Title: "The Not--So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei" by Christina Matula - Missed Potential

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

"The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei" by Christina Matula left me with mixed feelings, ultimately resulting in a two-star rating.

The premise of the story had the potential to offer a unique and engaging narrative, but it struggled to live up to its promise. Holly-Mei's character, while relatable in her struggles, lacked the depth and development needed for readers to become fully invested in her journey. The book touched on important themes of identity, cultural clashes, and self-discovery, but it often fell into clichés and stereotypes, missing the opportunity to delve deeper into these topics.

While "The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei" may resonate with some readers, particularly those seeking a lighthearted story of self-discovery and cultural exploration, it didn't fully meet the mark for me. With a two-star rating, it's a book that had potential but ultimately left me wanting more in terms of character development and storytelling depth.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

This book would be very appealing to various readers due to the cover art and content. However, I could not get into the book and did not get past the first few pages.

This was very cute and sad at the same time. But sad because of how realistic some of the awful things that can happen to a child, even when they are trying their best. The mom in the book annoyed me because of how she acted. As an adult, I can understand why the mom acted the way she did at times, but some of the things she said bothered me. But that shows how the author portrayed real parents not just perfect or villainous parents.

Ending on some good things: Holly-Mei's friends and how they all learned and grew to become better friends to each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Very cool to see the living abroad trope trickling down to middle grade books. I loved seeing a closer-to-reality description of living in another country since we see it through the eyes of a new resident instead of a tourist. Great fish-out-of-water story.

Holly-Mei Jones is about to have her world turned upside down and she is ready for it. She cannot wait to experience Hong Kong and build a fabulous life. What she doesn't expect is the strict social rues she must follow because they just don't affect her but her parents as well. The Not So Uniformed Life of Holly-Mei is a great middle grade book on novel about fitting in and the social pressure to conform. Holly-Mei is the perfect protagonist for this book and goes through experiences and challenges with grace and determination. She makes mistakes and fumbles social practices with realistic depiction. The book give a glimpse into the Hong Kong culture and how stressful the social and educational system can be.

This was such a fun reminiscent of life as a tween! I loved how at first, Holly disliked the idea of moving. Feeling uncertain about change is something every child goes through. Moreover, I found Holly to be so relatable! Not fitting in is something many kids will relate to. I also adored her family dynamic. The writing was simple and fast-paced as well. Overall, I really loved this book. I'm sure middle-grade children will find solace in The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei!

I loved this book! Holly-Mei's life in Canada is upended when her mother gets transferred to a high-powered job in Hong Kong. Holly-Mei thinks it'll be a great chance to start over after messing up an important friendship at the end of middle school, but little does she know she'll have to navigate all new challenges in a posh, competitive private school. The author does a great job immersing the reader into Hong Kong life and sharing a fun, heart filled story of a girl finding her way.

When her dad receives a promotion, Holly-Mei moves from Canada to Hong Kong with very little warning. She needs to adjust to a whole new city, school, friends, and way of life. Along her journey, she learns new life lessons. This book will resonate with children who move to a new city, school, etc. I loved reading about the different foods and rules. I felt like I was exploring Hong Kong along with Holly-Mei.

When her mom accepts a big promotion, seventh grader Holly-Mei Jones and her family move from their home in Canada to Hong Kong. After a major fallout with her friends, Holly-Mei is excited about the move and the opportunity to reinvent herself in a new country and a new school. Her mother makes it clear that she expects Holly-Mei and her sister to make a good impression on the elite Hong Kong community they are joining. Once in Hong Kong, Holly-Mei finds that starting over isn’t as easy as she thought it would be. In addition to missing her beloved grandmother who stayed behind in Toronto, she finds it challenging to adapt to new expectations. Gemma, the school’s queen bee and daughter of the PTA president, seems to pick on and target Holly-Mei as she tries to find her place and build relationships in her new school community. More than once, Holly-Mei makes a misstep as she tries to form friendships and then must work to correct what she’s done. Middle grade readers will relate to the story’s friendship issues that are typical to their experiences. Holly-Mei and the supporting cast of characters from her family to her friends are well-developed and add layers to the story, as does the way that the author seamlessly weaves in detail about life in Hong Kong.

Holly Mei Jones and her family are moving from Toronto to Hong Kong. Holly is ready to start this new adventure by reinventing herself. I think kids will get a kick out of reading about this fancy private school and Holly’s beautiful beachfront apartment. Hong Kong life turns out to be very different for Holly. Her Mom starts caring about meeting the “right” people and appearances for all of them. The entire family has some adjusting to do after such a total change of circumstance.

