Sixth-grader Anna Wang is accompanying her fifth-grade teacher to China because Ms. Sylvester and her husband are adopting baby Jing and have invited Anna along on the trip. In China, where her mom grew up, Anna is hopeful of seeing the orphanage where her baby sister Kaylee once lived. She’s even brought presents she and her friends made for the children there. In the meantime, as the Sylvesters are getting to know Jing, Anna is becoming friends with Fan, a young woman working at the hotel restaurant. Immersed in Chinese language and culture, Anna realizes that while she feels very Chinese in America, she feels very American in China, and reflecting on who she is and what it means to be both is at the heart of a novel full of small yet meaningful moments as Anna thinks about identity and assumptions, as well as family and friendship. There is always a sense of complexity beneath the surface of Andrea Cheng’s characters, and Anna, who was first introduced in The Year of the Book (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) continues to grow. (Ages 8–10)

Eleven-year-old Anna heads off to sixth grade, leaving the comfort and familiarity of elementary school behind and entering the larger, more complex world of middle school. Surrounded by classmates who have their roots all in America, Anna begins to feel out of place and wonders where she really belongs. When Anna takes a trip to China, she not only explores a new country and culture, but finds answers to her questions about whether she is more Chinese or more American.
This young illustrated chapter book is the third in the series that includes The Year of the Book and The Year of the Baby. For grades 1-4.