I have been a Kelly Yang fan for several years now. I’ve read almost all of her books and I’ve never been disappointed. I was over the moon to get an ARC of her newest book- Finally Seen. 

Finally Seen is the story of Lina, who has been living in China with her grandmother. When Lao Lao goes into a nursing home, Lina comes to California to live with her parents and little sister, Millie. Lina has a lot of feelings to process, sadness from missing her grandmother, confusion about why her parents left her behind years ago when they immigrated to the US, and now the challenge of learning English.  

On top of all of that, Lina’s family is struggling to come up with past due rent after the pandemic lockdowns as the eviction moratorium is about to end. Lina’s mom has a bath bomb shop on Etsy and her father is overworked and taken advantage of by a local farmer. 

Combined with bullying at school, it might sound like this book is all sad but it is uplifting and beautifully balanced. Lina is taken in by the school librarian and the ESL teacher and she also makes a dear friend right away named Finn. Yang weaves reading into the story, specifically graphic novels, and we see how this changes Lina and her friends for the better. 

The plot hinges on a very realistic scenario about book challenges, and you will leave this one inspired, fired up, and maybe with some wet eyes. I don’t know how she keeps doing it but she does, this Kelly Yang book is perfect. I can’t wait to buy a copy for my shelf to read with my son when he’s a bit older. This book is for all ages. Read it asap!