Lasting Legacy: Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance is a realistic fictional story written by Lisa Yee. The story follows Maizy Chen, a 12 year old girl who travels with her mother to Last Chance, Minnesota to see her grandparents Oma and Opa, because Opa is sick.
Synopsis: As the story begins, Maizy is less than excited about the prospect of spending the entire summer in Last Chance. Maizy spends the summer with her grandparents at their restaurant The Golden Palace. Opa tells Maizy all about his grandfather, “Lucky”. Lucky immigrated to San Francisco to make money to send back to his family in China. Eventually, Lucky comes to Minnesota. He begins working at The Golden Palace, and eventually, with hard work, becomes the owner. Although Opa was not a “paper son”, he explains the concept of paper sons to Maizy. Eager to dive into the history of the paper sons, Maizy reaches out to a researcher. Together, they attempt to learn more about these individuals.
Opa explains to Maizy that although he faced discrimination in many ways in Last Chance, he also encountered many kind people who persuaded him to stay. Ultimately Lucky does stay in Last Chance, lives to be 100 years old, and passes the restaurant to his son, who then passes it to his son, Maizy’s Opa.
Conclusion: Opa’s health declines throughout the story, but Maizy’s courage increases throughout the story as she faces issues and learns to stand up for herself and her family. Maizy also learns lessons about kindness, friendship, and courage. In the end, Opa dies, but not before Maizy learned a lot about her heritage, and the importance of passing on the stories of her ancestors.
My Takeaway: A positive takeaway from "Maizy Chen’s Last Chance" lies in watching the empowering journey of a young girl navigating challenges, finding her voice, and embracing the lessons of her family's history. The story serves as a reminder of the resilience within us and the power of courage and compassion. I found the story a bit predictable, but the overall message was good. Read other reviews about this story at Maizy Chen's Last Chance/Goodreads
Word Count: 352
Comments
Post a Comment