A Book Review of Kelly Yang’s ‘Finally Seen’

Hey, guys!!! Welcome back to my blog!!!!! Isabelle Knight here again with another book review! So, one of my goals for 2025 was to find more middle-grade books with Chinese or Asian protagonists, mainly because I myself am Chinese, so… here I am, I guess!

And the marvelous, fantastic, book that made me cry that I’ll be reviewing today is…

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang!!!!

This is one of the first books I came across while looking for Asian middle grade books, actually! And I loved it so much!!! I was first drawn in by the cover which, as you can see, looks stunning! And then I read the description and blah blah blah did the usual stuff when choosing the book, and eek, I loved it so much!!!!

The book follows ten-year-old Lina Gao who finally moves away from Beijing and her Lao Lao (grandmother) to live in America with the rest of her family. For so long, she’s just grown up with Lao Lao and postcards from her mother, father, and little sister in America. The book really follows her adventure as she goes to school, struggles with speaking English, and really learning to belong and speak up. Especially when her teacher starts facing challenges over her new book selection, a book that Lina loves and really resonates with, a book she sees herself in.

I loved this book!!!! It was so good! Kelly Yang’s writing really pulls you straight into the book, straight into the characters, and makes you feel like you’re right there with them! Heck, it makes you feel like you are the character, which I love!

But I think the thing I love most about this book are its themes. Because I think this book in an incredibly powerful one. It lets you step into someone else’s shoes for once and it lets you know what it’s really like to a Chinese immigrant moving to America, the struggles with speaking English, and it just really gives you a different perspective on what it’s really like to be someone else.

And I think the title was also chosen perfectly. Because I think this is the kind of book that’s incredibly powerful and one that’s going to make a lot of kids feel seen, in a world where a lot of cultures are under-represented, and they’re struggling to find their place in the world and where they really belong.

The plot was incredibly heartwarming and fun, even though the characters are going through a lot of tough times – Lina’s struggling with speaking English and fitting in in America, and her family’s struggling with money. They work for a… well…. let’s just say I agree with Lina’s father. Pete’s a wonderful farmer. A TERRIBLE employer. D:<

But at the same time, there are those heartwarming, fun moments, especially all the scenes with ‘the Imagination Hotel’, which I absolutely loved! There’s a lot of friendship and family here, and I love how Lina finally manages to find a place where she belongs and stand up, even after all these challenges!!!

My favorite characters in this book…. Ooooh, that’s so haaaaard!!!!!! T.T Uh, lemme think… Definitely Lina. She’s so relatable and so real, and Kelly Yang really lets us step into her shoes and know what it’s like to be her. And I love that Lina’s also an artist!!! I do a bit of sketching myself. Another character I love would definitely be Lao Lao. For some random reason (I don’t know what), she is such an endearing character!!! I would say she’s the kind of grandma who gets annoyed, exasperated, but is still nice and you still manage to love her. And then there’s Millie, Lina’s younger sister, who loves dancing!!! She’s so much fun too!

And there are far too many characters in this book that I love that I cannot even list them all here!!! Which is a sign I love this book, by the way. ;D

My favorite scene in this book is undoubtedly the scene at the school board meeting when they’re meeting to discuss the book, Flea Shop which some people want to ban. (gasp) The horror! The horror! Book banning!!! THE ATROCITY!!!! I like this scene not because I like book banning, (see, previous sentence) because I clearly don’t, but because that is the scene when Lina finally speaks up and takes a stand. She’s been kind of timid and shy all throughout the book (though there are a few hilarious moment where she does take a stand), but this is the scene where she really rips out that ‘invisible thread’ and despite her not-so-amazing English, speaks up for that book. But not just for that book. I think in that scene, I really got the feeling that she’s not just speaking up against that book banning. She’s speaking up for all those kids who need books like that – books that make them feel seen, books that let them know they’re not alone, books that can give others a different perspective.

And that’s when I cried. So… I was reading this before bed, and I got to that scene, and then I just burst out in tears.

Another scene I love is also… Oh. My. Goodness. I laughed SO HARD during this! There is a scene where Lina is being teased by some boys at school and they ask her how to say, “I look so fine.” in Chinese… She was about to say no… But then she did tell them how to say something in Chinese – “I am a stinky tofu.” 🤣 I don’t know about you guys, but that just… twas hilarious. XDD

But yeah!!! Overall, I really loved this book!! This is such a powerful, heartwarming, yet fun middle-grade book full of family and friendship that really gives you a different perspective and will make a lot of kids feel seen! I highly recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a good middle-grade immigrant/diaspora story, and especially to fans of Tae Keller’s novels! (If you guys haven’t heard of Tae Keller, GO READ HER BOOKS!!! *shoos you away to the nearest bookstore so you can get her books*).

And I guess that wraps up this book review! Thank you guys so much for coming, and I shall see you again in the next post!!! Goodbye, au revoir, adios!!!! Oh, and if you want more awesome book reviews, check out Marvelous Middle Grade Monday!!! 🙂

Isabelle