I still think Ivy should've been the lead for the 1970s books- guess there's [b:Sea Glass|25277|Sea Glass (Golden Mountain Chronicles, #8)|Laurence Yep|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1167628999l/25277._SX50_.jpg|1693587] 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 [b:Happy New Year, Julie 1974|1840745|Happy New Year, Julie 1974 (American Girls Julie #3)|Megan McDonald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347806474l/1840745._SX50_.jpg|1840961] 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... ( )

Mid and upper grade school girls will easily relate to the challenges Ivy faces here - an overshadowing older brother, busy parents, and the need to make a choice between activities and family. Everything is resolved happily in the end, of course. While this is intended to take place in the 1970s, it could just as easily take place today. As historical fiction it would best work in context with the Julie books to which it is intended to be a companion. The section at the end on Chinese Americans is informative and the inclusion of pictures of the author from the 1970s is a particularly nice touch. ( )

Ivy is torn between her Chinese family and her life as an American. She is tired of Chinese food and Chinese school, but she still loves her grandparents. Things get very complicated when she has to choose between her big gymnastics meet and her family reunion. She finally discovers a way to include both and realizes that her grandparents understand her better than she realizes. ( )