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Summary
Summary
A poignant, laugh-out-loud illustrated middle-grade novel about an eleven-year-old boy's immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang!
A Parents Magazine Best Kids Book of the Year!
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!
An NPR Best Book of the Year!
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year!
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year!
Recipient of FIVE starred reviews!
"Pie in the Sky is like enjoying a decadent cake . . . heartwarming and rib-tickling." --Terri Libenson, bestselling author of Invisible Emmie
When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he's landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn't speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.
To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.
In her hilarious, moving middle-grade debut, Remy Lai delivers a scrumptious combination of vibrant graphic art and pitch-perfect writing that will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham's Real Friends, Kelly Yang's Front Desk , and Jerry Craft's New Kid.
A Junior Library Guild selection!
"Seamlessly mixes together equal parts of humor, loss, identity, discovery, and love to create a delicious concoction of a story. . . illustrated beautifully with Lai's insightful drawings." --Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary
* "The humor [is] akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series . . . the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant." -- School Library Journal , starred review
* "Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson." -- Shelf Awareness , starred review
This title has common core connections.
Author Notes
Remy Lai studied fine arts, with a major in painting and drawing. She was born in Indonesia, grew up in Singapore, and currently lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes and draws stories for kids with her two dogs by her side. Pie in the Sky is her debut middle-grade novel. Follow Remy on Twitter
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--6--Having recently immigrated to Australia, 11-year-old Jingwen feels like he's been dropped onto a strange planet full of gibberish-spouting aliens. He knows life would be easier if he learned more English like his annoyingly chipper, too-loud, too-energetic little brother Yanghao. But guilt over his father's accidental death festers. Worried that assimilating into Australian culture means he's forsaking his father's memory, Jingwen latches on to the idea that if he can make all the cakes his father planned to feature on the menu of his dream bakery, Pie in the Sky, then everything will be okay. Even if that means disobeying his mother's rules while she's working the night shift at a local bakery. Written from Jingwen's perspective, the text is augmented with humorous, often exaggerated black and blue spot and sequential paneled illustrations that offer a visual window into Jingwen's experiences and emotions. Frequent flashbacks to Jingwen's younger years in his (unnamed) country of origin contribute to strong character and relationship development and to the satisfying conclusion. Whether Jingwen and Yanghao are teasing, supporting, or bickering with each other, their relationship rings true. The humor, akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series, occasionally veers into the delightfully gross, such as when Yanghao barfs from one too many slices of cake. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries, this #OwnVoices hybrid chapter book/graphic novel is the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant.--Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library
Publisher's Weekly Review
Lai centers her incisive illustrated novel debut on Jingwen, who moves from his unspecified home country to Australia with his mother and younger brother Yanghao after his father's death. The boy mourns the loss of his father and feels like an alien among his fifth-grade classmates as he struggles to learn English, which sounds like "Martian words" (blue-tinged illustrations show others, then the boys, as space aliens in their daily life). Summoning memories of baking with Papa, Jingwen imagines the cakes they'd anticipated selling at Pie in the Sky, the bakery they planned to open upon moving. Jingwen vows to make the 12 cakes, believing this will preserve his memories of Papa-and that "cakes make everything better." But his baking obsession leads to the betrayal of his hardworking mother's trust, landing him and Yanghao in hot water. Though repetition of facts and dialogue (including the brothers' penchant for calling each another "Booger") at times thwarts the narrative flow, its pace accelerates in the final chapters as Lai adds a few surprise ingredients to concoct a deeply satisfying ending for this heartwarming immigrant story about sibling bonds, honesty, and surmounting obstacles. Ages 8-12. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Its been almost two years since Jingwen lost his father in a tragic accident; he now finds himself starting over in a new country. The novel begins with Jingwen, his mother, and his (annoying) younger brother Yanghao landing in Australia, where Jingwen does not know the language and isnt interested in learning English or making friends at his new school. All Jingwen wants to do is bake the elaborate cakes he and his father perfected (in preparation for the cake shop his father was going to open in Australia called Pie in the Sky) without his strict mother finding out that he is breaking her no-baking rule. Lais debut illustrated middle-grade novel delves into Jingwens grief and onerous fraternal responsibilities while providing a window into the strain of adjusting to life in an alien world. Jingwens journey through loss will resonate with readers, while his quest to bake all the Pie in the Sky cakes deepens this story from typical middle-grade tearjerker to delectable page-turner. Lais frequent, blue-tinged illustrations provide comic relief (the interactions between Jingwen and Yanghao are often hilarious) and serve to propel the narrative forward; they often include diagrams of the impressive confections Jingwen bakes. Heartbreakingly honest; in equal parts funny and poignant. eric carpenter July/Aug p.131(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Two brothers navigate a new country, a new language, and grief through cake.In this graphic/prose hybrid novel, 