The atmosphere sounds amazing and bonus- this is the beginning of a series. It’ll be somewhere on our Middle-Grade roundtable radar this coming year.

This is an adorable middle-grade read! Holly-Mei is a charming main character, and many students can find her story of navigating a new school relatable!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy.

Description from NetGalley:
Holly-Mei Jones couldn’t be more excited about moving to Hong Kong for her mother’s job. Her new school is right on the beach and her family’s apartment is beyond beautiful. Everything is going to be perfect . . . right?

Maybe not. It feels like everywhere she turns, there are new rules to follow and expectations to meet. On top of that, the most popular girl in her grade is quickly becoming a frenemy. And without the guidance of her loving Ah-ma, who stayed behind in Toronto, Holly-Mei just can’t seem to get it right.

It will take all of Holly-Mei’s determination and sparkle (and maybe even a tiny bit of stubbornness) to get through seventh grade and turn her life in Hong Kong into the ultimate adventure!

This middle grade book is fun, fast paced, and very cute. Holly-Mei wading through both moving to a new school and a new country and culture. It’s not the typical immigration story that I am used to reading. The writing was great.

Overall: 4/5

The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei is SUCH a delightful book! Holly-Mei is charming, and one can’t help but cheer for her through her uprooting and new life adjustments. Matula does a wonderful job of transporting the reader to Canada, and to Hong Kong, while also allowing us to love each family member on their own journeys. I’ve already recommended this one to our YTS department and will be buying it for the younger readers in my extended family.

This was a fun middle-grade read and I liked getting a look at upper-class Hong Kong life. It did seem like the elementary and middle school characters acted, spoke, and dressed significantly older than they are at times, which took me out of the story.

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei by Christina Matula is a delightful middle-grade novel that will appeal to fans who have grown out of the American Girl series. The story revolves around Holly-Mei Jones, whose mother announces one day that she's moving from America to Hong Kong. She's facing huge culture shock. Hong Kongers are very diferent, from culture to behavior. Will she be able to survive seventh grade in Hong Kong?

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1, when Holly Mei's mother has a big announcement:

"She nods and starts to speak. “Like I was trying to say, I have something important to announce. Something that affects the whole family.”
“You girls are in for a great surprise.” Dad gives us a wide grin.
“I’ve been offered a promotion. You’re looking at the new chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific for Lo Holdings International.” Her smile is huge.
...
I’m about to bite into my pancake when my mom starts speaking again.
“Obviously, the COO for the Asia-Pacific role won’t be based in Toronto, so in two weeks we’ll be moving to Hong Kong.”

Overall, The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei is a delightful middle-grade novel that will teach readers are guanxi, losing "face" and bubble tea.. One highlight of this book is that it is by an #ownvoices author who has lived in Hong Kong for a long time. My parents immigrated here from Hong Kong, and I rarely hear about it outside of my family, so I'm so happy to see it represented in this book.

Another highlight of this book is the Chinese glossary at the end of the book. I thought that it was very helpful, especially since there were some Mandarin words that I had not known before looking at the glossary. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're looking for a middle-grade book set in a different country, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

4.5 stars for this book about family, friendship, and big life changes. Moving from Canada to Hong Kong is not quite as easy as Holly-Mei thought it would be. Holly-Mei is navigating new friendships, changing family dynamics, and figuring out who she is...in a fantastic setting.

Two quick added notes...
I love stories with a strong sense of setting and I loved this trip to Hong Kong through the pages!

I absolutely loved the Author's Note at the beginning of the book that this is a "story about kids doing regular kid things...but with characters that just happen to be Asian...I also wanted to add to the growing collection of books that widen the lens of what a story with Asian characters can look like. After all--Asians, they're just like us!"

Such a good book. I wish we got a little more insight on Gemma’s family dynamic though. Can’t wait for the illustrations but they have a lot to live up too.

This a very heartwarming book about family, friendship, discovering yourself, and Chinese culture. It was interesting to read about Holly-Mei's move from Canada to Hong-Kong, and how she went from not wanting to move to being okay with it. I'm definitely going to recommend this book for our middle grade section of our library.

I thought this was such a great contemporary about a young girl name Holly-Mei who had lived her life in Canada with her family until her mom was promoted and the family has to move to Hong Kong for two years. At first she does not want to go, but then changes her mind because she wants a new start to a new life after a fight with her friends. I think this a very heartwarming book about family, friendship, discovering yourself, and Chinese culture. I think the author does a great job with developing her characters and plot.