Children's & YA
June 2023
THE MANY MASKS OF ANDY ZHOU
by Jack Cheng
Creative and brave sixth grader Andy Zhou faces big changes at school and at home in this new middle-grade novel by the award-winning author of See You in the Cosmos. Andy Zhou is used to being what people need him to be: the good kid for his parents and now grandparents visiting from Shanghai, or the helpful sidekick to his best friend Cindy’s rebellious plans and schemes. So when Cindy decides they should try out for Movement after school on the first day of sixth grade, how can Andy say no? But between feeling out of place with the dancers, being hassled by his new science partner Jameel, and sensing tension between his dad and grand-father, Andy feels all kinds of weird. Then, over anime, Hi-Chews, and Andy’s iguana-inspired artwork, things shift between him and Jameel, opening up new doors—and also new complications. No matter how much Andy cares about his friends and family, it’s hard not to feel pulled between all the ways he's meant to be, all the different faces he wears, and harder still to figure out if any of these masks is the real him. A sublime and often funny story of family and friendship, identity and creativity, and both the love and culture gap between immigrant grandparents, parents, and their kids, Jack Cheng’s new novel resonates with humor, honest truths, and enormous heart.
