.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but this is my favorite part of the Julie series now, and I also enjoyed Julie's appearances in it. I wish that Julie had been Ivy's sidekick instead of the other way around, especially considering how vague the divorce storyline was for Julie. If only Ivy had been the main character, Julie's parents' divorce could have been justified in its vagueness, and the series could have touched on that aspect of the seventies while focusing on Ivy's far more engaging family, life, and character instead.
This book is far superior to the Julie series in writing style, story, and thematic content. It provides a detailed, personal, and non-stereotyped glimpse into the lives of Chinese immigrants in San Fransisco in the 1970s, and even though Ivy and her family were just tokens in the primary Julie series, in this book by an Asian author, they seem like real people. I enjoyed this a lot, and think that it was a lost opportunity for the Julie series to have ever been about Julie in the first place. I wish that Lisa Yee had gotten to write a whole series about Ivy, especially considering that American Girl still does not have any main historical characters who are Asian.
I enjoyed the complex characterization, and the conflicts and tensions in the story are real and believable. Even though facing a schedule conflict between a family reunion and a gymnastics meet is hardly an earth-shattering event, that is a very stressful thing for a kid to face, and was the perfect catalyst to emphasize the tensions that Ivy felt between her heritage and her life as a modern American kid. This author handled this very well, and the story is warm, meaningful, and satisfying. The historical note is also great, sharing lots of information about Chinese immigrants throughout time.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but this is my favorite part of the Julie series now, and I also enjoyed Julie's appearances in it. I wish that Julie had been Ivy's sidekick instead of the other way around, especially considering how vague the divorce storyline was for Julie. If only Ivy had been the main character, Julie's parents' divorce could have been justified in its vagueness, and the series could have touched on that aspect of the seventies while focusing on Ivy's far more engaging family, life, and character instead.
September 7, 2020
Julie and Ivy remind me a lot of Rory and Lang from Gilmore Girls. ❤️❤️
November 2, 2024
I really enjoyed this one! Ivy was always a standout in the Julie series, and it was nice to get a novel from her perspective. I loved seeing her family in Puzzle of the Paper Daughter, and I continued to love seeing them here. The ending "solution" felt so obvious to me that, frankly, I'm not sure why it wasn't *always* what Ivy was going to do. I mean. I guess there wouldn't be a plot if she had just thought of it. But it felt so obvious that her not considering it prior felt frustrating to me.
January 5, 2026
Fast read! I think that Ivy’s book focused on her more than “best friend” books usually do. Julie was hardly in the books. This may be because she was released at the same time as Julie. I could see the solutions to Ivy’s problems from a mile away- but I guess it might take some perspective when you’re in the middle of it. Overall, cute as always!
February 27, 2014
This is a great story about a girl who has to make a few big decisions. It's funny that the one tiny detail that bugs me the most about this story is the gymnast the author chose to name. She chose Olga Korbut and not Nadia Comăneci. She even mentions the Munich Olympics not Montreal. To resolve this I must believe that the homework Ivy is doing is in the spring semester and thus before the 1976 Summer Olympics. Because if this is the fall, it is highly suspect not to mention the first perfect 10 given in women's gymnastics...but I digress. :-)
There were quite a few spots in the story that brought tears to my eyes. Ivy fights humiliation, fear, frustration, and disappointment to reach her goals. She is blessed with a loving family and supportive friends. I really enjoyed this story and am glad the author could write from experience, with true perspective on Ivy and her family's heritage.
The downside is the little bit of history in the back of the book. "Looking Back: Chinese Americans" while accurate is heavily diluted. It mentions how many came to California seeking fortunes and planning to return to China, "but most of them never made it back. They ended up settling in..." Yes, many chose to stay; however, many more didn't make it back because they died or were killed while in service to the railroads and mines. Sugar coating history is not a good thing. The west during the gold rush and after was brutal. Glossing over the perils of the past dishonors the memory of those that experienced it.
But to reiterate, I really enjoyed Ivy's story. It was a fun, emotional, and easy read.
There were quite a few spots in the story that brought tears to my eyes. Ivy fights humiliation, fear, frustration, and disappointment to reach her goals. She is blessed with a loving family and supportive friends. I really enjoyed this story and am glad the author could write from experience, with true perspective on Ivy and her family's heritage.
The downside is the little bit of history in the back of the book. "Looking Back: Chinese Americans" while accurate is heavily diluted. It mentions how many came to California seeking fortunes and planning to return to China, "but most of them never made it back. They ended up settling in..." Yes, many chose to stay; however, many more didn't make it back because they died or were killed while in service to the railroads and mines. Sugar coating history is not a good thing. The west during the gold rush and after was brutal. Glossing over the perils of the past dishonors the memory of those that experienced it.
But to reiterate, I really enjoyed Ivy's story. It was a fun, emotional, and easy read.
June 24, 2011
Spin off from the American Girls "Julie" series. (Which you do not have to read to enjoy or understand this book.) Ivy is a Chinese American girl living in San Fransico in 1976. Ivy lives with her parents and her two siblings. As with any family they have their own set of challenges that Ivy faces each day. One of the main challenges for Ivy in this book is having to choose between attending a family reunion or competing with her gymnastic team at the big tournament.
