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    Pie in the Sky, by Remy Lai | Book Review

    Dr. Jen HarrisonBy Dr. Jen Harrison3 Mins Read Ages 9-12 Award Winners Best Kids Stories Books with Boy Characters Cultural Wisdom Food and Drink Humor Novels for Kids and Teens Reluctant Readers
    Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai Book Review
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    Book Review of Pie in the Sky
    The Children’s Book Review

    Book Pie in the Sky

    Pie in the Sky

    Written by Remy Lai

    Ages 9+ | 384 Pages

    Publisher: Henry Holt and Company | ISBN: 9781250314109

    What to Expect: Family, Grief, Immigration

    When 10-year-old Jingwen moves to Australia, he can’t help feeling like he’s in an alien world. Unable to speak or understand much English, surrounded by unfamiliar people and sights, and aching with grief from the loss of his father, it seems like too much to hope that things will ever feel right again. Their mother can offer very little help since she works long hours and is hardly ever home.

    However, when Jingwen’s annoying little brother Yanghao pleads with him to bake the fancy cakes they had dreamed about with their father when their plan had still been to open a bakery in Australia, Jingwen starts to feel a glimmer of happiness. Baking makes things feel right again. The only problem is their mother has forbidden them to bake while she is out. How long can Jingwen and Yanghao keep their illicit cake-baking a secret? Only time will tell…

    Pie in the Sky is a funny, touching, heartbreaking, and utterly uplifting exploration of what it means to be an outsider in a community that struggles to understand you. Remy writes with empathy for the struggles faced by immigrant children and a deep understanding of how food, family, and friendship can overcome the barriers of language and culture. Told partially through hilarious blue-and-white graphic-novel-style illustration that shows readers the world through Jingwen’s eyes, the novel invites identification with this utterly relatable protagonist and, at the same time, recognition of kinship with other immigrant peers.

    Pie in the Sky is one novel even the most reluctant reader is sure to get sucked into and be unable to put down.

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    Remy Lai

    Remy Lai studied fine arts, with a major in painting and drawing. She was born in Indonesia, grew up in Singapore, and currently lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes and draws stories for kids with her two dogs by her side. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed Pie in the Sky, Fly on the Wall, and Pawcasso.

    Pie in the Sky, written and illustrated by Remy Lai, was reviewed by Dr. Jen Harrison. Discover more books like Pie in the Sky by following our reviews and articles tagged with Australia, Baking, Books About Grief, Emigration and Immigration, and Illustrated Chapter Books.

    What to Read Next:

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    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

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    Dr. Jen Harrison
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    Dr. Jen Harrison provides writing and research services as the CEO of Read.Write.Perfect. She completed her Ph.D. in Children’s and Victorian Literature at Aberystwyth University in Wales, in the UK. After a brief spell in administration, Jen then trained as a secondary school English teacher and worked for several years teaching Secondary School English, working independently as a private tutor of English, and working in nursery and primary schools. She has been an editor for the peer-reviewed journal of children’s literature, Jeunesse, and has published academic work on children’s non-fiction, YA speculative fiction, and the posthuman.

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