The Year of the Dog is a first person, middle grade
children’s novel by Grace Lin. During the Year of the Dog, Pacy, a young girl
living in New York, tries to find herself before the year is over. She tries to
figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. As she does so, she makes a
new friend, tries new things, and learns more about some family stories.
The book’s themes are friends, family, and finding oneself.
Pacy makes a good friend named Melody, who she is able to connect with. Her
family supports her when she needs help. That’s what friends and family are
supposed to do. They help you, give you feedback, and encourage you. It’s
important to surround yourself with people who are who care about you, willing
to help you when you need it, and are good examples.
I liked the positive messages about friendship, family, and
some about finding out who you want to be. One message in the book is that
having a different heritage doesn’t mean you have to be one or the other. For
example, just because you may be Chinese-American doesn’t mean you have to
either be completely Chinese or completely American, because you may be both.
My Christian perspective on it is that at the end of the
day, if you are a follower of Christ, you are a child of God. Whether people
think you’re too Chinese, too American, or too much of any other heritage or
race doesn’t matter. God doesn’t care about the outside appearance or where a
person is from. He cares about the heart.
I enjoyed the language and the similes used were great and
unique. For example, “…my shoes were coated in mud as if they had been dipped
in chocolate,” (p. 87). And “After the book project was over, the days
disappeared like dumplings on a plate” (p. 94). The illustrations were also good
and cute.
Pacy is a kind, funny child who has her own struggles and
challenges. She struggles with her identity with being a Taiwanese American at
times, and she struggles to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up.
Some of the struggles she goes through in the book are relatable, such as when
she struggles to think of a book idea. Sometimes it’s difficult to think of
what I want to write, and when I try to think about events in my life, I think
that my life isn’t very exciting enough to write about. I could also somewhat
relate to her struggle of wondering what she should be when she grows up. There
are times where I wondered what I would do with my life. I had an idea of what
I wanted to do, but I wasn’t entirely sure where to start. I was looking
forward to seeing her overcome the obstacles she faced.
I like the stories Pacy, her Mom, and Melody tell about
events that happened to them and their families. The stories are interesting,
heartwarming, and humorous. The stories that are told by Pacy’s mom are stories
from Grace Lin’s parents. The book is inspired by some of Grace Lin’s real-life
experiences, but according to the Author’s Note, there were a few changes. I
enjoyed stories like How Grandpa Got Rich and The Story of the Paper Piano. The
stories teach lessons about resourcefulness, kindness, and friendship. There are
other stories which I found to be more saddening, and they both were about
Pacy’s Mom’s days at a school in Taiwan. After reading her stories about her
days in the overly strict Taiwanese school, I was happy Pacy lived and went to
school in New York.
One thing I didn’t like about the book is that Pacy lies to
her friend Becky and her new friend, Melody, helps her out with it. It’s a very
minor part in the book, it’s never brought up again, and there aren’t any consequences
for it. Lying is wrong no matter what, and it’s important to teach children
that. Another thing I didn’t like was that Pacy and Melody had a crush on a
boy, and I don’t think kids should be worried about crushes, but it’s not a
major part of the story.
There is one part in the book where Pacy’s mom tells her
that it’s a good thing Melody isn’t around at a certain event because she
should make more friends who are like her. I can understand why she wanted that,
but I think if a child really wants to make another friend, they’ll do it when
they’re ready. They don’t have to have multiple friends if they don’t really want
to. Also, if Pacy really wanted to make more friends, she would have done so
even if Melody was with her. It may have even been easier for her to do so with
Melody around.
While Pacy feels a need to figure out what she wants to be
before the Year of the Dog is over, later in the story her father says that
there is no rush. It can be easy to think that you have to hurry and figure out
what you want to be when you grow up when you are a kid there is no rush,
especially for children. You have to take your time, try new things, and trust
God. Also, we shouldn’t put our identity solely on what we do as a career,
because careers are more of an earthly thing that won’t last once we pass away.
We may forget who we are and struggle with identity or finding ourselves, but
for those who are believers, we must remember that we are God’s children and
that we can trust Him. If we don’t know what to do with our lives, we can ask
God. It’s fine if we don’t know what we should do right away. Just spend time
with God and He will guide you.
I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to young
readers interested in reading first person stories about a child who’s trying
to find out what she wants to be when she grows up, or anyone who enjoys Grace
Lin’s work.
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