A review by emily_mh
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I have so many good things to say. Firstly, the art style was lovely. I like the way that Xu draws people, and ADORE the way she draws food (seriously, don’t read this book hungry like I did!). I also appreciated that for a book about a cooking competition, we got to see so much of the PROCESS of cooking. The competition also provided excellent structure and pacing for the plot. Finally, I really enjoyed the themes that were explored in the book. During the story we see Cici coming to terms with her Taiwanese-American identity, cleverly symbolised in her A-Má and Julia Child influencing her cooking. The narrative stresses that to be accepted, to be American, you shouldn’t have to reject parts of yourself. Another theme in the book is figuring out what YOU want to do with your life, separate from your parents’ expectations. I appreciated that this was explored with the nuance of why these parental expectations exist in the first place in the case of parents of colour, who are also immigrants, living in a country such as the U.S. 
In terms of negatives, there was just a little too much exposition. For example, sometimes there would be a text box describing what was clearly happening in the panel. As well as this, I thought that Cici’s white friends needed to acknowledge their racism and this wasn’t really done. 
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