04/17/2017
In this sensitively written story from Rosenberg (Nanny X) and Shang (The Way Home Looks Now), 12-year-old David is torn between two identities and two friends, and since it’s the Reagan-era ’80s he’s also terrified of nuclear war. David’s Chinese and Jewish grandmothers have uprooted themselves to be closer to David and his sister, and both women vie to make their culture the dominant one in the house. At school, David jumps at the chance to learn how to be smooth around girls from popular student Scott. David’s best friend Hector rounds out a trivia team that Scott and David form, but Hector’s uncool tendencies (such as his repeated references to old movies) lead David to leave Hector out of Scott’s new project: digging a fallout shelter. David is also preparing for his bar mitzvah, a journey filled with humor, emotional depth, and important realizations about what it means to be a friend and to embrace multiple cultures. His struggle to make sense of the Cold War will resonate with readers grappling with a confusing political climate themselves. Ages 8–12. Agent: (for Shang) Tracey Adams, Adams Literary; (for Rosenberg) Susan Cohen, Writers House. (June)
Praise for This Is Just a Test:2017 Sydney Taylor Award — Honor BookCBC Book of the Year Finalist2017 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers New York Historical Society's Children's History Book Prize Finalist2018 Young Adult Virginia Author Award Finalist"For a book about the possible end of the world, Rosenberg and Shang keep the tone surprisingly light. . . . The dialogue is snappy and the plot fast-paced." — The New York Times Book Review* "It's refreshing to meet a male protagonist who, like Tara in Paula Freedman's My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, is struggling with how to be authentically Jewish in a bicultural family. . . . Giggle-inducing, light, and charmingly realistic fiction that will resonate with a wide variety of readers." — School Library Journal, starred review"There's a lot to enjoy, but it's David's relationships with his two grandmothers that steal the show, especially when the rivals eventually unite to teach him he's not 'half of each' but 'all of both.' A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy." — Kirkus Reviews"A journey filled with humor, emotional depth, and important realizations about what it means to be a friend and to embrace multiple cultures. His struggle to make sense of the Cold War will resonate with readers grappling with a confusing political climate themselves." — Publishers Weekly"This novel tackles the very difficult topic of understanding who you are while appreciating your background and differences . . . In today's society, where families come in diverse variations and many children are growing up biracial and/or multiethnic, plenty of readers will find relevance to their lives in this middle-grade novel." — School Library Connection"The first-person narrative engages readers with David's candid reflections as well as his droll telling of events." — Booklist"Rosenberg and Shang keep the plot episodic and light, allowing David's feuding grandmothers to upstage the kids in many of the acts . . . Underpinning the domestic comedy is respect for fears that transcend generations." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"[A] seamless collaboration by two truly gifted writers [and] a perfect read for summer and beyond." — Christian Science Monitor"Rosenberg and Shang infuse this story with humor, tenderness and a genuine examination of what it means to grow up caught between cultures." — Richmond Times-Dispatch"Sure to hold a reader's interest and filled with humor." — Jewish Book Council"This is the funniest middle-grade novel I read this year. . . . Everything about this book is satisfying." — Tablet Magazine"A delightfully told story of competing sides in a tug-o-war/give-and-take battle, showing the reader that even 12-year-old seventh graders have a lot to deal with, whether it be on a grand scale such as international relations or on a smaller scale of balancing new and old friendships." — Compass Book Ratings"Rosenberg and Shang's warm, mostly realistic handling of David's multicultural family speaks for their comprehensive understanding of the struggles of identity they depict, and makes David a unique and relatable role model of a character." — International ExaminerPraise for Wendy Wan-Long ShangPraise for The Way Home Looks Now:An Amelia Bloomer Project SelectionA CCBC Choices SelectionA BookPage Best of the Year selection* "[A] fine story of family, loss, growing up and learning to play baseball, raised to a higher level by gracefully incorporated themes of feminism and kindness." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Shang (The Great Wall of Lucy Wu) skillfully balances the different aspects of Peter's life, robustly characterizing his friendships and his time at school and home. Issues of sexism, racism, and struggles with depression are handled deftly in scenarios grounded in reality, including an ending that's hopeful without being pat." — Publishers Weekly, starred review"Readers will cheer Peter on as his love for his family drives him to persevere at home and on the field. Parallels between home plate and home as place abound as grief completes its work and relationships are restored. Interwoven with cultural ties to both Peter's Chinese heritage and to the women's liberation movement, this touching novel shows the importance of patience — baseball." — BooklistPraise for The Great Wall of Lucy Wu:Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Children's Literature"A delightful story about assimilation and family dynamics . . . sure to appeal to young readers struggling with issues of self-identity, whatever their heritage." — Los Angeles Times"Thought-provoking, funny, and incredibly heartwarming." — Booklist"A realistic and amusing portrait of family dynamics, heritage, and the challenge of feeling like an outsider." — Publishers Weekly"Genuinely touching." — Kirkus Reviews"A unique look at the power of family." — Discovery Girls Magazine
★ 05/01/2017
Gr 4–8—It's 1983, and David's got worries: his impending bar mitzvah, his constantly competing Chinese and Jewish grandmothers, the cute girl who makes him nervous, and his popular new friend, who dislikes David's longtime best friend—plus, it's the height of the Cold War, and nuclear annihilation could hit at any second. David's lightly anxious tone; the progressively funny handful of short, dialogue-based scenes per chapter; the realistically kooky family members; and the 1980s middle-class suburban setting are so strongly reminiscent of Judy Blume's "Fudge" books that a well-versed reader might accidentally refer to the protagonist as "Peter." The authors cram in a lot of 1980s references (David Hasselhoff, Betamax). It's refreshing to meet a male protagonist who, like Tara in Paula Freedman's My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, is struggling with how to be authentically Jewish in a bicultural family. VERDICT Giggle-inducing, light, and charmingly realistic fiction that will resonate with a wide variety of readers.—Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC
2017-03-29
In the months leading up to his bar mitzvah, David Da-Wei Horowitz deals with a host of middle school crises, from bickering grandmas and trouble talking to his crush to fearing the possibility of nuclear fallout. It's autumn 1983 in northern Virginia, and seventh-grader David Horowitz, who is Chinese and Jewish, is busy preparing for Jan. 21, 1984: when he's "being bar mitzvahed in front of about a zillion people." But that's only if he lives that long, considering that after watching The Day After, he's worried about what will happen if there's a nuclear holocaust. David's growing friendship with cool-kid Scott, a white boy, revolves around their school trivia team and their secret project: digging a fallout shelter. Meanwhile, at home, David's grandmothers—Wai Po, who lives with them, and Granny M, who lives next door—seem constantly on the verge of starting World War III themselves, bickering over whose culture should take precedence in David's and his younger sister's lives. David is a lovable intersectional protagonist, and the authors imbue his story with period-appropriate details, such as the novelty of divorced parents and Cold War fear. There's a lot to enjoy, but it's David's relationships with his two grandmothers that steal the show, especially when the rivals eventually unite to teach him he's not "half of each" but "all of both." A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 8-12)
