Mya's Strategy to Save the World

April 1, 2019

Gr. 4-7-Seventh-grader Mya lives in Vancouver with her parents and her eight-year-old sister. She and best friend Cleo founded the "Kids for Social Justice" club at their school because Mya has plans for a future career as a U.N. representative (and Nobel Prize winner). While working on current issues like the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Myanmar (where her mother has gone to take care of her ill grandmother), Mya also has to come up with a "multi-pronged strategy" to convince her dad that she is responsible enough for a cell phone. It's hard enough trying to solve the world's problems without adding cooking lessons from her aunt, a first crush, and her first period-but if anyone can do it, the plucky and endearing Mya can. The breezy narrative is broken up by recipes for traditional foods from Mynamar and Mya's emails to her mom and Cleo. Though tackling some tough topics (which are addressed in an author's note), Mya's witty voice and deep desire for a cell phone will keep tween readers engaged. VERDICT A welcome addition to middle grade bookshelves.-Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Brighton District Library, Brighton, MI

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2019
A young social activist must prove her reliability while her mother is away.Mya Parsons, 12-year-old future United Nations staffer, wants to save the world. Unfortunately, it's hard to save the world when her mother is all the way in Myanmar, taking care of her sick grandmother, and Mya is one of the only kids in seventh grade without a cellphone. Using a multipronged strategy, Mya sets out to prove she is responsible and deserving of a phone. As the weeks go on, Mya's home life starts to fall apart. Plus, with her best friend distracted by cellphones and crushes, her school life isn't going well either. Mya must take charge if she'll ever save the world, let alone survive the next few weeks. Writing from Mya's first-person point of view, Kyi creates accessible characters and a funny story. Emails, flyers, and recipes that Mya has created add pleasant breaks to the text. With an Asian mother who's Buddhist and a white father who's Christian, biracial Mya forthrightly discusses religion. Befitting her protagonist, Kyi includes real social justice issues in addition to preteen girl life, shedding light on important topics such as the persecution of the Rohingya and the use of cobalt in cellphones.For any girl going through life, body, and school changes, especially those interested in social activism. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-12)

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