The Great Wall of Lucy Wu

Lucy Wu must be one of the truest 6th-grade girls in current middle grade lit. Her concerns, woes, and successes, while they occur in the cultural context of a Chinese-American family, seem to be shared by lots of middle-class, American kids. She is not an orphan, extraordinarily rich or poor, has a family who loves her and has expectations of and for her. She's a solid basketball player without being a junior Olympian. She manages to be a perfectly normal without being perfectly boring.

I think that most 5th- and 6th-graders will enjoy the story and appreciate Lucy's travails and triumphs as reflective of their own. I know that, as an adult reader, I appreciated the small cultural insights embedded in Lucy's Chinese classes (A person show more who wants to have his cake and eat it too is said to "sleep in the east and eat in the west.") along with the snippets of Chinese language. I also found the cover a delightful departure from the current photos of sneaker-clad legs. And, finally, like any 6th-grader, I really enjoyed the delicious descriptions of all of the food. show less

Lucy Wu must be one of the truest 6th-grade girls in current middle grade lit. Her concerns, woes, and successes, while they occur in the cultural context of a Chinese-American family, seem to be shared by lots of middle-class, American kids. She is not an orphan, extraordinarily rich or poor, has a family who loves her and has expectations of and for her. She's a solid basketball player without being a junior Olympian. She manages to be a perfectly normal without being perfectly boring.

I think that most 5th- and 6th-graders will enjoy the story and appreciate Lucy's travails and triumphs as reflective of their own. I know that, as an adult reader, I appreciated the small cultural insights embedded in Lucy's Chinese classes (A person show more who wants to have his cake and eat it too is said to "sleep in the east and eat in the west.") along with the snippets of Chinese language. I also found the cover a delightful departure from the current photos of sneaker-clad legs. And, finally, like any 6th-grader, I really enjoyed the delicious descriptions of all of the food. show less

I got such a kick out of this. It's a very straight-forward plot -- Lucy Wu's plans for a great start to her 6th grade year are disrupted by the unexpected arrival of her great-aunt from China, who is going to share her bedroom. And you can predict just about everything that happens - but yet it is so satisfying when it does! I feel like I can hardly spoil anything, what else is going to happen when a girl who is disinterested in her Chinese heritage gets to know an elderly relative from China? The characters were all winsome, and the humor worked for an adult reader. The details about all the mundane things in Lucy's life struck me as so true - the bickering with her siblings, playing basketball, going to school -- it was all so show more engaging.

Grade: A
Recommended: This would be a great gift for 8 - 11 readers, especially girls and maybe especially girls who like sports. show less

This book is so good on many levels. Unlike a lot of the MG stuff I've read in the last year or so, I think that this will actually appeal to the target audience. The characters are warm and believable and the sixth-grade narrator's voice is the most authentic I've come across in ... maybe ever. I bought it all, though I saw it all coming. Well, most of it.

There's a mean girl, and though I mostly don't like books with mean girls, this one felt way more real. I keep coming back to that, the realness of this book. Also the food. And the girl-boy interactions.

The only tiny bobble for me was the Chinese school- when we hear of it at first, it's a new venture, a start-up- but when Lucy gets there, it's an edifice, with multiple classrooms, show more lots of teachers, lots of bureaucracy.

4.5 stars. show less

Throughout The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang Lucy is reluctantly getting in touch with her Chinese culture while she endures new living arrangements. She tends to complain a lot throughout the book, which seems totally normal for a sixth grader! I could relate to the fact that she felt the world was out to get her and that everything was going wrong. Lucy couldn’t believe her parents didn’t understand how awful things were for her. I loved that Lucy has an awesome best friend who helps her to see her situation for what it is. Watching her grow and learn to accept the changes in her life was great. I like that nothing happened instantly, but took time. Just like real life. Throughout the book I learned a lot about the show more Chinese culture and many phrases and terms are sprinkled in each chapter. I even had to get sushi for dinner as soon as I finished reading! Lucy is a typical kid who loves basketball and wants school to go smoothly. The funny things that happen to her make her a believable character. I think kids from fourth grade through eighth grade could appreciate this book and relate to Lucy and her friends. Lucy Wu has built a wall, but will she keep it up, make it bigger, or tear it down? You will have to find out for yourself! show less

Lucy's plans for the best school year ever, with plenty of basketball and ruling the school in the 6th grade, are ruined when her grand-aunt Yi-Po comes for a long visit plus Lucy has to attend Chinese school. Lucy is embarrassed and resentful of Yi-Po. She's also dealing with mean girl Sloane who's vying with Lucy for captain of the school basketball team and doesn't intend to let her win. Lucy is a likable, real kid with a spirited voice. Kids will relate well to her story.

From February 2011 SLJ:
Gr 4–6—Lucy knows that sixth grade is going to be the best year ever: she finally gets her own room now that her older sister is off to college, and she and her friend Madison are ready to rule the basketball courts. But Lucy's parents put a glitch in those plans when her father returns from a business trip to China with Lucy's great-aunt, who will visit until Christmas. Lucy again has a roommate, and resents this elderly lady who does not speak English and cooks only Chinese food for a family used to pizza and burgers. To make matters worse, her parents insist that she attend Chinese school on Saturday mornings, which means forgoing basketball practice. She is busy with her suburban American life and doesn't show more feel the need to converse in Chinese or to dwell on Chinese traditions. Slowly, though, she comes to appreciate all that Yi Po has lived through and the quiet ways that her great-aunt shows her love for the family. When Lucy is bullied by a popular girl, she thinks about what her brother told her about Yi Po's life during China's Cultural Revolution and determines that she will act with similar courage and conviction. Lucy is an engaging character, and Shang skillfully weaves in Chinese history and legend as she brings the relationships between Lucy and her family and friends to life. Fans of Grace Lin's Year of the Dog (2006) and Year of the Rat (2008, both Little, Brown) will enjoy meeting this feisty protagonist as she learns to dismantle some walls she has built around herself.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA show less