August 29, 2015
Ivy's mom is trying to return to law school, her dad is working 2 jobs to cover the bills, her grandparents are about to visit from China, and there's pressure on Ivy to be both a good Chinese daughter (work on Chinese in Chinese school) AND a good American daughter (excel in gymnastics class). Why couldn't we have a series devoted to Ivy again?
September 6, 2017
I did not like Ivy's dad as he was not supportive of her gymnastics. It didn't make much sense that the reunion only lasted one day, if people were coming from all over the country. If the reunion were longer, Ivy's dilemma wouldn't have happened. I did like how the "looking back" section focused on the history of Chinese people in America.
October 9, 2007
Nice "American Girls" book. But how come Chinese-American Ivy couldn't be the series star instead of white bread Julie with her "issues"?
Guess American Girl figures they'll sell more Julie dolls than they will Ivys!
Guess American Girl figures they'll sell more Julie dolls than they will Ivys!
February 6, 2019
Ivy is really adorable, and incorporates the divide between Chinese school and "school," so well. It was nice to see an American Girl deal with being a "blank"-American, much like those who go to Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, etc. schoolings.
November 25, 2016
It was gr8!
August 28, 2019
I still think Ivy should've been the lead for the 1970s books- guess there's Sea Glass to fill that contemporary itch for 1970s Chinese American kid-lit.
I keep thinking of what could've been- yes, Julie is the first American Girl to deal with divorce, and that is a needed perspective. Up until Ivy, there weren't any Asian American historical AGs either, and she didn't come along until well after I was too old to be poring over the catalogs (Samantha is my favorite, and I can't tell if that's because I like the Edwardian period or because at the time, she had the darkest hair as a sort-of-proxy to me). I would've loved to see more of the three sibling dynamic, as well as their extended family (from titles, I've gathered that it's her maternal grandparents who own the restaurant which per Happy New Year, Julie 1974 was founded by her great-grandfather, and her dad's family seems to be more east coast if they're flying from New York?)
Ivy has a big all-city gymnastics meet coming up, but due to a fall a few tournaments ago is feeling wary about the balance beam. Meanwhile, a family reunion is coming up and her parents are very busy (Mom is a law student, though I'm less clear on what Mr. Ling does?). There aren't as many history landmarks as are in the Julie books (mayyyyybe the Bruce Lee obsession, because his death was only a few years prior?), and Ivy's struggle to balance her own interests with family obligations is an eternally relatable issue.
The Looking Back section tries to cover the ~150 years of Chinese American history and it does hit major beats, but elides the fact that working on the railroad and continuing to stay afterwards was lethal for many Chinese men, and that women were still mostly restricted from immigrating even after the 1906 fire created the opportunity for paper children. I sort of get it because maybe it shouldn't be too much bad news for the 8-12 year old crowd, but I remember reading about miner massacres in state history at this age. To their credit, a washing machine ad depicting Uncle Sam kicking out Chinese launderers is one of the images.
Ivy's book isn't bad, and I'm so very glad it's an #ownvoices book. One of the other reviewers noted a discrepancy between Ivy looking forward to character writing in the Julie books and here where Chinese school is a drag, but in the Chinese school chapter Ivy notes that while she's good at it, repetition is boring. It would've been nice for Ivy and Julie to compare family history projects too, but alas that sequences is in the Ivy-led series of my imagination...
I keep thinking of what could've been- yes, Julie is the first American Girl to deal with divorce, and that is a needed perspective. Up until Ivy, there weren't any Asian American historical AGs either, and she didn't come along until well after I was too old to be poring over the catalogs (Samantha is my favorite, and I can't tell if that's because I like the Edwardian period or because at the time, she had the darkest hair as a sort-of-proxy to me). I would've loved to see more of the three sibling dynamic, as well as their extended family (from titles, I've gathered that it's her maternal grandparents who own the restaurant which per Happy New Year, Julie 1974 was founded by her great-grandfather, and her dad's family seems to be more east coast if they're flying from New York?)
Ivy has a big all-city gymnastics meet coming up, but due to a fall a few tournaments ago is feeling wary about the balance beam. Meanwhile, a family reunion is coming up and her parents are very busy (Mom is a law student, though I'm less clear on what Mr. Ling does?). There aren't as many history landmarks as are in the Julie books (mayyyyybe the Bruce Lee obsession, because his death was only a few years prior?), and Ivy's struggle to balance her own interests with family obligations is an eternally relatable issue.
The Looking Back section tries to cover the ~150 years of Chinese American history and it does hit major beats, but elides the fact that working on the railroad and continuing to stay afterwards was lethal for many Chinese men, and that women were still mostly restricted from immigrating even after the 1906 fire created the opportunity for paper children. I sort of get it because maybe it shouldn't be too much bad news for the 8-12 year old crowd, but I remember reading about miner massacres in state history at this age. To their credit, a washing machine ad depicting Uncle Sam kicking out Chinese launderers is one of the images.