12-year-old Jingwen, his little brother, Yanghao, and their mother immigrate to Australia. The family is Chinese, though their home country is never specified. The boys start at the Northbridge Primary School not knowing any English, which has Jingwen feeling they have just arrived on Mars. Quickly he realizes it is he and Yanghao who must appear to be the Martians to everyone else, comically literalized with pictures of a four-eyed, antennae'd Jingwen. While Yanghao quickly picks up English, Jingwen resists, struggling in lessons and to make friends. Piece by piece readers learn it was Jingwen's father's dream to open a cake shop called Pie in the Sky in Australia before he suddenly passed away. After finding the family's cookbook, the boys decide to secretly bake all the Pie in the Sky cakes. Jingwen especially takes it to heart, pouring his grief and frustrations into every frosted layer, believing that it "will fix everything." Herself an immigrant to Australia from Singapore, Lai unfolds the story like a memory, giving brief flashbacks interspersed throughout the daily musings and nuanced relationships among family members. Jingwen's emotional journey is grounded in honest reality; it ebbs and flows naturally with strategic spots of humor to lighten the overall tone.Like salted caramel, a perfect balance of flavors, this deftly drawn story is a heartfelt treat. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A boy struggles to come to terms with his father's death and his new life after immigrating to Australia in this character-driven novel. Back home, Jingwen's family ran a cake shop. In Australia, Jingwen struggles to understand his classmates and teachers. Worse, his annoying little brother, Yanghao, seems to be learning English and making friends with no trouble at all. Jingwen's refuge becomes secretly baking, with help from Yanghao, all the cakes his father planned to sell in his new bakery. Jingwen thinks if he can bake all of them, maybe he will be forgiven for not always appreciating his father. Maybe everything will be OK again. Jingwen's slow journey through grief and displacement is heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful. Lai's cartoon illustrations depict Jingwen's sense of alienation (at times, Jingwen is drawn as an alien, a ghost, and a robot) with care and sensitivity. Comics interludes, complete with speech balloons, enliven the story. Even though Jingwen deals with heavy burdens, his story also contains plenty of humor. An emotional tale about loss and letting go, pleasantly buoyed by comedy and cake baking.--Mariko Turk Copyright 2019 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Moving to a new country isnt easy. For 11-year-old Jingwen, baking is the only solution. I love cake. You probably love cake, too. For many of us, it's just a dessert, but for 11-year-old Jingwen, cake is a connection to the culture he left behind in his old country. Cake is his voice when the language barrier silences him in his new home. And Jingwen believes that if he bakes enough, cake will become a connection to his late father. Cake is more than cake. Jingwen is the protagonist of pie in the SKY (Holt, 384 pp" $21.99; ages 8 to 11), Remy Lai's heartfelt, funny and, of course, sweet debut middle-grade novel. Lai also did the excellent artwork - this is a highly illustrated (though not graphic) novel. In his old country, Jingwen's family owns a bakery featuring local treats like sesame balls and "steamed prosperity cupcakes." In anticipation of emigrating to Australia, Jingwen's father creates a new menu for the bakery he dreams of opening. It will be called the Pie in the Sky bakery and will feature flashy offerings like Nutella cream cake and rainbow cake. The new menu will be his father's attempt to bridge the anticipated cultural divide and conquer the hearts and tastes of their new compatriots. But when his father suddenly dies, Jingwen, his annoying little brother, Yanghao, and their mother have to make the move without Dad. As far as Jingwen is concerned, Australia might as well be Mars. It's so different from his old home, and he can't understand what the Martians - cleverly drawn by Lai as, yes, Martians - are saying. Their mother works long hours as an employee at a neighborhood bakery, and the boys are largely unsupervised. Friendless and isolated from his classmates by a lack of English, Jingwen turns to the familiar: baking. In order to combat his loneliness and remember his father, he decides to bake every cake from his father's Pie in the Sky menu with the equally cake-obsessed Yanghao. But the brothers must keep their baking a secret from their mother, who has prohibited them from using the oven while she is at work. My own recent family tree is filled with immigrants, people who hit the language barrier hard and had to find ways to get their voices back, and "Pie in the Sky" is aimed straight at my heart. But the book doesn't just speak to those of us who are a step or two away from the immigrant experience. Lai also wonderfully captures the awkward experience of being a new kid at a new school. Every kid in middle school wonders: Am I weird, or is it everyone else? Are you the Martian or am I? Lai does a very effective job of putting us in the mind of a middle-schooler. Her book is breezy, yet it takes a while to get its momentum. The early pages would have benefited from a quicker pace, but once Jingwen and Yanghao begin baking their clandestine sweets, the story takes off. The illustrations are so good that I would have enjoyed it if the book had contained even more art. Lai's delightful artwork blends seamlessly with the text. She often picks funny moments to illustrate, like Jingwen and Yao as zombies who prefer cake to brains. (Who doesn't, right?) One of my favorite illustrated scenes is when Jingwen's evergrowing list of Rules for Making Cakes catches fire while he's trying to make caramel sauce. Lai's illustrations of the flashback scenes of Jingwen baking with his father are moving and memorable. In "Pie in the Sky," Jingwen thinks baking cakes is the solution to his problems. However, he may need to set aside his mixing bowl and make a connection with the world outside his kitchen. Maybe cake is more than cake. But maybe, sometimes, it should just be dessert. As young readers will learn, sometimes the sweetest thing is to take a chance on making a human connection. JORGE AGUIRRE is the author of "Dragons Beware!," "Monsters Beware!" and "Giants Beware!," all illustrated by Rafael Rosado.