Pie in the Sky - by Remy Lai (Paperback)

About the Book

In her hilarious, emotional middle-grade debut, Lai delivers a poignant illustrated novel about an 11-year-old boy's immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks.

Book Synopsis

A poignant, laugh-out-loud illustrated middle-grade novel about an eleven-year-old boy's immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang!

A Parents Magazine Best Kids Book of the Year!
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!
An NPR Best Book of the Year!
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year!
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year!
Recipient of FIVE starred reviews!

"Pie in the Sky is like enjoying a decadent cake . . . heartwarming and rib-tickling." --Terri Libenson, bestselling author of Invisible Emmie

When Jingwen moves to a new country, he feels like he's landed on Mars. School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn't speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.

To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.

In her hilarious, moving middle-grade debut, Remy Lai delivers a scrumptious combination of vibrant graphic art and pitch-perfect writing that will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham's Real Friends, Kelly Yang's Front Desk, and Jerry Craft's New Kid.

A Junior Library Guild selection!

"Seamlessly mixes together equal parts of humor, loss, identity, discovery, and love to create a delicious concoction of a story. . . illustrated beautifully with Lai's insightful drawings." --Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary

* "The humor [is] akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series . . . the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant." --School Library Journal, starred review

* "Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

This title has common core connections.

Review Quotes

Winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor!
A Parents Magazine Best Kids Book of the Year!
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!
An NPR Best Book of the Year!
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year!
A BookRiot Best Book of the Year!
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year!
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year!
Five STARRED reviews!
A Junior Library Guild selection!
An Indie Next pick!

"Pie in the Sky is like enjoying a decadent cake. . . heartwarming and rib-tickling." --Terri Libenson, bestselling author of Invisible Emmie

* "Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

* "Like salted caramel, a perfect balance of flavors, this deftly drawn story is a heartfelt treat." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Remy Lai seamlessly mixes together equal parts of humor, loss, identity, discovery, and love to create a delicious concoction of a story. . . illustrated beautifully." --Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary

* "The humor [is] akin to that of Jeff Kinney's popular "Wimpy Kid" series . . . the perfect mixture of funny and emotionally resonant." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Uproarious humor and a burgeoning friendship add to the ingredients in this stunning debut. . . a book to be savored - and the illustrations are the icing on the cake." --NPR

"If this is what Remy Lai's got going on straight out of the gate, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next." --Fuse #8

* "Lai imbues this [story] with an undeniable sweetness." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

* "A delectable page-turner. . . Heartbreakingly honest; in equal parts funny and poignant." --Horn Book, starred review

About the Author

Remy Lai studied fine arts, with a major in painting and drawing. She was born in Indonesia, grew up in Singapore, and currently lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes and draws stories for kids with her two dogs by her side. Pie in the Sky is her debut middle-grade novel. Follow Remy on Twitter