Review: THE YEAR OF THE DOG by Grace Lin

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lin, Grace. 2006. The Year of the Dog. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316060003.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This story gives us a glimpse into a year in the life of Pacy, a Taiwanese-American young girl. The book follows Pacy through the Year of the Dog as she meets a new friend, deals with her feelings about boys, and tries to discover who she is and who she wants to be.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The main crux of the story is one that will interest and enlighten young readers. Pacy confronts the same difficulties as any young girl; however, she also faces the challenge of being the only Taiwanese American girl in her school, that is, until a new girl comes along. Lin masterfully introduces Melody through the confusion of the cafeteria worker who mistakenly thinks Pacy must have already been through the line. This incident illuminates how Pacy must feel being the only Asian American at her school and explains why she felt an instant bond with Melody.

Throughout the telling of Pacy’s year, Lin shares many authentic traditions with the reader. When they are part of the main storyline they usually come across genuinely and flow with the story. Even the added stories help to explain more about the Taiwanese customs such as when Pacy tells how her name changed from Pacy to Grace; however there were instances where these additional side stories take away from the flow and become more of a distraction which interrupted what is an otherwise engaging story. One such example is her story and Uncle Shin eating the cake which served no purpose since it did not add any cultural insight and failed to develop the story any further.

An added feature which does help maintain interest and also maintain true to this being a story written from the point of view of an elementary school girl is the drawings interspersed throughout the text. They give a subtle reminder to the reader about the age of the narrator with which young readers will connect. An especially charming one is the drawing of the row of Taiwanese grandmothers waiting on the bench outside the school.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
BOOKLIST review: “Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today's young readers.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “A lighthearted coming-of-age novel with a cultural twist. Readers follow Grace, an American girl of Taiwanese heritage, through the course of one year–The Year of the Dog–as she struggles to integrate her two cultures.”

5. CONNECTIONS
In this book, Lin shares some of the beliefs related to the Year of the Dog. Students would be interested in finding out more about the Chinese years and what each one means.

Grace Lin has a wonderfully fun website that offers lesson suggestions, activities, and background information. It is a great resource for teachers and librarians and also offers fun things for kids to do. http://www.gracelin.com/index.php