Ivy's book isn't bad, and I'm so very glad it's an #ownvoices book. One of the other reviewers noted a discrepancy between Ivy looking forward to character writing in the Julie books and here where Chinese school is a drag, but in the Chinese school chapter Ivy notes that while she's good at it, repetition is boring. It would've been nice for Ivy and Julie to compare family history projects too, but alas that sequences is in the Ivy-led series of my imagination...
August 8, 2020
Ivy Ling feels like she is unlucky. Her best friend moved away, her mom has less time for her, she must complete a report for Chinese school and she must decide whether to attend a family reunion or a gymnastics tournament that are on the same day. She comes to see that she can take charge and make her own luck.
This is a spin off of the "Julie" American Girl books and one of the AG "best friend" books. Ivy Ling is Julie's best friend. I enjoyed the Julie books, but I think this one is even better. Maybe it it because it is by a different author, Lisa Yee. I'm glad that AG chose a different author because Ivy is Chinese American and so is Yee. Having a Chinese American write about a Chinese American girl makes the story feel more authentic and not stereotypical. Ivy is a fully developed character. The conflict in the story feels real and so does its resolution. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Ivy's relationship with her grandparents. It's very sweet. Overall, one of the better American Girl books.
This is a spin off of the "Julie" American Girl books and one of the AG "best friend" books. Ivy Ling is Julie's best friend. I enjoyed the Julie books, but I think this one is even better. Maybe it it because it is by a different author, Lisa Yee. I'm glad that AG chose a different author because Ivy is Chinese American and so is Yee. Having a Chinese American write about a Chinese American girl makes the story feel more authentic and not stereotypical. Ivy is a fully developed character. The conflict in the story feels real and so does its resolution. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Ivy's relationship with her grandparents. It's very sweet. Overall, one of the better American Girl books.
March 9, 2024
4.5 stars. My favorite book in the Julie series was the book not about Julie. LOL. Ivy is such an awesome character and I’ve been excited to get to her book from the start and it did not disappoint. I’m glad that they got a different author to tell her story, someone who is Chinese American so it feels authentic. I loved meeting Ivy’s family, learning more about her culture and her gymnastics. It was such a great read and I loved Ivy’s character development throughout and the ending was wonderful. I really enjoyed this and I’m glad Ivy’s book was the last one because it was a great way to wrap things up.
April 23, 2022
This was a nice story, and I felt like Ivy was a relatable character. I didn't really "buy" the major conflict in the book though - Ivy having to choose between her major gymnastics tournament and her family reunion. Who would schedule a family reunion for the same day their child had her biggest gymnastics tournament of the year, and then give her one week notice? There are other family dynamics at play, such as her feelings of inadequacy as compared to her older brother, that are relatable at any age.
December 19, 2019
Good Luck, Ivy! focuses on Ivy, the best friend of the 1974 American Girl doll, Julie. Ivy is a Chinese-American gymnast who has to make a hard choice between going to her family reunion (and eating Chinese food… again) or going to her gymnastics tournament (and risk falling off the beam… again). As with all American Girl books, it’s historical fiction written in a way that really interests kids. I highly recommend this book to both girls and boys.
June 1, 2020
I loved that there is diversity in the Julie series and we get to hear more about Ivy. I love Ivy's family. She has very loving grandparents also and understanding ones. Ivy has to choose between family reunion and gymnastics meet. I think she finds a great balance (pun interned). I love the touching moment with Ivy's brother to wish her luck at the meet.
April 29, 2021
Pretty slow start, but it picked up halfway through. A lot of the scenes in the first two chapters are flashbacks to help the reader understand Ivy's life. It might have worked better if the story was told in two books, expanding those scenes so they take place during the story, instead of Ivy musing on what happened a couple weeks ago.
Read
May 15, 2022Ivy is easily the best written best friend of the AG series. In fact, I feel I would have liked to have more books about Ivy. There also is NO TRAUMA, which is so common with non-white characters. No one says mean things about Ivy because she's Chinese, no one insults her culture, nothing. Thank you AG for finally doing that!
January 22, 2025
Quick read, but I enjoyed seeing Ivy's family tree and friends. I miss that in the newer books. I enjoyed the little illustrations throughout the story too. It was refreshing to read a story from Ivy's point of view. Kind of wish they made books with Ivy. She's so underrated as an American Girl character.
February 12, 2025
3.5 stars. Loved the importance of family in this one and the struggle Ivy faces between identifying as American vs. Chinese. It was a cute story and wish we could have had more because her family was awfully cute!
February 23, 2025
Loved this one! Ivy is one of my favourites. I was so ill with the flu last week and my boyfriend actually read this one to me because my eyelids were too swollen to read. I guess you can say this is my first audiobook (and his first and only book of the year 😂).
April 29, 2025
This was a cute story where Ivy has a difficult choice to make between her family origins and her American pastime tournament. I'm happy she found a compromise and I think her character is very sweet and thoughtful. Her doll is extremely striking.
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