Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee, Paperback

Publishers Weekly

Fans of Millicent Min, Girl Genius, have a chance to take a closer look at Millicent's nemisis, Standford Wong, in this winsome companion novel told from Standford's point of view. Here, behind Standford's pesky exterior, readers will discover a complicated, vulnerable and lovable hero, whose summer after sixth grade begins on a sour note. After flunking English class, Standford must give up his opportunity to go to a prestigious basketball camp in order to attend summer school. To add insult to injury, his parents have hired brainy Millicent (whom they both greatly admire) to be his private tutor. Meanwhile, tensions rise in Standford's home due to Mr. Wong's recent obsession with work and Mrs. Wong's suggestion that Standford's beloved but forgetful, live-in grandmother, Yin-Yin be placed in a nursing home. During a summer filled with painful growing experiences, Standford learns that there's more to life than basketball as he struggles to win his father's acceptance, falls in love for the first time and develops surprising loyalties to much-taunted Millicent and the "Teacher Torturer," who flunked him. Upon finishing this book, those who have already opened their hearts to Millicent will find room to include Standford too, and will likely want to know how both will fare in the upcoming school year. Ages 9-12. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

VOYA

In this parallel novel to Yee's earlier Millicent Min, Girl Genius (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2003/VOYA June 2004), Millie's nemesis Stanford Wong gets to tell his own story. Stanford defies Asian American stereotypes: His life is focused on basketball and he is a terrible student. Having failed sixth-grade English, he is now forced to attend summer school rather than the basketball camp on which his heart had been set. After reading just a few chapters of Stanford's jumpy, hyperkinetic, nervously funny narrative style, this reviewer began looking for an ADHD outcome, as in Jack Gantos's Joey Pigza stories, however no such clinical diagnosis emerges here. Instead Stanford begins to get his act together as a result of many motivating factors-a caring teacher, supportive friends and family, an exasperated but ultimately helpful tutor (Millicent), and love interest Emily Ebers, another character from Yee's earlier novel. Unlike a sequel, a parallel novel takes place during the same period as its predecessor, as in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow (Tor, 1999/Voyages,VOYA October 2002) which is set in the same time as Ender's Game (Tor, 1992.) Like Card's famous Ender books, Yee's first novel-also about a child prodigy-has universal appeal. Millicent's story is a book for everyone and not just for school kids. This follow-up novel about her friend is equally humorous and entertaining, but because it is centered upon a less exceptional preteen, it will be appreciated most by its natural audience of upper elementary and middle school readers. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2005,Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 256p., Ages 11 to 14.
—Walter Hogan

Children's Literature

On the cusp of junior high and an invitation to join the coveted basketball A-team, twelve-year-old Stanford Wong flunks sixth-grade English. It is the end of his world as he knows it. Basketball summer camp is replaced by remedial English. But that is not all. Stanford's woes build. His father ignores him. His parents are fighting. His beloved grandmother Yin-Yin is put in a home. Adding insult to injury, his genius cousin Millicent Min is recruited to tutor him—every day, after summer school. Lisa Lee, who won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award for Millicent Min, Girl Genius has created another winning character in Stanford. He bumbles, he stumbles, he fights actually reading a book tooth and nail. With all his defenses down, there is no place to go but up. Watch Stanford become a champ in more ways than basketball. Watch reluctant adolescent male readers gobble up Stanford's story. 2005, Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, Ages 10 to 14.
—Kathleen Karr

