The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei

Gr 4-6–In this debut novel, Holly-Mei and her family move from Canada to Hong Kong. There, she struggles to find her place with friends and at school. Because Holly-Mei’s mother has taken a much higher position in her company, she is now attending a very exclusive private school and the expectations and social class issues are heightened. Holly-Mei is half Taiwanese and half English, so she is excited to be in a new school and country where she won’t be a minority anymore. But with all these subtopics, the all-encompassing theme in the book is that of friendship. From the opening in China, where Holly-Mei is navigating the loss of friendships as a result of her too-truthful actions, to the more heightened friendship stakes in her new school, readers will empathize with her struggles. Some very light mentions of crushes and flirting occur among the seventh grade characters, but nothing more than blushes and giggles, a gentle way of exploring a different aspect of friendship. Matula’s flowing prose especially shines with lavish descriptions of Hong Kong food and culture. An author’s note includes Chinese pronunciation guides, notes on culture, and some recipes to try out. The only flaw that drags down an otherwise lovely book is an occasional didactic moment where a lesson is spelled out too obviously.