It's Boba Time for Pearl Li!

January 2, 2023
When her favorite boba shop faces closure, a Taiwanese American 12-year-old tests her business savvy, challenging her tech-oriented family’s objection to her creative passions. While her busy parents concentrate on their startup, Pearl Li anticipates a summer of crocheting adorable amigurumi and hanging out at Boba Time with her two best friends: Priya, who’s of Indian descent, and Cindy, who moved recently from Hong Kong. The shop and its charismatic Taiwanese owner, Auntie Cha, are staples in their California town, so when Boba Time experiences financial difficulties thanks to a popular Taiwanese dessert chain’s opening, Pearl seeks to secretly raise money by selling her creations. But despite her awareness and resentment of her parents’ time-sucking startup, doing business is a lot harder than Pearl thinks, especially with her parents vocally doubting the idea. She quickly encounters the ups and downs of entrepreneurial life, seeking to prove to herself and her family that her passion is valid. As Pearl and the people around her move toward appreciation and learn from one another, Chen (How We Say I Love You) writes an upbeat story of being true to oneself while embracing one’s culture and developing empathy. Back matter includes a glossary of business terms and a boba tea recipe. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary.

January 15, 2023
A celebration of amigurumi, boba, and creativity. In California's Silicon Valley, Taiwanese American rising seventh grader Pearl Li sometimes feels like she's an outsider. While her parents, who have a financial software startup company, and her mobile app developer sister, a high school junior, love to talk about all things tech and coding, Pearl's passions lie in arts and crafts, particularly crochet and making adorable amigurumi dolls. Amid the strip malls of Sunnydale, Boba Time is a refuge for Pearl. Owned by the exuberant Auntie Cha, it's a welcoming place where Pearl feels full support for her creative endeavors. When competition from a flashy new Taiwanese dessert chain and rising costs--both business and personal--put the future of Boba Time in jeopardy, Pearl hatches a plan to raise money and help save it. But being a 12-year-old entrepreneur will take support from her parents or resorting to secrecy and half-truths. Chen's ode to the pursuit of one's passions effectively captures tween yearnings and misadventures they may bring. Pearl is a compelling protagonist, and the diverse cast of secondary characters brings additional emotional depth. Narrative parallels weave together themes: Several characters' struggles with cultural and linguistic fluency mirror Pearl's feelings of exclusion in her tech-centered family. Boba Time, with its more traditional ambiance and practices, and the handmade ways of fiber arts butt up against modern counterparts. The book's genuine tone and appreciation of craft, culture, and community will capture readers' attention. A well-crafted tale filled with heart. (glossary, recipe) (Fiction. 8-12)

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February 15, 2023
Grades 3-6 Ever since Pearl visited a caf� in Taipei on a family trip, she's been smitten with amigurumi, a Japanese style of crocheting or knitting. Her techie parents encourage her to take up coding, like her sister Jade, while Kendall, the popular girl at school, dubs her creations ""dolls."" Besides her best friends Priya and Cindy, the only person who truly believes Pearl's amigurumi has merit is Auntie Cha, the shop owner of her refuge, Boba Time. When the shop is under threat of closing, Pearl sees an opportunity to test her amigurumi skills. Can selling her art save her favorite shop? Pearl's drive to prove herself to her parents thrusts her unsteadily into the job market and its very real struggles: balancing work and family, money management, even the pitfalls of turning your passion into your job. Pearl grapples with the contradiction of being both selfless and selfish, eventually coming to acknowledge the people around her and how she's underestimated them. Ultimately, finding and using her voice isn't as scary as she suspected.

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