With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei
Written by Justina Chen
Published by Quill Tree Books
Award-winning author Justina Chen delivers a powerful and heartfelt novel about a young girl who accidentally discovers she has an identical twin sister. This uplifting novel about reunited adoptee sisters experiencing new family traditions, foods, and customs together…Dive into a nuanced portrayal of the transracial, transnational adoptee experience, including the joys and the sorrows within the wide spectrum of experiences as an adoptee.
On Dessie Mei Breedlove’s first day at a new school in the middle of her sixth-grade year, who does she see? A classmate who looks exactly like her. As in: Dessie and Donna Lee have the exact same glossy black hair. The exact same brown eyes. The exact same cheeky smile.
A secret DNA test reveals the shocking truth: Dessie and Donna are identical twins, adopted from the same orphanage in China, then separated into two different families: one white, the other Taiwanese American. The Breedloves and the Lees.
Making up for lost time, the girls throw themselves into their newfound sisterhood, relishing every similarity. Cats or dogs (dogs!). Sweet or savory (both!). Favorite band (A2Z, duh!). But the small differences between the girls soon create tension…and when crisis strikes, Dessie must figure out who she is, where she belongs, and what it truly means to be a sister.
Primary ISBN: 9780063306523
Publication Date: May 2024
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade, Age 08 or older
Community Represented: Chinese/Chinese American
Themes: Accolades & Awards, Accolades & Awards: Starred Review, Coming of Age, Cultural Empowerment, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Family, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Food, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Identity, Discrimination: Microaggression, Discrimination: Racial, Family Relationship: Adoption, Family Relationship: Grandparents, Family Relationship: Parents, Family Relationship: Siblings, Format: Audiobook, Identity: Exploration, Mental Health, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Trauma & Healing, Trauma & Healing: Illness
Setting: United States (Seattle WA)
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Immigrant
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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