42 pages • 1 hour read
Lily LaMotte, Illustr. Ann XuMeasuring Up
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 18-21Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 18 Summary
With one week to the final round, Cici’s friends offer to help her practice. She invites them to her house, even though she is afraid. She has “always kept [her] Taiwanese home separate from [her] American life” (147). She tries to backpedal, suggesting that maybe her house is too messy, but her friends say they don’t care. She worries she’ll lose her friends if they think that she’s too different from them.
Cici is heartened when her friends explain that their families also take off their shoes in the house. She tries to hide the altar from them, but Jenna notices. Cici hesitates, but then explains that the rice is for her grandparents who have passed on. They explain the traditions their families have for remembering the dead.
Quickly, Cici calls her mother to let her know that her friends are over. She whips up a batch of cheese puffs, then caramel custard, and then chocolate and almond cake. She shows them Julia Child’s cookbook. They thank her for having them over.
Chapter 19 Summary
The next day, Jenna asks if she’ll come over for a sleepover. Cici is bummed because she just felt like she’d learned to be completely herself around her friends, but she doesn’t know how to explain that her parents don’t let her go to sleepovers.
In class, the teacher hands back the most recent math test. Cici taps her feet and hands, discovering that she got a B+ on the test. Her father is going to be upset.
The teacher asks to talk to her after class, offering to tutor her. She reminds Cici that there will be other tests, but Cici knows her parents will be furious.
At dinner, her father asks about the test. Cici lies, saying that the teacher didn’t hand it back. She does this for the next couple of nights.
Cici also forgets to call A-má and apologizes. Then, her father looks up her grade online. He is disappointed that she didn’t ace the test and that she lied. She promises not to lie and to do better. He tells her that she has to study and quit the cooking contest.
Eventually, Cici asks him why she has to do so well, pointing out that her friends don’t always get good grades. Her father says that people will always expect them to prove themselves since they are Taiwanese. Cici wonders if he’s right, but thinks her friends see “the real me” (169). She’s desperate to be allowed to compete and to bring A-má to Seattle.
She and her father fight, and she wonders what to say to convince him. The panels show her heart as she finally realizes that she needs to say, “I love A-má” (172). Their family doesn’t use the word “love” often, and her father—whose heart appears on his chest—agrees.
Chapter 20 Summary
On the final day of the contest, Cici and Miranda meet at the door and smile at one another. Jenna and Emily are both there to cheer her on. They hold signs that say “Courage” and “Conviction,” reminiscent of Julia Child’s phrase. Cici feels content, even if her father is right. She trusts her friends.
While her parents watch, her father notes that Cici is growing, and they agree it’s a good thing.
Cici approaches Miranda, who is saying goodbye to Amy. Miranda and Amy hug, and Cici remembers saying goodbye to her grandmother, when her grandmother gave her a jar to fill with her own special spice.
Miranda apologizes to Cici for not standing up to her father. Cici understands the pressure of fathers, and gives Miranda the book about comics she had bought. Miranda hugs her, saying: “I’m so glad I know you” (178).
The final round starts. The secret ingredient is cardamom. Cici thinks that it doesn’t feel right to use a recipe from Julia Child, and decides to make a dish that A-má makes.
She makes iû-png, which is oil rice. She thinks of how A-má taught her how to wash rice. She thinks about how this competition is about more than A-má’s birthday. She wants to show A-má her new life. She also feels like she belongs here and that she’s brought A-má here through the dish. However, she feels like something is missing. As her parents cheer her on, she grabs lavender extract, thinking that she is a blend of A-má and Julia Child. The panel shows both women at her side as she finishes.
Miranda makes a pistachio cardamom olive oil cake with cardamom buttercream. The judges think it’s delicious. Cici presents her dish, thinking that it represents her both as Taiwanese and as American.
The judges all think that it is fried rice, and that Cici could have tried harder. One by one, they each express surprise.
The judges say that both dishes were delicious. Then, they say that Cici won, much to her surprise.
Cici asks Miranda if she’s okay, and Miranda says that she’s better than ever. When her dad says that she should’ve won, Miranda tells him that Cici earned it. She says that she needs to tell him something. Cici knows it has to do with her not wanting to take over the restaurant.
Cici’s parents emphasize how proud they are, and her father asks Cici to give him a cooking lesson. Her friends come over and congratulate her. They want to try her dish. They bring up the sleepover, and Cici’s dad gives her permission to go. Cici feels like “an American girl” (200).
Chapter 21 Summary
Cici reminds her father to act surprised when A-má arrives. They see each other at the airport and bring A-má home. Her father thanks her.
Cici and A-má explore Seattle and cook together. Emily, Jenna, and Miranda come over and try more Taiwanese food. Making iû-png again, Cici explains that her secret ingredient is lavender.
Chapters 18-21 Analysis
The final round of the competition and the days leading up to it provide resolution. At the novel’s end, Cici recognizes her status as both American and Taiwanese; she is able to resolve the primary conflict by winning the competition and bringing her grandmother to Seattle. In some ways, this ending is meant to be bittersweet, as the reader knows that A-má will not stay in the United States; like Amy, she does not have a green card. However, the ending is also meant to be a happy one: The journey of the competition has changed Cici’s relationship with her friends and family, and her ideas of failure and success.
The theme of Finding One’s Identity After Immigration comes full circle. Cici embraces both of her identities: Her “dish is who I am…both Taiwanese and American” (191). She overcomes her fear of making Taiwanese-inspired cuisine, and incorporates her own spin. Through cooking, she comes to realize that “I belong here—cooking rice for dinner so when Mom and Dad get home, the rice is done. Cooking for my friends and showing them a taste of Taiwan” (186). Rice reflects her connection to her heritage. It is also a throughline to her life in the United States and the important relationships in her life.
Friendship and Teamwork Between People and Cultures is especially evident as Cici deepens her bonds with friends. She finds that the traditions and customs that she thought would alienate her from her peers bring them closer together, as they each share what their families do to remember their ancestors. She realizes: “I thought that I was so different from my friends but…we’re more alike” (153). She comes to understand that she hadn’t believed in her friends, and how friendship is a two-way street. She is also able to finally sleep over, removing the gap between her parents’ traditions and her life as “an American girl” (200).
Cici’s father grows in these final chapters. He comes to see cooking as a way forward for Cici, saying that “it’s good” that she’s changed since arriving in the United States. Much of his fear arises from his belief that: “When people see us, no matter how American we become, they always see someone who’s not like them. We always have to prove ourselves first” (168). Cici knows that her father is not wholly incorrect. However, her friends are accepting, which he comes to recognize when they come to the competition to support Cici.
Miranda also finds resolution. She finally feels confident enough to tell her father that she does not want to take over the restaurant. While we don’t see her say this to him, her confidence in correcting him when he insults Cici’s cooking reveals Miranda’s growth. As a result, her friendship with Cici comes full circle, and Cici provides comfort as Miranda says goodbye to Amy.
The final panels convey the ways in which Cici is closer to her family and friends. They stretch horizontally across the pages, coming together to explore Seattle and share in Taiwanese food.
