Name: Not Your All-American Girl
ISBN: 9781338037784

Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Madelyn Rosenberg

A multicultural story full of heart and hilarity about what it means to be all-American.

Not Your All-American Girl

Sixth-graders Lauren and Tara have always done everything together so it is only natural that they both try out for their middle school musical play, about an "all-American" girl in 1958; Tara gets the lead role, as usual, because in the teacher's mind Lauren, half-Jewish and half-Chinese, does not fit the image of all-American girl--Lauren is hurt but resolved to support her friend, but her two grandmothers are furious and they intend to do something about it.

renee badenoch

Really enjoyed this one. It’s about a Chinese Jewish American girl who despite having the best auditions, does not get cast in her school’s play because she’s told she “does not look like an All-American girl”. Her best friend gets cast as the lead instead, and has a frustrating cluelessness to why it’s a problem. 

The book has a slow and natural feel to it, especially in the main character’s racial awareness, identification, and politics are growing and changing over time. There’s not one lesson, there’s a lot of growth for her over time. 

A few side stories happen concurrently with the main story, and they give the book a warmth, and make the story feel complete. I loved the homage to Patsy Cline, and the two bickering grandmas who have different ways of raising the kids, but also fierce love and protection for them. 

I was surprised that the book talked so honestly about Vincent Chin’s murder, and its disregard by the police and courts. I loved the way that it led the characters in the book to challenge injustice and to question the systems that uphold them. I was not expecting it to be contained in a book for middle-schoolers, and am appreciative that it is.

Not Your All-American Girl

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