Goodbye, French Fry

Goodbye, French Fry

Rin-Rin Yu

Nancy Paulsen/Penguin, 2026

181 pages

Grades 3-5

Realistic Fiction

Ping-Ping’s fifth-grade year is off to a bad start. Lee, the class bully, insists on making fun of her Chinese heritage and calls her names. She and her little brother Xy discover that her parents are planning a possible move to Kenya for a better opportunity for her diplomat father. Bright spots include her best friend and Taekwondo practice. Though both she and Xy are considered musical geniuses, practicing the piano is a real drag and scales are boring. Ping-Ping and Wy decide to raise the money to keep their parents in their New York City suburb and make the move unnecessary. Ping-Ping makes friendship bracelets and, although she’s not getting rich, some funds are rolling in. The same cannot be said for Xy, who does not manage to lure anyone into his carwash. As the year progresses the family celebrates holidays, gets final news about the move, and Ping-Ping learns how to deal with her bully.

This fresh story by a debut author tackles themes such as racial profiling and discrimination, the importance of names, and staying true to yourself. Ping-Ping REALLY wants to be called Megan. She is tired of being made fun of because of her Chinese name and realizes how much easier life would be if she could just be more American. By the book’s end she embraces her culture, learns to be proud of who she is and manages to handle the bullying situation. It is nice to see Ping-Ping excel at Taekwondo and work through struggles with the piano to get to an “okay” place with it, including a feeling of accomplishment at getting through the not-perfect recital. Readers may relate to family pressures and expectations and be grateful to see someone else going through this. The moving situation is tied up a bit too neatly, but will lead readers to a potential next installment in a series if the publisher decides to go in this direction. Ping-Ping’s struggles are balanced by humor and readers will be entertained as they relate to the realistic struggles of a typical kid. Fun, realistic, and a perfect level for readers transitioning from chapter books to middle grade.