The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun

Author:   Wendy Wan Long Shang
Publisher:   Scholastic US
ISBN:  

9781546115380


Pages:   224
Publication Date:   03 June 2025
Recommended Age:   From 8 to 12 years
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Our Price $52.77 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun


Add your own review!

Overview

Full Product Details

Author:   Wendy Wan Long Shang
Publisher:   Scholastic US
Imprint:   Scholastic Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.70cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 21.30cm
Weight:   0.340kg
ISBN:  

9781546115380


ISBN 10:   1546115382
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   03 June 2025
Recommended Age:   From 8 to 12 years
Audience:   Children/juvenile ,  Children / Juvenile
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for Bubble Trouble: ""Shang has developed a feast for the senses; anyone with a sweet tooth will rejoice at Chloe and Henry's blossoming romance alongside abundant confectionary descriptions."" -- Publishers Weekly Praise for The Secret Battle of Evan Pao: * ""[A] well-paced and nuanced story."" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review * ""Shang's storytelling sensitively moves readers to be mindful of making assumptions and to consider ways to achieve meaningful reconciliation. Full of thoughtful prose and dialogue, Shang's timely story is full of realistic portrayals and powerful messages."" -- Booklist, starred review Praise for Not Your All-American Girl, cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg: A Tablet Magazine Best Book of the Year ""A nearly pitch-perfect middle school exploration of race and friendship."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""Lauren's story is a sensitive and realistic portrayal of a girl who struggles to find her place in a community where very few people look like her... this is a funny, tender, quick-moving story of family, friendship, identity, and music."" -- School Library Journal ""While focusing on serious themes (racism and prejudice), the overall tone remains light, and several scenes (including Lauren's disastrous attempt to lighten her black hair, resulting in orange stripes) will elicit laughter."" -- Booklist Praise for This Is Just a Test, cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg: 2017 Sydney Taylor Award -- Honor Book CBC Book of the Year Finalist 2017 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers New York Historical Society's Children's History Book Prize Finalist 2018 Young Adult Virginia Author Award Finalist ""For a book about the possible end of the world, Rosenberg and Shang keep the tone surprisingly light. . . . The dialogue is snappy and the plot fast-paced."" -- The New York Times Book Review * ""It's refreshing to meet a male protagonist who, like Tara in Paula Freedman's My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, is struggling with how to be authentically Jewish in a bicultural family. . . . Giggle-inducing, light, and charmingly realistic fiction that will resonate with a wide variety of readers."" -- School Library Journal, starred review ""There's a lot to enjoy, but it's David's relationships with his two grandmothers that steal the show, especially when the rivals eventually unite to teach him he's not 'half of each' but 'all of both.' A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""A journey filled with humor, emotional depth, and important realizations about what it means to be a friend and to embrace multiple cultures. His struggle to make sense of the Cold War will resonate with readers grappling with a confusing political climate themselves."" -- Publishers Weekly ""This novel tackles the very difficult topic of understanding who you are while appreciating your background and differences . . . In today's society, where families come in diverse variations and many children are growing up biracial and/or multiethnic, plenty of readers will find relevance to their lives in this middle-grade novel."" -- School Library Connection ""The first-person narrative engages readers with David's candid reflections as well as his droll telling of events."" -- Booklist ""Rosenberg and Shang keep the plot episodic and light, allowing David's feuding grandmothers to upstage the kids in many of the acts . . . Underpinning the domestic comedy is respect for fears that transcend generations."" -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books ""[A] seamless collaboration by two truly gifted writers [and] a perfect read for summer and beyond."" -- Christian Science Monitor ""Rosenberg and Shang infuse this story with humor, tenderness and a genuine examination of what it means to grow up caught between cultures."" -- Richmond Times-Dispatch ""Sure to hold a reader's interest and filled with humor."" -- Jewish Book Council ""This is the funniest middle-grade novel I read this year. . . . Everything about this book is satisfying."" -- Tablet Magazine ""A delightfully told story of competing sides in a tug-o-war/give-and-take battle, showing the reader that even 12-year-old seventh graders have a lot to deal with, whether it be on a grand scale such as international relations or on a smaller scale of balancing new and old friendships."" -- Compass Book Ratings ""Rosenberg and Shang's warm, mostly realistic handling of David's multicultural family speaks for their comprehensive understanding of the struggles of identity they depict, and makes David a unique and relatable role model of a character."" -- International Examiner Praise for The Way Home Looks Now: An Amelia Bloomer Project Selection A CCBC Choices Selection A BookPage Best of the Year selection * ""[A] fine story of family, loss, growing up and learning to play baseball, raised to a higher level by gracefully incorporated themes of feminism and kindness."" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review * ""Shang (The Great Wall of Lucy Wu) skillfully balances the different aspects of Peter's life, robustly characterizing his friendships and his time at school and home. Issues of sexism, racism, and struggles with depression are handled deftly in scenarios grounded in reality, including an ending that's hopeful without being pat."" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review ""Readers will cheer Peter on as his love for his family drives him to persevere at home and on the field. Parallels between home plate and home as place abound as grief completes its work and relationships are restored. Interwoven with cultural ties to both Peter's Chinese heritage and to the women's liberation movement, this touching novel shows the importance of patience -- baseball."" -- Booklist Praise for The Great Wall of Lucy Wu: Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Children's Literature ""A delightful story about assimilation and family dynamics . . . sure to appeal to young readers struggling with issues of self-identity, whatever their heritage."" -- Los Angeles Times ""Thought-provoking, funny, and incredibly heartwarming."" -- Booklist ""A realistic and amusing portrait of family dynamics, heritage, and the challenge of feeling like an outsider."" -- Publishers Weekly ""Genuinely touching."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""A unique look at the power of family."" -- Discovery Girls Magazine


