Meixing and her parents, Ma Ma and Ba Ba, move from China to the New Land, where they will live in the New House left to them by Meixing’s uncle. Meixing calls the house Big Scary. It seems to communicate with her, sometimes glowing pink, or expanding or contracting depending on how Meixing is feeling and what is happening in her life. In the backyard there us a glasshouse with an orange orchard, her deceased uncle’s ghost, and seeds that grow impossibly fast to reveal the planter’s memories. It’s magical and comforting, and Meixing needs both as she struggles with feeling so ungrounded. After a rough start, things at Meixing’s new school begin to improve thanks to the efforts of the one teacher who doesn’t make her feel unwelcome and the two friends Meixing makes in her ESL class—one from Vietnam, one from the Middle East—where all three gain confidence. But things at home, already tense, fall apart when Ba Ba is killed in an accident and pregnant Ma Ma grows severely depressed. The arrival of Meixing’s aunties brings temporary relief, but in the wake of their leaving Ma Ma gets worse, and Meixing feels even more alone. It’s up to readers to decide whether the magic that permeates this story is Meixing’s imagination helping her cope or a tangible part of her world, but what’s clear is that it takes courage to ask for help, and that there are people willing to answer when you do. (Ages 9-12)

“Heart-twisting and hopeful, bursting with big feelings and gentle magic.” —Jessica Townsend, New York Times bestselling author of the Nevermoor series

A moving coming-of-age story about one girl’s bravery and imagination in the face of the unknown. Perfect for fans of Front Desk and Mañanaland.

Meixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land. Her parents inherited the home from First Uncle who died tragically and unexpectedly while picking oranges in the backyard. Her mama likes to remind Meixing the family never could have afforded to move here otherwise, so she should be thankful for this opportunity.

Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing in this supposedly wonderful place. She is embarrassed by her secondhand clothing, has trouble understanding her peers, and is finding it hard to make new friends. Meixing’s only solace is a rundown greenhouse, that her uncle called his glasshouse, at the far end of her backyard that inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and the secrets of her memory and imagination.

When her fragile universe is rocked by tragedy, it will take all of Meixing’s resilience and bravery to finally find her place of belonging in this new world.