The Not-So-Simple Question (A Holly-Mei Book, #3)

Written by Christina Matula

Inkyard Press

978-1-335-00999-9

272 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2024 

 

Isn't it lovely that we get to visit with Holly-Mei and her friends and family once again? The twelve-year-old who Christina Matula introduced us to in The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei and allowed us to join in her new life in Hong Kong is a little older, well-situated at Tai Tam Prep, and becoming familiar with her new home. But with all those important changes, Holly-Mei is now becoming a teen, and The Not-So-Simple Question is her coming-of-age story.

 

Holly-Mei and her family have now been in Hong Kong for nine months and she is in the last few months of her Grade 7 year. There are lots of important events still to come like Experience Week during which Upper Grade students travel to other Asian locations for a week of learning. It's a great opportunity for Holly-Mei to discover more about her Taiwanese heritage–her mother and Ah-ma, grandmother, are Taiwanese while her father is British–by visiting Taiwan. She's also hoping that it will help her clarify who she is, feeling less than others because of her mixed heritage. And then there's the problem with boys. Her friend Gemma is determined to have an end-of-year prom to which the girls must bring dates. Holly-Mei is obviously well liked by her friends, including Dev and Theo, but, unlike her younger sister Millie who is all about popularity and acting grown-up, Holly-Mei isn't ready for dating, and she doesn't know how to reconcile her feelings with the demands of her friends.

Holly-Mei has a lot on her plate but that is what it often feels like when you are entering your teen years. It's a balance of moving from childhood to adulthood and navigating when and how much you're wanting to change. But coupled with that is Holly-Mei's confusion about her heritage and feeling that others judge her by how she speaks Chinese, who her parents are, and if half of anything is enough for her to be her true self. It's no wonder the girl is feeling on edge and confused. And with Holly-Mei, that uncertainty often leads her to misunderstanding or saying the wrong thing. Thankfully, Holly-Mei's story is in Christina Matula's capable hands, and she ends it with understanding, acceptance, and accord. (And we get to take a wonderful trip to Taiwan to see the sights, the culture, and the food. Always the food!)

The first Holly-Mei book was just recommended by young readers of the Red Maple Forest Kid Committee for their summer reading list and it's nice to know that there are two more books in the series to reach for after you've enjoyed The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei. With The Not-So-Simple Question, we get to see how Holly-Mei has ended her Grade 7 year, after a full year of learning to deal with new friends, with sports competition, with sibling interactions, with misunderstandings, and more. With that learning has come an appreciation for who she is and the kind of person she wants to be. She's still learning to be the best version of herself but she's on the right path, and Christina Matula lets us tag along on Holly-Mei's journey of self-realization and growing up, while enjoying the sights and cultures of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

From The Not-So-Simple Question, written by Christina Matula

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Holly-Mei Books

The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei (2022)

The Not-So-Perfect Plan (2023)

The Not-So-Simple Question (2024)

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The Not-So-Perfect Plan (A Holly-Mei Book)

Written by Christina Matula

Inkyard Press

978-1-335-42917-9

240 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2023

 

Holly-Mei thinks she has it all worked out. When she sees how exceptional her field hockey teammate Saskia is, and how much time her best friend Rosie is spending with her crush Henry, and the accolades her younger sister Millie gets for her baking, Holly-Mei is determined to shine too. She plans on organizing her friends into a team for the Grade 7 Inter-School Tri-Tournament that includes an open water swim, a race and a Dragon Dash around Hong Kong. And she plans on them winning it.

But life cannot be sweet all the time (pg. 26)

When Christina Matula introduced Holly-Mei in The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly Mei last year, the twelve-year-old was trying to find a foothold in her new home of Hong Kong and make friends. She made great friends in cousins Rosie and Rhys, in Henry and his cousin Theo, girlfriends Rainbow, Snowy and Gemma, and even field hockey player Dev who gives her great advice. But we all know that making friends is just the beginning. It's keeping the friends that can be the hardest part. And when all her friends have different plans for the Christmas break, Holly-Mei feels abandoned. Even when everyone returns from their fabulous holidays around the world, Holly-Mei feels left out as they continue with their rugby, ballet, eco-art club and more. So, when the posters go up for the Inter-School Tri-Tournament, Holly-Mei's plan is to bring her friends–or at least Theo, Dev, Gemma, Rhys, Rosie, Rainbow and Snowy–together, to excel and to win. For her, it's all about the win.

But Holly-Mei is so determined to win that she forgets about the fun. She wants to practise swimming and quiz her teammates on Hong Kong trivia to ensure a win. Unlike Saskia whose parents drive her to succeed, Holly-Mei's friends are looking for activities that bring them joy and that doesn't always work with Holly-Mei's plan. Worse yet, Holly-Mei keeps putting her foot in her mouth every time a friend chooses to do something other than practice or drill. Will she hold onto the very friends she is desperate to keep, or will Holly-Mei end up losing those friends in her efforts to win at all costs?

I try so hard, but I feel like no one sees me and I get left behind. (pg. 108)

Though Holly-Mei is living a very privileged life with a loving family, private school, wealthy friends and family, and many, many opportunities, she is still struggling to appreciate herself, both strengths and weaknesses, and accept that others may be different from her. Her "knowledge of self" (pg. 108), as her Ah-ma calls it, is negligible and it drives her to envy and, worse, jealousy and selfishness. But, as with every coming-of-age story, there's the beginnings of self-awareness that will lead to greater maturity and understanding of self and others. Christina Matula lets us follow along with Holly-Mei as she learns about herself and how she interacts with others, becoming a more positive version of herself as a friend, a sister, and a daughter. And she, Christina Matula, makes that journey of self for Holly-Mei and her friends more than lesson-learning. That would be a win in itself, but that accomplishment of self-discovery is achieved through a series of fun ventures that take young readers along the Eight Immortals Trail, to Repulse Bay and Man Mo Temple and enjoying xiao long bao, egg waffles, and bubble tea. (Two recipes, one for Candy Cane-White Rabbit Chip Cookies and the other for Millie's award-winning Chocolate Avocado Cake, are included.)

I think middle-grade readers will enjoy exploring Hong Kong further with Holly-Mei in The Not-So-Perfect Plan but they'll also grab a lesson or two about being a friend and becoming self-aware and that's a gold-medal achievement.

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The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei (2022)

The Not-So-Perfect Plan (2023)

🤫 n.b. I just learned there will a third book, titled The Not-So-Simple Question, in the Holly-Mei series.