"Praise for Bubble Trouble: ""Shang has developed a feast for the senses; anyone with a sweet tooth will rejoice at Chloe and Henry's blossoming romance alongside abundant confectionary descriptions."" -- Publishers Weekly Praise for The Secret Battle of Evan Pao: * ""[A] well-paced and nuanced story."" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review * ""Shang's storytelling sensitively moves readers to be mindful of making assumptions and to consider ways to achieve meaningful reconciliation. Full of thoughtful prose and dialogue, Shang's timely story is full of realistic portrayals and powerful messages."" -- Booklist, starred review Praise for Not Your All-American Girl, cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg: A Tablet Magazine Best Book of the Year ""A nearly pitch-perfect middle school exploration of race and friendship."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""Lauren's story is a sensitive and realistic portrayal of a girl who struggles to find her place in a community where very few people look like herellipsis this is a funny, tender, quick-moving story of family, friendship, identity, and music."" -- School Library Journal ""While focusing on serious themes (racism and prejudice), the overall tone remains light, and several scenes (including Lauren's disastrous attempt to lighten her black hair, resulting in orange stripes) will elicit laughter."" -- Booklist Praise for This Is Just a Test, cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg: 2017 Sydney Taylor Award -- Honor Book CBC Book of the Year Finalist 2017 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers New York Historical Society's Children's History Book Prize Finalist 2018 Young Adult Virginia Author Award Finalist ""For a book about the possible end of the world, Rosenberg and Shang keep the tone surprisingly light. . . . The dialogue is snappy and the plot fast-paced."" -- The New York Times Book Review * ""It's refreshing to meet a male protagonist who, like Tara in Paula Freedman's My Basmati Bat Mitzvah, is struggling with how to be authentically Jewish in a bicultural family. . . . Giggle-inducing, light, and charmingly realistic fiction that will resonate with a wide variety of readers."" -- School Library Journal, starred review ""There's a lot to enjoy, but it's David's relationships with his two grandmothers that steal the show, especially when the rivals eventually unite to teach him he's not 'half of each' but 'all of both.' A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""A journey filled with humor, emotional depth, and important realizations about what it means to be a friend and to embrace multiple cultures. His struggle to make sense of the Cold War will resonate with readers grappling with a confusing political climate themselves."" -- Publishers Weekly ""This novel tackles the very difficult topic of understanding who you are while appreciating your background and differences . . . In today's society, where families come in diverse variations and many children are growing up biracial and/or multiethnic, plenty of readers will find relevance to their lives in this middle-grade novel."" -- School Library Connection ""The first-person narrative engages readers with David's candid reflections as well as his droll telling of events."" -- Booklist ""Rosenberg and Shang keep the plot episodic and light, allowing David's feuding grandmothers to upstage the kids in many of the acts . . . Underpinning the domestic comedy is respect for fears that transcend generations."" -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books ""[A] seamless collaboration by two truly gifted writers [and] a perfect read for summer and beyond."" -- Christian Science Monitor ""Rosenberg and Shang infuse this story with humor, tenderness and a genuine examination of what it means to grow up caught between cultures."" -- Richmond Times-Dispatch ""Sure to hold a reader's interest and filled with humor."" -- Jewish Book Council ""This is the funniest middle-grade novel I read this year. . . . Everything about this book is satisfying."" -- Tablet Magazine ""A delightfully told story of competing sides in a tug-o-war/give-and-take battle, showing the reader that even 12-year-old seventh graders have a lot to deal with, whether it be on a grand scale such as international relations or on a smaller scale of balancing new and old friendships."" -- Compass Book Ratings ""Rosenberg and Shang's warm, mostly realistic handling of David's multicultural family speaks for their comprehensive understanding of the struggles of identity they depict, and makes David a unique and relatable role model of a character."" -- International Examiner Praise for The Way Home Looks Now: An Amelia Bloomer Project Selection A CCBC Choices Selection A BookPage Best of the Year selection * ""[A] fine story of family, loss, growing up and learning to play baseball, raised to a higher level by gracefully incorporated themes of feminism and kindness."" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review * ""Shang (The Great Wall of Lucy Wu) skillfully balances the different aspects of Peter's life, robustly characterizing his friendships and his time at school and home. Issues of sexism, racism, and struggles with depression are handled deftly in scenarios grounded in reality, including an ending that's hopeful without being pat."" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review ""Readers will cheer Peter on as his love for his family drives him to persevere at home and on the field. Parallels between home plate and home as place abound as grief completes its work and relationships are restored. Interwoven with cultural ties to both Peter's Chinese heritage and to the women's liberation movement, this touching novel shows the importance of patience -- baseball."" -- Booklist Praise for The Great Wall of Lucy Wu: Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Children's Literature ""A delightful story about assimilation and family dynamics . . . sure to appeal to young readers struggling with issues of self-identity, whatever their heritage."" -- Los Angeles Times ""Thought-provoking, funny, and incredibly heartwarming."" -- Booklist ""A realistic and amusing portrait of family dynamics, heritage, and the challenge of feeling like an outsider."" -- Publishers Weekly ""Genuinely touching."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""A unique look at the power of family."" -- Discovery Girls Magazine"


Author Information

Wendy Wan-Long Shang is the author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which was awarded the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature; The Way Home Looks Now, an Amelia Bloomer Project List selection and a CCBC Choices List selection; The Secret Battle of Evan Pao, which received multiple starred reviews; Bubble Trouble; Sydney Taylor Honor Book This Is Just a Test, which she cowrote with Madelyn Rosenberg; and Not Your All-American Girl, a Tablet Magazine Best Children's Book, also cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg. She lives with her family in the suburbs of Washington, DC.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

JRG25

 

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List