01 Mar / The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang
At school, 12-year-old Mimi Lu is better known as Smelly-Loo because “[h]er parents forced her to drink all sorts of smelly brews” – concocted by her herbalist doctor father – that lingered on her clothes, pigtails, skin, and even her breath. “[Y]ou are Chinese. Be proud of it,” her immigrant parents remind her, and yet she defiantly insists, “‘I’m Australian, not Chinese.'”
Gifted in art, Mimi receives special lessons from her favorite teacher, Miss O’Dell. But Dr. Lu forbids Mimi from “wasting” any more time and insists she concentrate on schoolwork. Mimi is devastated, until Miss O’Dell comes up with a compromise plan to work with Mimi during lunch, which also gives Mimi the perfect excuse to stay away from bullying Gemma and her “cool” group.
Miss O’Dell gives Mimi a special set of beautiful Empress Cassia pastels with a mysterious warning, “No one is to use the colored pastels but you.” That Saturday, Mimi creates a magical sidewalk scene that invites viewers to experience something unusual … and healing. The pastels, Mimi quickly realizes, have otherworldly powers.
As more and more people gather to experience the garden, Mimi’s mother decides that she’ll open a tea and dumpling shop right there on the sidewalk to provide refreshments. Mimi is suddenly famous in the little town, and her mother’s new venture becomes quite the happy, welcoming gathering place. But when mean girl Gemma figures out the power of the pastels, can Mimi stop her before Gemma’s wickedness changes the magic into something dark and dangerous …?
In just under a hundred pages, third-generation Australian Chinese author Gabrielle Wang melds history and life lessons into an exciting adventure. She deftly inserts difficult events as vast as the Cultural Revolution (Mimi’s mother’s childhood), as personal as degrees of cultural assimilation among different generations of immigrants (Mimi and her parents), and as familiar as opposing sibling dynamics (Mimi’s strict father and his ill younger brother). Wang realistically presents today’s challenges at school – without easy fixes – from cliques to culture clashes to burgeoning boy/girl dynamics. And through it all, she’s got just the right balance to tell a really good, lasting story. That’s a feat of welcome magic indeed.
Readers: Middle Grade
Published: 2011 (United States)