Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

While I enjoyed The Secret Battle of Evan Pao and The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, I didn’t connect as much to Bubble Trouble, but thought I’d give the newest book a chance.

Esme finds her self yearning for her mom’s approval, as she is the least “successful” of her four sisters, and also trying to navigate friendships while pursing her passion of swimming. She seems to find her passion and talent with swimming, but finds that it might cost her a friendship (although I didn’t quite understand why - it seemed like it would be a good lesson to illustrate that your interests my change, but you can still be friends and support each other.). And after finally gaining some favor in her mom’s eyes, it turned out that it wasn’t all the glitter and gold she thought it would be.

As an adult that grew up in the midst of “Model Minority Myth”, I was able to somewhat relate to pressure that Esme felt trying to gain her mom’s approval. However, I felt that the author made Esme’s mom a bit too extreme. I also feel that things have toned down a lot over the years. Now, as a parent and substitute teacher, I definitely do not see this level of “tiger parenting” among myself/peers and other parents. Quite the opposite actually - as a lot of parents think their kids are “the best” (even when they’re not, but this review is not the place for that discussion.). I don’t think kids reading this book now will have the same connection to that. At the end of the book, while Esme seems to have found a resolution in her mind, I wish that there had been a better resolution with her mom to come full circle. It didn’t have to be a “Full House” moment, but I felt like that story line also dropped rather abruptly.

I also felt like there were a lot of other issues like her parents’ separation that were brushed over, but clearly affected the family dynamics. I think it spanned maybe a page of the book in total, but it seemed like it was unnecessary since it was never brought up again.

Not a bad book, but not my first choice if I were to recommend a book by this author.

MG novel about a young swimmer who wants the approval of her mother, but finds that approval comes with a cost that is at odds with her own values. The plot is pretty simple and low stakes and the resolution was somewhat unsatisfying in that nothing really changes in a material way. Esme's mother is depicted as vicious and with really no good qualities, making one wonder why Esme even wants her approval (something Esme asks herself very quickly upon briefly achieving it). There's no context for why Esme's mother is the way she is except for a somewhat vague implication that her bigotry and meanness is somehow cultural, which feels uncomfortable and icky. It's possible this is meant to encapsulate the conflict between the first American generation and the parent immigrant generation, but it is never made clear if Esme's mother is a immigrant, so instead she comes across as a mean, racist woman who happens to be of Chinese heritage.

Bit of misdirection here. The blurb suggests this read is about a pre-teen and her friendship with one 'different' girl sharing a 'similar' passion.

Emse's on the cusp of her adolescent years as she leaves behind elementary school heading towards middle school. It's the summer before that transition and its' her friendship with multiple girls, not just Kaya that's the focus of this book. There's Cat, Tegan, 'and' Kaya. Each of these respective characters tests Esme's viewpoints on striving for excellence and teambuilding.

Left with a few questions after the read. Cat's questions and statements. Is it jealousy or something less innocuous? The ''yoda' slash 'Mr. Miyagi' figure of Joe, what keeps him at the pool year after year? Emses' (as well as her sisters' ) relationship with their mother will it be forever tainted by Mom's ambition? Sisterly support only?

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Scholastic | Scholastic Press, in exchange for an honest review.

#TheBestWorstSummerofEsmeSun #NetGalley

This is a perfect adventure and slice of life for young teens. It addresses, issues of friendship and misunderstandings. It also addresses ways to deal with parents who have differing belief systems. In this case Esme's mom's ideas were pretty toxic but realistic with old Chinese beliefs about colorism coming into play.

Finding ones voice as a young teen is an important moment. I think the book guides young teen through that process via Esme's actions. She is a good role model when it comes to being yourself in a larger group. She also has to deal with high pressure situations and does it gracefully.

I think that Esme will be a relatable character for young teens. While the book is focused on swimming the lessons from the book could easily transfer to any other activity. I used to be a swimming enthusiast. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the pool. I also appreciated the different activities in the water.

Shang is either and enthusiast or a great researcher. Because it felt like I was right back at a pool like I remember when I was Esme's age. Overall I'd give this book four stars, great characters. Great narrative line and incredible attention to detail. I'm sure this book will be a hit come this summer.

*4.25 Stars*

This was a really short middle grade novel about Esme Sun and her summer.
I really liked this one. Esme was a great main character, she wasn't perfect, she was very layered and I loved getting to know her and seeing her grow (even for just one summer!). I loved seeing her form friendships and interact with her family. Her relation to swimming was really interesting too.
Basically, this was short but it packed in a lot and I would definitely recommend it.

Middle grade novel. Really does a good job explaining the feelings of confusion during the middle school years. Of wanting to have fun and be a kid yet have friends who want to be older. The cultural issues could have been discussed better, but again appropriate for the age.

I received a free copy of, The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun, by Wendy Wan-Long Shang, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Esme Sun has three older sisters who are great at excelling. Esme has never cared for winning, until she starts swimming and winning swim trials. Esme mom puts way to much emphasis on winning, when Esme just wants to enjoy swimming. Esme mom is wrong and racist. This was a good read, I enjoyed reading about Esme.

Esme goes through many emotions that lots of teens will identify with. Great positive message about admitting when your wrong, competing with compassion and drive, as well as battling parental expectations. A quick, read to encourage teens that hard work and good friends afe worth it!