Pie in the Sky

I got Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai after reading the author's book Fly on the Wall recently. I'd heard about Pie in the Sky a lot before and knew it was a well received book. The book description reads, "When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he’s landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn’t speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao. To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama."

This was a good read. The author did a great job creating distinct, believable characters, and I really was rooting for Jingwen throughout the book. I also loved Yanghaho and the contrast the author created between the two characters and their journeys toward learning English. The book was hard for me to keep reading at times because it was just so full of Jingwen's heavy feelings and the secrets he was keeping from his mom, so I felt like I often had to take a break from the book rather than plowing through, even though I wasn't losing interest. I liked how the book came together in the end. I think the combination of text and pictures is really well done, and my kids would probably enjoy this author's books.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)