Outsider Kids: A Parachute Kids Graphic Novel

Gr 5 Up–This companion to Parachute Kids begins on Halloween 1981 with Ann, the Taiwanese youngest sibling of three, trick-or-treating with her sixth grade friends, who are kind and patient with Ann’s developing English-language skills. English text is in black inside white speech balloons; Chinese is in red on a yellow background. The Li siblings’ relative peace and stability is broken by the arrival of their auntie and cousin Josephine, who attended a European school in Taiwan and has been accepted to music school in Los Angeles. Ann is excited to see her cousin again and practice music together, but Josephine is horrible to her, and it gets worse when Auntie returns to Taiwan. Readers will commiserate with oldest sister Jessie, who is left to manage everything, including studying for her SATs and working at a restaurant where she’s being cheated out of wages due to her illegal status. The other siblings also have their own storylines with middle brother Jason finding a friendship-to-romance with Jessie’s best friend’s brother, Alex. Meanwhile, Ann misses her parents and keenly feels the fragility of her American life, and her lack of control over it, which is highlighted when Josephine betrays them. Throughout the book, these characters face real challenges and subsequently show real growth. Readers will cheer on the siblings as they band together to overcome every obstacle, proving they can make their American life work.