In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a
twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately
rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences
while chasing her dreams.
As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life,
Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade,
she's channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her
school play.
So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King
and I, she's thrilled . . . until she starts to hear grumbles from her
mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it's an Asian
play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is
this the only kind of success they'll let her have--one that they can
tear down or use race to belittle?
Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream:
showing everyone what she's made of.
Waka T. Brown, author of While I Was Away, delivers an uplifting
coming-of-age story about a Japanese American girl's fight to make space
for herself in a world that claims to celebrate everyone's differences
but doesn't always follow through.