Thank you to Netgalley for the free arc!

When 12 year old Cindy is assigned an art project at school to create a piece about "What family means to me", she is stuck. She is not sure how to create an image of her family because she is holding a secret that her father moved back to Taiwan four years ago. To keep her family's secret safe, she decides to draw a perfect family portrait from four years ago. When her grandmother unexpectedly passes away, her family visits Taiwan and even more secrets are revealed about Cindy's family. Now, more than ever, Cindy has no idea how to create a piece of art about her family.

Through detailed and powerful images, Chang skillfully conveys the feelings that Cindy goes through as she tries to work through her feelings about her feeling and her art project. She also interweaves interesting aspects of Taiwanese culture and traditions throughout.

As I was reading this book I somehow missed that it was an auto bio until the very end. What an awesome, open, honest, and heartfelt story of Cindy's journey through adolescence and learning a big part of herself and what it means to be family. Her openness through her art at the end was a perfect conclusion to this story and I look forward to more from her!

"How to Draw a Secret" is a middle grade graphic novel autobiography by Cindy Chang. Cindy (nicknamed Cindo) is 12 and has two older sisters. Their father left them to live in Taiwan four years ago and her mother will not talk about it and has forbidden the sisters from telling anyone, so Cindy must pretend that everything is fine when she is with her friends. Cindy stresses about not feeling perfect, wanting to spend time on her art when her mother nags her to practice the piano. When their grandmother passes and the family travels to Taiwan, they meet up with Ba, their father. The reason for his departure comes to light and Cindy finds herself stressing over being an imperfect family and feeling like an imperfect daughter. The story is emotional and compelling and middle school readers will understand Cindy's stress and worries. A recommended purchase for middle grade graphic novel collections.

it's about a girl navigating a broken family.

Cindy's father left the family 5 years ago, and she didn't know what becomes of her family since. her parents aren't exactly divorced. her mom always said that the matter with their father is a secret. so the whole 5 years, in front of other people they all acted like the father was still around.

then Cindy's Nana died, and they had to go to Taiwan for the funeral. meeting their father there was inevitable. beside the funeral, Cindy also learned another huge secret about her family that left her even more confused and conflicted.

coming of age familyhood that's honest and tender, the ending was quite heartwarming.

I believe that this book will make a lot of kids feel very represented. I also grew up in an immigrant household and was told that there were many "secrets" I could not share. I felt like I lived two different lives when it came to attending school and then going home. Not only is this story very relatable for many first-generation immigrants, but it is also culturally significant.

Compelling and engaging memoir about a young Taiwanese-American girl who deals with two simultaneous problems: how to complete a school project on the meaning of family and the four years of secret estrangement between her mother and her father, who lives in Taiwan. As further family secrets are revealed, the MC finds that family is both more complicated and less perfect than she previously believed. Seemingly a true story that becomes accessible to younger readers by virtue of the art style and middle school protagonist who frames the story.

This is a great look at family and how keeping secrets for their families can weigh on the family.
I liked the artwork throughout. It is a great look at how learning more about your family can change your views of your family. But can also help create a stronger bond with some family members.
Cindy is trying to figure out what to draw for what family means to her. As her family travels to Taiwan for her grandmother's funeral she learns the secret that her mom has been keeping and family drama ensues. But as she learns more, she becomes closer with her mom and sisters and figures what to draw for the art contest.

A great graphic novel for middle grade readers.

How to Draw a Secret is Chang’s autobiographical take on her early adolescence. It features twelve year old Cindy a Taiwanese American artist. Cindy is struggling to find her voice in her changing family. Cindy’s family changed four years ago when her father left to live in Taiwan.

Cindy isn’t super clear on what happened. She was young at the time, her father left, but knows she misses her father. She also knows can’t tell her friends about her strange situation. However Cindy finds it easy to relax in drawing beautiful images.

That all changes when she gets a prompt for an art competition about what family means to her. She begins to question how her strange family situation fits. When sh and her mother and sisters are called back to Taiwan for an emergency. Cindy gets the opportunity to see her father again and secrets are revealed.

Cindy must figure out how she and her mother and sisters now fit in this new reality. She must go through the stages of grief about the changes and find a way to accept her new normal. Though her family is changing she must realize that she is still a very important person in her family. Cindy her voice deserves to be heard. She must learn to embrace her changed family and her new life even with its messy and confusing parts.

An autobiographical graphic novel not set in the 90s? Sign me up!

