GOODBYE, FRENCH FRY, by Rin-rin Yu, Nancy Paulsen Books, Feb. 17, 2026, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)
A Chinese American girl struggles to be herself against the backdrop of expectations in Goodbye, French Fry, by Rin-Rin Yu.
Some days Ping-Ping feels like she just can’t win. She was born in the US, so it’s frustrating when people are surprised by how American she is, but her Chinese relatives feel she’s not Chinese enough.
But the things bugging her the most lately are her classmate Lee Beaumont, who has taken to calling her “French Fry” because of the tofu sticks she eats at lunch, and the possibility that her family will have to relocate to Kenya for her father’s UN job.
Of all the things Ping-Ping loves, her home and best friend are at the top of the list, and she’d hate to have to leave them. What’s a girl to do when she can’t be in as much control as she’d like to be?
Well, good thing Ping-Ping is a wiz at taekwondo—she’s learning how to kick her frustrations away, and there’s almost nothing she can’t master if she puts her mind to it. Rin-rin Yu has written a warm and funny family story that will have kids rooting for Ping-Ping—a girl who is ready to kick all the assumptions made about her aside! —Synopsis provided by Nancy Paulsen Books
Goodbye, French Fry is a fast-moving middle-grade novel about growing up and identity.
At the center of the story in Ping-Ping, a girl who would love to be called something American like Megan, a name that won’t get made fun of. At the same time, Ping-Ping loves aspects of Chinese culture that helped shape who she is.
As Ping-Ping navigates the push and pull of being Chinese American, she’s also facing normal kid stuff. Friendships and bullies, talents and family dynamics, and discovering who you are and who you want to be.
Author Rin-rin Yu does a fine job exploring all these topics, but there’s one part that stood out to me: The section where Ping-Ping studies the different ways families show love for each other. Many readers will see their own families reflected here in some way.
Though Ping-Ping is dealing with issues that are very real for her, Yu does so with a light touch and a bit of humor. There’s a positive undercurrent throughout the novel that adds a brightness to the tone and makes Goodbye, French Fry appealing. Shorter chapters and accessible prose make it a good choice for younger middle readers.
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