Dumpling Days by Grace Lin

 genre: middle grade

Pacy Lin is NOT looking forward to spending her summer in Taiwan along with her two sisters.  Although she does want to see her family there, a whole month in such an unfamiliar place is not her idea of fun.  And when she arrives, the transition is rough!  From strange foods to challenging art lessons, Pacy's feelings are sometimes a rollercoaster.  But through it all, her sisters, parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles are right there helping her learn and giving her the space to see that Taiwan might someday feel a little bit like home.

This was a delight.  It makes me want to go to Taiwan tomorrow, it does that good of a job of describing the sights and smells of this country so far from my home.  I learned so much about the culture here along with Pacy and the little drawn illustrations throughout the book make it such a quick and fun read.  Pacy's a great narrator and the lessons she learns could apply to anyone (child or adult!) who is brave enough to put themselves out there and try something new.  I loved the short legends and stories sprinkled throughout and the deep sense of family and tradition felt so cozy. I finished this book so grateful I'd grabbed it off of my fifth grade sons' Battle of the Books pile.  I'd totally recommend this to other early middle grade readers!