Good Luck, Ivy: 1976

Ivy is a Chinese-American. She lives with her mom and dad who help her when she is feeling sad. It is hard for Ivy because now her parents are very busy. Ivy loves to do gymnastics or hang out with her best friend Julie. This is a great book for kids and their parents to enjoy with them. By S.H., student

Between regular grammar school Monday through Friday, Chinese school on Saturdays, homework, and gymnastics practice, Ivy's plenty busy. She's looking forward to an upcoming gymnastics meet, but she's worried about her routine on the balance beam, having fallen off of the apparatus in an earlier competition. When she learns a family reunion is scheduled for the same time as the meet, Ivy has to decide which event to attend . . . or figure out a way to go to both! The book takes place in 1976, so Ivy references the 1972 Olympics and Olga Korbout's balance beam routine, which won her the gold medal. Even though the book takes place over twenty years ago, the theme of appreciating your family's culture is timeless. Readers will hopefully be moved to consider the struggles and traditions of their own families. Good Luck, Ivy is a spinoff of the American Girls books about Julie Albright, in which Ivy Ling is introduced as Julie's best friend. Ivy is definitely a great American Girl who is trying to keep up her family's customs while making her own path. I wish there were more books in the Ivy series! The vignettes at the end of the book, written by Nika Korniyenko and Susan McAliley, detail real-life events in the lives of Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans. This section also includes photographs of author Lisa Yee and her relatives. How cool is that?

This is surely one of the "winners". History, a great story and not only that, but really gets inside a Asian family's life in San Fran in the 1970sCannot be beat!

This is the 'extra' book in the 'Julie' series from American Girl. Julie is the newest American Girl character, and Ivy Ling is her best friend. I am an adult who works at AG, but that doesn't influence my opinions on the books. It just makes it easy for me to read them. I really liked this book. Ivy was born in America, and so were her parents, but her grandparents are a big part of her life, too, and they were born in China. They own and operate a very popular Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Ivy loves her family and she feels badly when she blurts out that she's sick of Chinese food. She's afraid she hurt their feelings. Ivy feels totally American and wonders why they can't just eat American food, like cheeseburgers. Ivy's parents send her and her brother Andrew to Chinese school every Saturday to learn to read and write Chinese. Ivy would much rather spend her Saturdays practicing gymnastics. Ever since seeing Olga Korbut during the Olympics, Ivy dreams of being a gymnast. She competes on a team, but a mishap on the balance beam at a previous meet has shaken her confidence. Ivy is excited about her upcoming city meet, but when she learns it's the same day as her family's big reunion, she has a tough decision to make. At the end of each American Girl character book there is an educational section telling about real events. This one has nice information about the restrictions that were placed on Asians that came to America in the early 1900's and contributions Asians have made in America, like helping to build the transcontinental railroad. This is a great book for children 7 and up. I also recommend the 'Julie' series.