How to Draw a Secret tells the story of Cindy, a Taiwanese American middle schooler hiding a big secret--her parents are separated, and her father has been living apart from the family since he moved back to Taiwan four years earlier. Cindy's mother insists on secrecy, so even Cindy's best friends don't know the truth about her family.
Cindy is assigned an art project with the prompt "What Family Means to Me" and struggles with what to create--how much of her truth should she reveal? When a death in the family causes a sudden reunion with her father in Taiwan, Cindy learns of an even bigger family secret.

+: This book holds great appeal to fans of books like Parachute Kids (a major favorite in my library). It is not set in the 90s! We love a contemporary graphic novel!

-: Some of the plotlines involving the older sisters feel somewhat under-developed.

Definitely will be purchasing, likely will need to purchase multiple copies.

I got an ARC of this book.

It was a quick read. I generally enjoyed the art, it really hit those popular middle grade series art notes. It was not super cartoony, but not super realistic either. Hit that sweet spot in the middle.

The plot was a bit complicated. The title is a perfect fit.

I did not know this was autobiographic when I started reading it. I saw that detail after the fact. It read like a fiction story. It was smooth and paced really well. I was shocked to see that it was non-fiction. It would be a great read to transition middle grade readers into memoirs and biographies. Reads more like a story than El Deafo, so would be a perfect middle ground to get kids there.

I really liked that thecharacters all grew, but nothing was fully resolved. It couldn't be in the time the story covered. I loved that the bigger story was told around the art contest. It made it just feel conained and easy to understand, while still knowing more was happening. I will need to keep an eye on Chang's books. They are sure to be popular

Such a wonderful story that kids will be able to relate to!

Cindy loves drawing but when her art teacher reveals the theme of an upcoming contest, she’s completely at a loss. The theme is about what family means and Cindy has been hiding what is really going on with them. Her father has left the family to live in Taiwan and her mother has instructed them not to tell anyone. When her nai nai passes, Cindy must go to Taiwan and face her dad.

There are some pretty big themes presented - losing a loved one, separation, and adultery, but it’s shared in a very real way. Cindy’s thoughts and reactions are exactly those of a twelve year old. Middle grade readers will be drawn to the graphic novel side of it while being engrossed in a story that may be reminiscent of their own.

I cannot wait to add this to our classroom and school library. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the arc.

Wow! I love a good middle-grade graphic novel. I also have a special connection to Taiwan, as I spent over three years teaching English there and it is one of the many places I consider home.

I was still blown away by this graphic novel. It is very emotional and will resonate so well with students who have experienced familial turmoil. The characters are spot on and feel their ages. I cannot wait to add this to my library.

Now, I just need to get some Taiwanese food! It made me so hungry for so many of my favorites!

Thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC!

Received this one from Netgallery. I absolutely loved this one. The story was predicable from an adult viewpoint, but that didn’t affect the storyline. Wonderful dialogue and illustrations. Middle grader readers are sure to love it.

How to Draw a Secret is a fantastic graphic novel for middle grade readers about a young girl whose father is living in Taiwan while she is with her mother and sisters in the US. This graphic novel fantastic illustrations and handled some heavy subject matter with a lot of care. I loved that Cindy was able to express herself through art and that her voice felt very accurate to a twelve-year-old. The family in this book was going through something big and messy, but I felt like the author did a great job portraying that. They didn't always react perfectly, but it was human and filled with heart.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins Childrens Books, and Cindy Chang for the chance to read and review! My opinions are my own.

Lovely book! Great story that will resonate with a lot of kids going through family changes. Graphical novel with a female-centered lead. Very sweet illustrations - eye-catching and real (loved the food images!). And the story is autobiographical to boot. I think this book would be a great addition to any collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun kids graphic novel. The story was fun and exciting. The graphics were so cute and colorful. I cannot wait to share this with my kids.

Beautifully drawn autobiography of the author and her middle school years, learning about art and family secrets. I think it’s appropriate for middle school age and appreciate how the author dealt with learning to have some patience and grace for when parents mess up. my family and others I knew in middle school had changing family dynamics at this age, and it was a confusing time!

I always love me a journey to the family’s homeland for children of immigrant stories, and the section of the book about Taiwan were well done (and made me so hungry)!

I loved this graphic novel so much. Coming from a complicated family situation I loved that this was addressed in a middle grade friendly way: I felt so deeply for these characters and their struggles. I also loved the glimpse of life in Taiwan. Highly recommend, this is emotional but also fun and a tribute to art and family..