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-A companion volume to Millicent Min, Girl Genius (Scholastic, 2003). From birth, when his father named him for his alma mater, great things have been expected from Stanford Wong. When his lack of interest in academics causes him to fail sixth-grade English and lands him in summer school, his star status on his school's basketball team is endangered. It is a summer of turmoil and family tension. Stanford's father is working longer and longer hours to try for a promotion, and a host of other changes are occurring. Stanford must come to grips with missing out on basketball camp, grit his teeth through tutoring sessions with Millicent the genius, see his beloved grandmother moved to an assisted-living facility, and try to hide his summer-school attendance from his buddies. His observations on his overachieving father and sister can be hilarious, and the loving close-up of his grandmother's dementia is wonderfully drawn. Stanford's days are narrated one by one, so readers are privy to all his musings, from the odor of farts to the rush of a first crush. There's much here for boys to identify with, including Stanford's need for parental approval and his single-minded pursuit of the sport he loves. His growth as a person as the summer unfolds is warmly satisfying. The conclusion has Stanford's workaholic father undergo an unexpected and unsubstantiated change of heart, but kids won't mind the surprise happy ending.-Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Yee's companion to Millicent Min, Girl Genius (2003) tells the story of the same pivotal summer that Millicent tutors Stanford Wong-but this time through Stanford's eyes. Although the story is again laced with humor and told in the first person, 11-year-old Stanford is more of a regular kid, and therefore by necessity his voice is more regular too, lacking the hilarious perspective of his socially clueless but intellectually gifted contemporary. Yee compensates by giving her likable protagonist numerous comic tribulations. His biggest is that he failed English and must attend summer school supplemented by Millicent's tutoring. His scholastic problems are further complicated by a difficult home life-a disapproving father, constantly fighting parents and his concern over his increasingly addled but full-of-heart grandmother. He also has several self-generated troubles, specifically lies he told that, in order to keep from being found out, require numerous gyrations to protect. Parts of the story seem drawn out and not all of the complications are credible, but overall readers should find this story amusing, enjoyable and finally touching. (Fiction. 8-12)

From the Publisher

Kirkus 10/1/05
Yee's companion to Millicent Min, Girl Genius (2003) tells the story of the same pivotal summer that Millicent tutors Stanford Wong–but this time through Stanford's eyes. Although the story is again laced with humor and told in the first person, 11-year-old Stanford is more of a regular kid, and therefore by necessity his voice is more regular too, lacking the hilarious perspective of his socially clueless but intellectually gifted contemporary. Yee compensates by giving her likable protagonist numerous comic tribulations. His biggest is that he failed English and must attend summer school supplemented by Millicent's tutoring. His scholastic problems are further complicated by a difficult home life–a disapproving father, constantly fighting parents and his concern over his increasingly addled but full-of-heart grandmother. He also has several self-generated troubles, specifically lies he told that, in order to keep from being found out, require numerous gyrations to protect. Parts of the story seem drawn out and not all of the complications are credible, but overall readers should find this story amusing, enjoyable and finally touching. (Fiction. 8-12)

PW 11/7/05
Fans of Millicent Min, Girl Genius, have a chance to take a closer look at Millicent's nemesis, Stanford Wong, in this winsome companion novel told from Stanford's point of view. Here, behind Stanford's pesky exterior, readers will discover a complicated, vulnerable and lovable hero, whose summer after sixth grade begins on a sour note. After flunking English class, Stanford must give up his opportunity to go to a prestigious basketball camp in order to attend summer school. To add insult to injury, his parents have hired brainy Millicent (whom they both greatly admire) to be his private tutor. Meanwhile, tensions rise in Stanford's home due to Mr. Wong's recent obsession with work and Mrs. Wong's suggestion that Stanford's beloved but forgetful, live-in grandmother, Yin-Yin be placed in a nursing home. During a summer filled with painful growing experiences, Stanford learns there is more to life than basketball as he struggles to win his father's acceptance, falls in love for the first time and develops surprising loyalties to much taunted Millicent and the “Teacher Torturer,” who flunked him. Upon finishing this book, those who have already opened their hearts to Millicent will find room to include Stanford too, and will likely want to know how both will fare in the upcoming school year
Booklist 11/15/05
\\\\\\\\Yee, Lisa. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time. 2005. 256p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $16.99 (0-439-62247-6).
Gr. 4–7. Yee, who won the 2004 Sid Fleischman Humor Award for Millicent Minn, Girl Genius (2003), offers an equally funny sequel, switching viewpoints to Stanford Wong, who, after flunking sixth-grade English, must forgo celebrity basketball camp for summer school and afternoon tutoring with Millicent. During their sessions, the former adversaries grudgingly discover that they have more in common than just their grandmothers, who are best friends, and each helps the other move through messy predicaments grounded in their own embarrassment and lies. Yee weights the lively sparring between her young characters (and Stanford's new crush on Millicent's friend) with Stanford's worries at home: his grandmother, recently placed in a nursing home; his parents' fights; and his remote, overworked father, who never seems pleased. Young readers will find themselves chortling over comedic scenes, delivered in Stanford's genuine, age-appropriate voice, even as the well-drawn, authentic heartache about family, friends, and integrity reaches directly into their lives. Young sports fans, particularly boys, will appreciate a portrait of a wholly likable underachiever in the classroom who shines on the court. –Gillian Engberg

SLJ 12/1/05
YEE, Lisa. Stanford Wong Flun

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time

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