Eleven-year-old Maizy Chen travels from Los Angeles with her single mom to spend the summer in Last Chance, Minnesota. They are there to help with the family’s Chinese restaurant, the Golden Palace, because her grandfather is ill. Maizy has only met her Opa and Oma once before; there is a long-standing tension between them and her mom. Maizy gets to know the quirky regulars at the restaurant, befriends a local boy, Logan, who is white, and deals with snobs and bullies. But the highlight for Maizy is spending time with Opa. In spite of his ailing health, he teaches her to play poker and recounts the story of her great-great grandfather, Lucky, who emigrated from China to California in 1853 and eventually ended up in Last Chance. Maizy learns about her family’s history, including the racism and threats of violence her ancestors faced, and their connection to many Chinese immigrant “paper sons” who emigrated after the Chinese Exclusion Act and came through Last Chance because of Lucky’s and his wife, Lulu’s, kindness. When Bud, the seven-foot wooden bear that’s stood outside the restaurant for generations, is stolen, Maizy and Logan set out to solve the mystery, in the process encountering some of the same racism her immigrant ancestors endured. An appealing, humorous story, with a satisfying plot, distinctive setting and memorable characters, bubbles along the surface of this novel that also reveals the history of social injustice toward Chinese Americans that reverberates today.   (Ages 8-12)

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

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.