I 100% still think Ivy could've been the main character, or at least it would've also been okay to make Julie Chinese-American. I sort of get it, as it wouldn't be #ownvoices (and as Megan McDonald grew up in the '70s she's writing what she knows otherwise, I think), but so many times throughout this I really questioned why we were following Julie, not Ivy as the Lings prepare for Chinese New Year.

It's briefly Christmas time at the beginning of the book, and the first one as a split family. Tracy is still cool towards Dad and Julie wonders if they can ever recapture feeling like a family again. The Lings' Chinese New Year celebration is a test for that. Julie helps her friend get ready for the holiday, and I figure out that this series actually spans 1975-1976 (but also finally noticing that all the American Girl years end in 4) because Ivy tells her that the new year is the year of the dragon... which in this decade, started on January 31, 1976.

I very much worried that Chinatown/Chinese New Year would be portrayed as some kind of weird Other, but it's handled pretty okay though the girls getting lost could be spooky. Pleasantly surprised to learn that Ivy is a fourth generation American like me (albeit 15 years before I was born, so like one of my second cousins I suppose at the same generational level), and like many who live in the San Francisco Chinatown, Cantonese (not sure if Toisanese because I didn't see any specific words or references, and Julie's definitely not going to ask gung-gung if his father hailed from the Sze Yup region).

Not a ton of 1970s specific things here- maybe the getting crafty for decorating the tree at Mom's apartment? ( )

As I get further into this series I like it more; I think it would benefit from being read as a whole rather than as seperate books. In this installment, Julie is dealing with her first Christmas as part of a divorced family and things do not go well. Luckily, her best friend Ivy is there with her family for support and distraction as they prepare for Chinese New Year. ( )

Julie's Christmas, rather than being extra-exciting because there are two celebrations with the two parts of her family, turns out to be half the fun. Tracy, her older sister, still blames her father for the divorce, and it's hard to pull her family together. Julie does get excited about her best friend Ivy's upcoming celebration- she helps out and gets to join in the celebration- with her whole family. Tracy tries to make an effort to make things up with dad again. ( )