One of the unintentional themes of my 2019 reading is a review of juvenile Asian American historical fiction that I've read or wish I could've read when I was younger, and this is the third book so far that's covered the Angel Island detainment experience ([b:The Fire Horse Girl|14746310|The Fire Horse Girl|Kay Honeyman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358879637l/14746310._SX50_.jpg|20395318] is decidedly YA; [b:The Dragon's Child: A Story of Angel Island|2651237|The Dragon's Child A Story of Angel Island|Laurence Yep|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348607341l/2651237._SY75_.jpg|2097030] is biographical and I feel like the Jimmy Yep character might be a nod to Laurence here).

As with the other Julie books, I really wish Ivy had been the lead here- while I do respect Julie as a character, and she's the perfect proxy for most readers (who I assume are predominantly white and/or not aware of Asian American history) it's a little strange that she's putting forth all this effort and energy into solving the mystery behind what happened to Ivy's grandmother's friend. Maybe because it's a distraction from the kinda-on-the-nose parallel in her own home with a newcomer coming to stay with them for a few months? I haven't read the Marie Grace and Cecile books yet, but I do wonder if a co-lead series would've worked here. Ivy was/is the only Asian American historical character (something I desperately wanted as a kid in the '90s), but isn't currently available except via this and her own bonus book. It sometimes feels like there's an assumption that Asian Americans are recent immigrant waves with no discernible history, but we've had a presence in North America for over a century and a half despite the "best" efforts of xenophobic policy makers attempting to block immigration.

Still, this book is well-written and the Chinatown elders being reluctant to revisit painful parts of the past rings true to the tight lips encountered when asking my aunties questions about my own Gung-gung and Po-po who passed before I was born. Early on we get a good introduction to the kind of questions immigration officials asked detainees with Po Po's crib sheet from her mother- how many steps in the stairs of your house? How many houses on your street? Who was your teacher, and where did they live? I've read the transcripts for one of my great-grandfather's interview and they really WERE that intense. Introducing young readers to the first immigration restrictions in the United States is a crucial reminder as we repeat history of detaining some immigrants for unspecified amounts of time in an unnecessarily cruel and arbitrary system.

Probably should have some more words for Julie herself here too- unlike [b:Good Luck, Ivy|976423|Good Luck, Ivy (American Girls Julie)|Lisa Yee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348021531l/976423._SX50_.jpg|961319] or [b:Happy New Year, Julie 1974|1840745|Happy New Year, Julie 1974 (American Girls Julie #3)|Megan McDonald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347806474l/1840745._SX50_.jpg|1840961] it definitely has the period vibe (Julie's sister Tracy is on the school committee for the Valentine Disco, one of Andrew Ling's friends is really into the Green Hornet (but why not Kato? Though I'd guess that's probably Andrew's fave because he was played by Bruce Lee!), phone accessibility, etc.) How groovy. I didn't recognize two of Julie's school friends, and I wonder if they're from the other Julie mystery books? There wasn't a specific order so I kind of went specifically for the one that I knew I'd be interested in.

tl;dr I really liked this but I'm still frustrated that Ivy isn't the main character and that this also could've been an #ownvoices book (and sure, to answer an inevitable "why don't you write what you want to see" I could try but cribbing from family history would take some digging and I know that's not entirely mine to share, but! I know I'm far from the only 3 gen ABC) ( )

Good but predictable story for my 8yo. Nice way to incorporate history in a Nancy Drew way. ( )

Excellent little mystery- I especially love the section at the back of each of these with a peek into the past. I'd never heard about the wretched immigration system for the Chinese. It's not surprising, but still appalling how our great grandparents could have been so awful. ( )