Outsider Kids

by | Jan 22, 2025

In 1981, the Lin family moved from Taiwan to America, navigating the rocky terrain of settling in Los Angeles and adapting to American culture. Betty C. Tang (Parachute Kids) continues their saga in Outsider Kids as the children encounter new challenges while their parents support them overseas. This time, they must deal with their cousins and aunties, which triggers an uproar of competitive rivalry and family drama.

Feng-Li (Ann) has taken up learning how to play the flute and aspires to participate in a music audition with a summer youth band; Ke-Gang (Jason) experiences budding feelings toward a new male classmate named Alex; Jia-Xi (Jessica) watches over her siblings while applying to college in hopes of getting into Harvard. As if this weren’t enough stress, news comes from overseas that their grandfather Wai Gong has fallen seriously ill.

Meanwhile, their smart aleck cousin Ting-Ting (Josephine) creates some serious drama, upstaging the friendship scene as Ann fears losing a mutual friend to Josephine. A violin virtuosa, she struts around like a spoiled brat, touting a cosmopolitan education from a European school in Taipei (not to mention her fluency in English, French, and German), taking every opportunity to remind everyone of her acceptance into the prestigious Music Institute of Los Angeles. Jason develops a crush on a guy at school named Alex, triggering unforeseen feelings that rise to the surface. Family ties clash amidst the looming specter of deportation in this deftly plotted story of scraping by to sustain a fractured and fleeting American dream.

Once again, Tang delivers an emotionally compelling story with intriguing characters whose lives undergo random peaks and valleys in a foreign country while tackling thorny issues of divorce, illegal immigration, queer sexuality, forgiveness, and abandonment of parental love. Rich and vibrantly colored panels infuse life into each scene: From costumed kids trick-or-treating on Halloween night and solitary, pensive moments of Ann writing letters to her parents to the hilarious scenes of amateur music practice sessions, each panel resonates with emotional depth, innocent charm, and honest humor. Multifaceted characters grapple with occasional flare-ups that drive the plot forward as they land in intriguing situations rendered through intersecting plot lines.

An honest depiction of the numerous trials and triumphs facing young immigrants, Outsider Kids offers a delightful glimpse into an all-too real experience that complements diverse middle grade graphic novel collections of realistic fiction, one that captures and illustrates the virtues of hope, determination, and perseverance against overwhelming odds.

Outsider Kids
By Betty C. Tang
Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2025
ISBN: 9781338832716

Company Age Rating: 9-12

NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Creator Representation:  Taiwanese-American,
Character Representation: Taiwanese-American,