Newbery Honor Author Lisa Yee

I asked Amina Luqman-Dawson, Andrea Beatriz Arango, Christina Soontornvat, and Lisa Yee to answer two questions and finish two sentence starters.  Christina Soontornvat's Responses   Hello, Lisa Yee! Congratulations on receiving a 2023 Newbery Honor for Maizy Chen’s Last Chance ! Lisa Yee:  Thank you, John. I’m still trying to process this! I love hearing about the CALL. What was running through your heart when the committee was clapping and cheering for you? Lisa Yee:  A couple of days before the announcements, my editor, Shana Corey, said I should keep my phone on “just in case.” Normally I’m not great about following directions, but I did this time, which meant I answered a lot of spam calls! When the phone rang on Sunday at about 3 pm, I braced for another telemarketer. But IT WAS THE NEWBERY COMMITTEE, and when I figured that out, I started babbling and crying, and recall saying, “What am I supposed to do?” It was all so overwhelming. Later, I asked Shana and my agent, Jodi Reamer, “What if it WASN’T really the committee?! What if it was a prank call???” And they calmed me down and told me it was for real. What does a Newbery Honor for Maizy Chen’s Last Chance mean to you? Lisa Yee:  This was the hardest, most personal book I’ve ever written. When I was working on Maizy, there was so much anti-Asian hate happening that at one point I was paralyzed and just couldn’t write. So, to have not only finished it but to have garnered the recognition of a Newbery Honor means the world to me. This is truly a dream come true. Please finish the following sentence starters: Story is life. Libraries are home. Thank you, Lisa! Borrow Maizy Chen's Last Chance  from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.