Maizy Chen's Last Chance

(Newbery Honor Award Winner)

By: Lisa Yee

Narrated by: Yu-Li Alice Shen

NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR YOUTH LITERATURE

Twelve year-old Maizy discovers her family’s Chinese restaurant is full of secrets in this irresistible novel that celebrates food, fortune, and family.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY School Library Journal • Booklist • The Horn Book • New York Public Library • One of Slate’s 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years

Welcome to the Golden Palace!

Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota . . . until now. Her mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple weeks, until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance and at the Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations—she makes some discoveries.For instance:

• You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food.
• People can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways.
• And the Golden Palace has secrets...

But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like, why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone has left a racist note—Maizy decides it’s time to find the answers.

Critic reviews

Praise for MAIZY CHEN'S LAST CHANCE:

★ “Lisa Yee combines neglected U.S. history and multi-generational family legends… to create the delightful and enlightening Maizy Chen's Last Chance.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “A moving, multilayered family narrative.” —Booklist, starred review

★ “Captivating... and prompts readers to consider what it means to be American.” —The Horn Book, starred review

★ "This fast-paced, humorous, heartwarming tale of family and history is likely to appeal to readers of all ages." —School Library Journal, starred review

“Heartfelt, personal, and real—this book is a gift.” —Tae Keller, Newbery-winning author of When You Trap a Tiger

“Bursting with humor and heart.” —Kate Messner, New York Times bestselling author of Breakout

“I love this book. This is a big story and brings up much-needed discussion about the importance of community, history, and truth.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor-winning author of One Crazy Summer

So Good!

This is a great middle-school novel! I was required to read it for a grad school course, and it is one of my favorites. Yee does a great job incorporating historical elements into the storyline. Warning: You will probably cry.

Brilliant

Lisa Yee is an incredible author.
Anxious to read her next book. This book kept me captivated throughout.

Beautiful

So wise and my 9 year old listens to it every night. Well read with historical context and far -reaching insight into the past and present

so sad and great I cried

so memorable and good.I cried.I thought that Logan and maizy would get together.I over all loved it.

The city stood out to me the most

I love this whole story line and all the characters.!
I also like all the description the story hade. 

Loved this story

Exceptional story and voice of a Chinese American perspective and the bigotry and racism that is faced everyday. It’s also a story of love and joy and family.

Wonderful story

Mazy is a relatable character. She visits MN as her Grandfather is dying. She learns of her family heritage back to the Transcontinental Railroad. We’ll worth the read!

Enjoyable and Interesting

This is a good book with relatable characters. The sun plot of the past adds depth and pulls it all together.

I liked that she was nice to everyone

I didn’t like how at the end there where a lot of stuff that was very long like the extra if you know what I mean

Excellent story!

Maizy is a very likable and intelligent character. Her story, and the story of her family is interwoven with historical facts about Chinese individuals who came to settle in America. The history was fascinating, and the story would make a great read for kids, because of this background information and the themes of loyalty, friendship, prejudice, and family.