Measuring Up is a YA graphic novel for ages 9 to 12. The plot concerns a young girl who moves from her native Taiwan to Seattle with her parents when she is 12 years old. Cici misses her grandmother back in Taiwan and comes up with a plan to raise the money the family needs to bring her over for a visit. Cici decides to enter a cooking contest that is similar to the Great British Bakeoff where 12 contestants cook each weekend. One contestant is eliminated each week. The only requirement for the contest is to use whatever ingredient is demanded for that particular week. Cici only knows how to cook Chinese food so her challenge was to learn to make American food.
Measuring Up is about much more than the contest. We read how difficult it was for Cici to assimilate into American culture. Her mother filled her lunchbox with Taiwanese food which disgusted her classmates. Finding friends was a challenge because she was culturally Chinese and had to learn how to act like an American.
Fans of Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese will love Measuring Up. 5 out of 5 stars
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