Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai
Published by Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks on May 14th 2019
ISBN: 1250314100
Pages: 384
Goodreads

Part prose novel, part graphic novel, this debut middle grade novel by Remy Lai captures the feelings of alienation and frustration one feels when trying desperately to figure out how to fit in when transplanted to a place where nothing is what you knew and you don’t understand what is expected of you. When Jingwen moves to Australia, he feels like a martian. Everything is different and he can’t understand the language at all. He is struggling with his dad’s unexpected death and clinging to his sadness like a life raft in an effort to hold on to his father’s memory.   Fortunately for Jingwen, he has something that ties him to his old life and helps diffuse the sadness about moving to the new place: baking. Unfortunately, he is not allowed to use the oven while his mother is at work, and she works the evening shift.  Fortunately, Jingwen has an annoying little brother Yanghao (a constant source of humor), who is happy to break the rules with Jingwen if he is paid in cake.  With or without his mother’s permission, Jingwen is determined to bake all of the cakes on his father’s list, which was to be used when they moved to Australia as a family and opened the Pie in the Sky Bakery. Jingwen equates baking these cakes with his ability to fit in and he truly believes that if he gets through all of the cakes on the list, things will be okay. But reality is different than Jingwen’s dream. With gut-wrenching honesty, Lai brings the reader on Jingwen’s journey as he learns to let go and find his way home. Use with Sean Tan’s “The Arrival” and Patti Kim’s “Here I Am” (with art by Sonia Sánchez) to punch home the isolation and confusion that comes with traveling to a new land, dealing with loss, and learning to let go of the old and find a new normal.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth