Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Seven year old Meixing, her mother and father move to New Country for a better life and they now live in Big Scary, a house they inherited from First Uncle. Before they arrive, First Uncle dies while tending the orange trees in his backyard. This leaves Meixing and her family adrift in a new country. Thankfully a neighbor family offers a kind assist by generously providing food, clothing, and school and job advice. Since Meixing's parents lack the language skills needed in their new country, they rely on their 7 year old daughter to interpret. Unfortunately bullying by classmates, an oblivious, uncaring teacher, the abusive physical difficulty of father's job, and Mom's pregnancy, make life utterly depressing . First Uncle was an avid gardener and Meixing discovers his ghost, and the Glasshouse(greenhouse) in the overgrown backyard. Loved the interjection of various cultural traditions, such as the Baqua on the wall of a new home, and the cuisine, but I had to start the book at least twice to finish. The sadness was overwhelming. This well written book is perfect for an older reader, such as a teacher's book club or study group, as it lends itself to many points of discussion, such as racism and emotional survival as experienced by many in today's world.

I found the characters a bit hard to grasp. I could never understand their culture and their motivations. Now the theme of "same but different" is a fascinating one to explore and kept me reading. Still, the sens of unreality created an emotional distance that I struggled to overcome.

This was such a unique reading experience as this story was written in second person point of view. It was my first time reading from that point of view and it made the story much more personal and emotional. It was fascinating to learn that this story is based on the real childhood experiences of the author even though there is a blend of magical realism, too. I recommend this book for all middle school libraries.

A nice immigrant story told in an unusual way. I enjoyed Meixing story of learning to live in America. It was sad but yet there is so much hope.

I enjoyed how descriptive this book was and the way everything seems fun and fantastical. I personally couldn't get into the book, but it does seem enjoyable for other readers. This book is perfect for readers ages 8-11.

This Children's fiction book is about 250 pages; a young girl recently immigrates to another country (with a new language), her father dies unexpectedly and her mother is pregnant. Wow. That must really be a lot to deal with at one time. This book is beautifully written, add a little fantasy/surrealism, children being children and bigots being bigots, good teachers and mediocre teachers. And then add some relatives and neighbors and classmates you have a pretty good story.

There really is a lot going on in this book; I'm impressed with how well the book flowed with all that was packed into this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing) and the author Shirley Marr for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 29 Jun 2021.

Don't miss Shirley Marr's GoodReads comments on this book.

4.5 stars, rounding up to a 5.