An insightful graphic novel loosely based on the author’s childhood is set in 1981 and follows a fictional family of “parachute kids”: Asian children in the United States without their parents. Feng-Li, 10, is excited to come to America and go to Disneyland. After a whirlwind, wonderful time as tourists—even her sullen older brother, Ke-Gāng, is engaged—Feng-Li’s parents announce that the kids will stay to attend school in America. Their father will go back to his job in Taiwan; their mom will stay until her visa expires. Both will return on periodic tourist visas. Academically driven eldest daughter Jia-Xi, who chooses the new name Jessie, takes on running the household while navigating her junior year of high school. Ke-Gāng, who hates his American name, Jason, is angry and drawn to a gang-like group of other immigrant Asian kids. Usually optimistic Feng-Li, who goes by Ann, finds it hard to stay hopeful, the language barrier making it hard to achieve academically or make friends. A story punctuated by lovely moments of humor follows a year of the individual and family challenges. A turning point for both siblings and parents comes after Ke-Gāng, who is attracted to a boy in the group he hangs with, is injured. The fresh visuals include use of colored speech bubbles to distinguish when characters are speaking Chinese or English. An author’s note discusses the reason her own parents chose to send her and her siblings from Taiwan to the United States in 1979. (Ages 9-13)