Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu
Written by Maisie Chan
Published by Amulet Books
Twelve-year-old Lizzie Chu has lived with her Wai Gong (grandfather) in Glasgow since her parents died when she was a baby. But Wai Gong has been acting different lately. He spends a lot of time talking to his Guan Yin statue—the Chinese goddess of compassion, kindness, and mercy—at his altar and seems to be becoming more forgetful. Even the shared passion he and Lizzie have for their favorite show, Strictly Come Dancing, seems to be tailing off.
When Lizzie’s friend Chi visits one day dressed as Princess Leia for Comic Con, Wai Gong mistakes her for Guan Yin, and is naturally delighted, and Lizzie seizes the opportunity to use Chi as Guan Yin to help her with her grandad. And then Lizzie gets an idea: she and Chi can take Wai Gong to Blackpool to the Tower Ballroom, where he’d always dreamed of going. If only she can get her grandad there, she thinks, he’ll find some peace, and perhaps things will be OK at home again. After all, one of the myths around Guan Yin is that she brings order and harmony, so it’s got to work out—right?
Primary ISBN: 9781419759925
Publication Date: March 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade , Age 08 or older
Community Represented: Chinese/Chinese American
Themes: Audiobook, Cross-Group Friendship, Family Relationship: Grandparents, Family Relationship: Siblings, Generation: 2nd, Mental Health, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Trauma & Healing
Setting: Scotland (Glasgow)
Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: 2nd Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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