The Silence that Binds Us

May 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 Maybelline Chen's brother, Danny, a fun young man who has just been admitted to Princeton, is the shining star of the family. But when Danny suddenly ends his life, the Chen family is thrown into endless shock and grief. Their pain is compounded when an overly privileged white businessman blames the recent spate of teen suicides on parents who pressure their children academically, specifically calling out Chinese families, which include the Chinese Taiwanese American Chens. So angered by this overt racism, Maybelline and her friends mount a Take Back the Narrative campaign at school, despite parental and administrative admonishment to leave it alone. Inspired by the recent rise in hate crimes against AAPI and a rash of teen suicides in Palo Alto, CA, Ho's story of inclusion, diversity, and social action rings true. Maybelline is a multifaceted narrator whose drive to right wrongs and stand up to injustice deserves applause. Ho illuminates both activism and mental health in marginalized communities, showing that even a bright, young achiever can experience depression without anyone knowing.

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Starred review from May 23, 2022
A grieving Chinese American teen combats the model minority myth and its harm in Ho’s (Eyes That Kiss in the Corners) potent YA debut. Unlike her accomplished older brother Danny, Maybelline Chen, who wants to be a writer, feels as if she falls short of her parents’ expectations. It’s a shock to the entire family when Princeton-bound Danny dies by suicide. Their pain intensifies when local white Silicon Valley mogul Nate McIntyre publicly denounces “tiger moms and dads,” accusing May’s parents of pressuring Danny about academics, and potentially driving him to take his own life. Appalled, May pens a poem in response that’s published in Sequoia Park’s local paper, provoking debate within her community. Surprisingly to May, Chinese American classmate Alvin Lo condemns her for seemingly speaking for their town’s Chinese population at large. When May’s burgeoning notoriety threatens her mother’s job, May and Haitian best friend Tiya Marie Duverne rally their classmates to take back their narratives. With a layered, sensitive voice, May confronts her parents’ silence surrounding Danny’s depression and their complacency around maintaining the status quo. Using complex characterizations and intense dialogue, Ho’s weighty novel delves into themes of racism, classism, loss, and healing. Ages 14–up. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary.

July 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-High school junior Maybelline Chen is shattered when her beloved older brother Danny dies by suicide. Neither May nor her parents saw signs of depression in Danny, a Princeton-bound senior and popular athlete, and his death leaves them reeling with guilt. Then, a wealthy white parent at May's school lashes out with a racist gut-punch of an accusation, blaming "Asians" and "tiger parents" for increased student stress and competition and claiming that May's Chinese American father and Taiwanese mother placed so much pressure on her brother that he killed himself. Devastated and circumspect, May's parents ask her to keep quiet to protect her family from further backlash, but May's rage fuels her to writes a series of letters and poems for the local paper that evolve into broader collaborative and intersectional activism at school. Tackling a range of important, timely topics that include the history of anti-Asian discrimination in the United States, allyship among historically marginalized populations, and the power of narratives to uphold (or disrupt) systems of oppression, this is a powerful, hopeful YA debut from award-winning children's author Ho. While some dialogue veers into didacticism, May's journey through personal and familial grief is poignant and questions of power and privilege are explored with nuance that will spark conversation among teen readers. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase; hand to fans of Mark Oshiro's Anger Is a Gift, Misa Sugiura's This Time Will Be Different, or Kelly Loy Gilbert's When We Were Infinite. -Elizabeth Giles

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2022
This sensitive novel does an impressive balancing act, examining mental illness and its stigma among Asian Americans while weaving in themes of racism and grief. San Francisco area teen Maybelline Chen's world is shattered when her beloved older brother, Danny, dies by suicide weeks before high-school graduation. Compounding the tragedy, a white classmate's rich venture capitalist father publicly blames Danny's death and other recent teen suicides on academic pressure from Asian "tiger moms and dads." Tension builds when Maybelline, an aspiring writer, pushes back through poetry and by organizing a school-wide protest -- activities that jeopardize her mother's job. Ho admirably captures Maybelline's pain and sorrow as she deals with so many conflicting emotions. At the same time, she highlights the protagonist's naivete and myopia when she doesn't support her Black best friend at a police brutality protest and is forced to evaluate her own biases and limited understanding of anti-Black racism. The novel runs a bit long, and the plot raises several minor logic questions. However, in picture-book author Ho's (Eyes That Kiss in the Corners; Playing at the Border, rev. 9/21) debut young adult novel, the overarching messages -- working through issues via conversations, listening with empathy, and seeking help -- ring loud and clear. Michelle Lee

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from April 1, 2022
A Chinese American teenager learns that silence can bind families together but also prevent them from standing up for larger causes. Maybelline Chen is mourning the death of Danny, her beloved older brother who struggled with depression and died by suicide right after being accepted to Princeton. Her family's deep pain is compounded when local Silicon Valley magnate Nate McIntyre publicly blames Asian families for the hypercompetitive school environment, attributing Danny's suicide to what he claims are widespread Asian parental pressures. Infuriated and hurt, May writes an impassioned poem for the local paper in response, sparking a heated discussion about racism. But when her mother's job working for Mr. McIntyre's friend is imperiled by her activities, May must make a choice between speaking out and honoring her parents' fear of making waves. With the help of her best friend, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, May rallies her classmates to reclaim the narrative while embarking upon a journey of recognizing her own complicity and complacency about racism. She acknowledges Asian discrimination against Black people, faces prejudice from other Asians, and comes to understand the harm of Asian silence and the model minority myth. The array of issues in this story is sensitively and beautifully handled, and May is an appealing character who moves through a complicated range of realistic emotions, including anger, fear, guilt, and jealousy. A grieving teen fights Asian hate by finding her voice in this complex, timely story. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2022
This sensitive novel does an impressive balancing act, examining mental illness and its stigma among Asian Americans while weaving in themes of racism and grief. San Francisco area teen Maybelline Chen's world is shattered when her beloved older brother, Danny, dies by suicide weeks before high-school graduation. Compounding the tragedy, a white classmate's rich venture capitalist father publicly blames Danny's death and other recent teen suicides on academic pressure from Asian "tiger moms and dads." Tension builds when Maybelline, an aspiring writer, pushes back through poetry and by organizing a school-wide protest -- activities that jeopardize her mother's job. Ho admirably captures Maybelline's pain and sorrow as she deals with so many conflicting emotions. At the same time, she highlights the protagonist's naivete and myopia when she doesn't support her Black best friend at a police brutality protest and is forced to evaluate her own biases and limited understanding of anti-Black racism. The novel runs a bit long, and the plot raises several minor logic questions. However, in picture-book author Ho's (Eyes That Kiss in the Corners; Playing at the Border, rev. 9/21) debut young adult novel, the overarching messages -- working through issues via conversations, listening with empathy, and seeking help -- ring loud and clear.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)