51 pages 1 hour read

Lisa Yee

Maizy Chen's Last Chance

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2022

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Chapters 1-21

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Content Warning: This source material contains instances of racism, discrimination, violence, and racist language, including the use of the c-word racial slur.

Maizy Chen is eight years old and lives in Los Angeles with her mother, Charlotte, who is a food stylist. Maizy’s grandparents visit the commercial set where their daughter Charlotte is working. Maizy knows that her grandparents, Oma and Opa, own a Chinese restaurant called the Golden Palace in the town of Last Chance, Minnesota, but she has never met them before. Their visit is a very short one—Oma and Opa are upset that Charlotte styles fake food as a career, and they leave.

Chapter 2 Summary

Three years later, Maizy is now 12 years old. She and her mother take a trip to Last Chance because Opa is sick. Maizy does not want to leave home or her best friend, Ginger. Oma greets Maizy and Charlotte at the Golden Palace and brings them inside, past a large bear sculpture that makes Maizy nervous.