Chen, Justina. With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei. 2024. 328p. Katherine Tegen Books, $15.99 (9780063306523) Recommended Grade Levels 4-6.
Rating: 4.5
Identities: Chinese Adoptees
Dessie Mae is a Chinese adoptee forced to move to a new town with her family to live with her grandmother who is experiencing Alzheimer’s symptoms. On the first day, she is planning on hating her new school and finding a way to go home as soon as possible. All bets are off as soon as she steps onto school grounds and people start calling her, “Donna”, and she comes face to face with a classmate who looks exactly like her. Even the teacher can’t deny the similarities.
Dessie’s adoptive family is white and Donna’s family is Taiwanese American. Each manages their emotions differently leading the girls to choose to do a secret DNA test that proves the two are identical twins who were adopted from the same orphanage in China.
While Dessie and Donna are eager to connect over their similarities, their families each have different values shaping how they respond to one another. Dessie becomes acutely aware of how she knows so little about her heritage and her relationship to her parents is much different than Donna’s. At a moment when it seems they are divided, an incident of hate against the Asian American community compels Dessie to explore her sense of belonging and newfound identity as a sister.
Perspectives: Written by an adoptive parent of two stepdaughters adopted from China, Chen addresses a key question, “How are they and other Asian Americans going to claim their identity amid rising Asian sentiment?” At times, the excitement around finding one another can feel like the happily ever vibes of Parent Trap; there is evidence of the loss each sibling has experienced. This could have been further named and explored.
Practice: A well-rounded and impeccably written middle-grade book checks so many boxes. Side characters and their stories are vivid, and we empathize with them. There are nods to underrepresented but essential historical figures, including Marian Anderson and Vincent Chin. This would make a great classroom read-aloud. As a librarian or a teacher, I would put this in the hands of 4th-6th graders, readers of authors Kelly Yang and Lisa Yee.
The Adoptee Bookshelf 