Description

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In this beautiful novel in verse, a Chinese-American girl contends with school bullies, tries to solve the mystery of her sister's strange illness, and finds strength and validation at the local tennis court.

Frances Chin, a 10-year old Chinese-American girl, lives in the suburbs of Detroit with her immigrant parents and older sister, Clara. At school Frances copes with bullies and the loneliness that comes with not quite fitting in. At home, she feels a different kind of aloneness. Her parents are preoccupied with work and worry about Clara, whose hair is inexplicably falling out. But, with the help of her friend Annie, Frances is determined to play Nancy Drew and solve the mystery of Clara's condition. She also faces the everyday challenges and unexpected thrills of being a tween, especially when she receives encouragement from a tennis coach. Although she struggles to speak up, Frances's powerful inner voice resonates in gorgeous imagery and evocative free verse.

"Love and more love to Victoria Chang for her lyrical and gentle prose poems that, in excavating a deep secret, usher readers beyond shame and into the warmth of understanding." --Thanhh Lại, New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again, and most recently Butterfly Yellow

About the Author

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The daughter of Taiwanese and Chinese immigrants, Victoria Chang was born in Detroit and grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Her poetry has earned such honors as a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lannan Residency Fellowship, a MacDowell Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Pushcart Prize, and many others. Victoria is also the Program Chair of Antioch's MFA Program in Los Angeles. She lives in LA with her family and two wiener dogs.