Inspiration

Since I posted the news last week about selling my book manuscript, people have been asking me for details about the story. What is the book about…and what exactly does that title mean, anyway?

Anna Mei, Cartoon Girl is about a girl named—you guessed it—Anna Mei. Adopted from China as a baby, she has lived in Rochester, New York, for ten years. She’s had a comfortable life with loving parents, and has never wondered about her heritage or how the life she has taken for granted came to be.

But just as Anna Mei is about to enter 5th grade, something unthinkable happens—her parents decide to move to Michigan. That means being a new kid at school. And with the spotlight shining brightly on her, Anna Mei worries that she sticks out like a sore thumb—she's new, she’s Chinese, she’s adopted, and as one of her classmates points out, she doesn’t even "match" her own family.

“Cartoon Girl” is a play on words, since “Anna Mei” sounds like “anime,” a style of Japanese animation. When someone calls her that, she takes it as an insult and vows to distance herself from everything that makes her unique. This doesn’t make her happy but does help her feel like she's fitting in. Then a school assignment forces her to face the questions she’s been avoiding: is she “Anna,” an American girl named after her Swedish grandmother, or is she “Mei Li,” the daughter of an unknown Chinese woman who gave her up long ago? Figuring out the answers ultimately helps Anna Mei come to a better understanding of who she is and what really matters to her.

My inspiration for Anna Mei came from a picture of my brother's family. He and his wife live in upstate New York and had recently adopted their second child from China. I looked at the two tall, blond, athletic parents, cradling their tiny, dark-haired daughters in their arms. It was a beautiful family portrait, but I started to wonder—what would it be like to be a child in a family that didn’t “match”?

From that germ of an idea, a 25,000-word story grew. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to share it with all of you, along with some 10-year-olds who may already be wondering about how they're going to fit in.