The Many Masks of Andy Zhou
Written by Jack Cheng
Published by Penguin Young Readers Group
Andy Zhou is used to being what people need him to be: the good kid for his parents and now grandparents visiting from Shanghai, or the helpful sidekick to his best friend Cindy’s rebellious plans and schemes.
So when Cindy decides they should try out for Movement at school on the first day of sixth grade, how can Andy say no? But between feeling out of place with the dancers, being hassled by his new science partner Jameel, and sensing tension between his dad and grandfather, Andy feels all kinds of weird.
Then, over anime, Hi-Chews, and Andy’s lizard-inspired artwork, things shift between him and Jameel, opening up new doors—and also new complications.
No matter how much Andy cares about his friends and family, it’s hard not to feel pulled between all the ways he’s meant to be, all the different faces he wears, and harder still to figure out if any of these masks is the real him.
Primary ISBN: 9780525553823
Publication Date: June 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade, Age 10 or older
Community Represented: Chinese/Chinese American
Themes: Audiobook, Cross-Group Friendship, Discrimination: Racial, Family Relationship: Grandparents, Family Relationship: Parents, Generation: 2nd, Mental Health, Multilingual Character, Own Voices/Lived Experience, The Arts
Setting: United States, Michigan
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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Audio Excerpt
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