Blog Tour: The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei
It’s great to have been asked to join the Blog Tour for this wonderful book! ‘The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei’ is such an enjoyable read and Holly-Mei is such a relatable, likeable character that it is easy to empathise with her as she tries to navigate the changes in her ‘not-so-uniform’ life!
As her need to do the right thing has lost her class a pizza party and a hockey match win, Holly-Mei is being shunned by her classmates, including best friend, Natalie. When her mother announces the family are moving to Hong Kong, initially Holly-Mei is horrified as she will have to leave everything she knows, including her beloved Ah-ma (her grandmother) behind, but with the situation at school, she starts to view this as the perfect new start she needs.
However, Holly-Mei soon finds her new life in Hong Kong as difficult to navigate as that in Canada. Her school, Tai Tam Prep, is full of rich, privileged children and that her behaviour and interactions might have consequences for her mother’s career. When the most popular girl in her year seems to have taken a dislike to her, Holly-Mei’s new start is not going to plan.
This is a wonderful story which celebrates the importance of being true to yourself whilst exploring the trickiness of navigating friendships and difficulties of being moved away from your home. The story is told with much gentle humour as Holly-Mei tries to do the right thing by everyone, often putting unrealistic pressure on herself in the process due to the Chinese concept of guanxi, the idea of having strong relationships with people which can involve obligations or favours. The actions of both Holly-Mei and her sister, Millie, reflect upon their parents to a greater extent in Hong Kong than they did in Canada, but ultimately her mother, realising she has unwittingly put her daughter under great pressure, reassures her that all she expects is that her daughters are courteous and kind- and which parent wouldn’t want that?! Other parents in the story are perhaps not quite so understanding, reminding the reader what a close and loving family Holly-Mei belongs to. Some of her schoolmates appear, at first glance, to ‘have it all’, yet as the reader learns more, it becomes clear that this does not lead to happiness.
The story is wonderfully rich in its representation of mixed-culture families. Holly- Mei’s family is a blend of Taiwanese and English and she enjoys traditions and experiences from both. Her Ah-ma is a wonderful character, warm and wise, whose influence and love stays with her family no matter how far the distance between them. The family’s move to Hong Kong provides a wonderful backdrop to the story- a story full of heart about a young girl, who tends to blurt things out without thinking, loves hockey, wants to please her family, and be surrounded by good friends. It’s a joy!
The novel includes a glossary which also has a helpful pronunciation guide- essential for any non-Chinese speaking teacher wishing to read the book aloud to a class- a recipe for Ah-ma’s dumplings and one for Millie’s read bean creamsiciles. I have a copy of the book to give away to one lucky reader on Twitter (see post for details!).
The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei Christina Matula
Inkyard Press ISBN: 978-1335428653
Many thanks to Tatti for inviting me to take part in the tour and for providing a book for the giveaway!