Millicent Min, Girl Genius (Millicent Min #1) by Lisa Yee

★★★★

I picked up this book because of my interest in diverse books, especially for children. The main character is an 11-year-old girl who happens to be Chinese. Race is not a central issue of the book, but Chinese-ness does make occasional appearances. (I found it interesting, perhaps even a little disappointing, that Millicent did not call her grandmother by any of the typical Chinese words for grandmother.)

For the first few chapters, I felt uneasy. Millicent Min is a child genius, an 11-year-old who is just finishing up her junior year in high school. Each chapter is a journal entry, and Millicent's voice is both informal and pedantic, making for great humor. The first-person narration, however, is unreliable; Millicent seems unaware that other students treat her poorly, yet the reader sees the situation more clearly. I felt bad for Millicent, and wondered if other readers might laugh at her, just like her classmates. As the book progressed, though, Millicent became much more self-aware, her character more likable (she reminded me of the endearing Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory), and the uneasiness lifted.

Heading into the book, I was also concerned that a Chinese child genius might feed too much into the model minority stereotype of all Chinese students being academically successful. This may have been true, but I think the other non-stereotypical Chinese characters more than balanced it out. Millicent tutors Stanford Wong, a Chinese boy who is a jock and not at all academically oriented; her parents are laid back and goofy, the opposite of tiger parents; her grandmother does have an interest in Feng Shui, but otherwise her grandparents were known mostly for being community activists.

Mostly this book is about Millicent trying to figure out where she belongs, and how that sense of belonging relates to happiness. There is a very meaningful thread about the loss of a grandparent, perhaps making this book a relatable option for someone who has experienced the same.

I have to admit that both Stanford and Emily (Millicent's best friend) had to grow on me, but in the end they won me over - Stanford by growing as a character, and Emily by being loyal and just the kind of friend Millicent needed.