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With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei
Award-winning author Justina Chen delivers a powerful and heartfelt novel about a young girl who accidentally discovers she has an identical twin sister. This joyous novel about reunited adoptee sisters experiencing new family traditions, foods, and customs together is perfect for fans of Janae Marks, Kelly Yang, and Meg Medina.
On Dessie Mei Breedlove’s first day at a new school in the middle of her sixth-grade year, who does she see? A classmate who looks exactly like her. As in: Dessie and Donna Lee have the exact same glossy black hair. The exact same brown eyes. The exact same cheeky smile.
A secret DNA test reveals the shocking truth: Dessie and Donna are identical twins, adopted from the same orphanage in China, then separated into two different families: one white, the other Taiwanese American. The Breedloves and the Lees.
Making up for lost time, the girls throw themselves into their newfound sisterhood, relishing every similarity. Cats or dogs (dogs!). Sweet or savory (both!). Favorite band (A2Z, duh!). But the small differences between the girls soon create tension…and when crisis strikes, Dessie must figure out who she is, where she belongs, and what it truly means to be a sister.
On Dessie Mei Breedlove’s first day at a new school in the middle of her sixth-grade year, who does she see? A classmate who looks exactly like her. As in: Dessie and Donna Lee have the exact same glossy black hair. The exact same brown eyes. The exact same cheeky smile.
A secret DNA test reveals the shocking truth: Dessie and Donna are identical twins, adopted from the same orphanage in China, then separated into two different families: one white, the other Taiwanese American. The Breedloves and the Lees.
Making up for lost time, the girls throw themselves into their newfound sisterhood, relishing every similarity. Cats or dogs (dogs!). Sweet or savory (both!). Favorite band (A2Z, duh!). But the small differences between the girls soon create tension…and when crisis strikes, Dessie must figure out who she is, where she belongs, and what it truly means to be a sister.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2024
About the author
Justina Chen
11 books679 followersJustina Chen was fated to be a storyteller. After all, her middle name means illuminate, which is what she aims to do with her novels: to be a light in the world.
Her novels include NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, a finalist for 9 state book awards, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (AND A FEW WHITE LIES), winner of the Asian Pacific American Literature Award. Additionally, she's written a beloved picture book, THE PATCH, a number of other YA novels, and multiple storytelling guides for leaders.
Justina's next book is WITH TWICE THE LOVE, DESSIE MEI, her debut middle grade novel for young readers. She's thrilled for you to meet Dessie and Donna in May 2024. The book is available for pre-order now.
While she has called Seattle, Sydney, and Shanghai home, Justina feels at ease wherever she goes so long as she has her coconut black tea, books, and a notebook.
Her novels include NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, a finalist for 9 state book awards, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (AND A FEW WHITE LIES), winner of the Asian Pacific American Literature Award. Additionally, she's written a beloved picture book, THE PATCH, a number of other YA novels, and multiple storytelling guides for leaders.
Justina's next book is WITH TWICE THE LOVE, DESSIE MEI, her debut middle grade novel for young readers. She's thrilled for you to meet Dessie and Donna in May 2024. The book is available for pre-order now.
While she has called Seattle, Sydney, and Shanghai home, Justina feels at ease wherever she goes so long as she has her coconut black tea, books, and a notebook.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 1, 2024
3.5 stars
A must-read for everyone who has ever wished they had a twin (and who hasn’t?)
Dessie Mei expected her first day in a new school to feel weird. One, her first day is in January, because she and her parents moved over winter break to Grammy’s house. Two, Dessie know she always gets “looks” in new surroundings, because she is Chinese, but her adoptive parents are white.
However, the surprise of her life happens when a girl who looks exactly like Dessie is sitting in one of her classes! Look-a-likes, yes, but as the two girls soon discover, they have been raised completely differently! Through some amusing events, and also some heart-breaking ones, the two girls discover some surprising things about both of their families.
A must-read for everyone who has ever wished they had a twin (and who hasn’t?)
Dessie Mei expected her first day in a new school to feel weird. One, her first day is in January, because she and her parents moved over winter break to Grammy’s house. Two, Dessie know she always gets “looks” in new surroundings, because she is Chinese, but her adoptive parents are white.
However, the surprise of her life happens when a girl who looks exactly like Dessie is sitting in one of her classes! Look-a-likes, yes, but as the two girls soon discover, they have been raised completely differently! Through some amusing events, and also some heart-breaking ones, the two girls discover some surprising things about both of their families.
May 11, 2024
a heartwarming, inspiring, topical, and beautiful middle-grade book. i sped through this one, wanting to watch Dessie Mei and Donna change the world together. Justina Chen has captured the voice of a sixth-grader PERFECTLY - i felt like i could imagine myself thinking and saying almost everything Dessie said. not only that, but she beautifully weaves in themes and experiences that are crucial to today’s young people: technology, social justice, and current events. this book speaks to so many universal experiences - the desire to belong, sadness at rifts and challenges with family and friends, the intrinsic human desire to find out who you are and be the best version of it you can be - while also poignantly and lovingly capturing the specific and nuanced experience of being an adoptee. this is a fantastic book to share with all the middle-grade readers in your life!
April 27, 2024
Dessie is starting 6th grade again at the semester since she and mom and dad have moved to Seattle to support grandma who is experiencing dementia. Older twin brothers stayed behind to finish high school and Dessie is struggling with this transition, which reminds her of her adoption from an orphanage in China when she was two. At her new middle school, Dessie meets classmate Donna, also adopted from China and sharing a birthday with Dessie. Could they be twins? As the girls grow close and investigate this possibility, they are intrigued by how similar they are but also how different. Dessie’s adoptive family is white, has a boisterous communication style, and she has little connection to Chinese language or culture. Donna’s adoptive family is Taiwanese, with significant language and cultural differences from Donna’s birth culture, and values respect.
Really nicely written with strong secondary characters and good theme work. Readers are invited to grapple with hate crimes against Asian Americans, school name changes, bullying, trans-racial adoption, and a sweet romance. The incorporation of the life of Marian Anderson, for whom the school is re-named, is especially well done, EARC from Edelweiss.
Really nicely written with strong secondary characters and good theme work. Readers are invited to grapple with hate crimes against Asian Americans, school name changes, bullying, trans-racial adoption, and a sweet romance. The incorporation of the life of Marian Anderson, for whom the school is re-named, is especially well done, EARC from Edelweiss.
January 29, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
When Dessie Mae moves with her family to Seattle, she's not thrilled, but knows that it's important for them to be near her grandmother, who has descended into dementia after the grandfather's death. Dessie was adopted from Hunan, China when she was two, and has two older brothers who have not moved with the family. Her father composes music for video games, and her mother plays the music, so the family life is fairly unstructured and members talk to each other casually. When she starts school, many people call her "Donna", which confuses her until she meets Donna, who looks exactly like her. Dessie had dismissed this, since she was one of very few students of Asian descent at her old school and thought this might have been a slur. Donna has also been adopted from China, and has the same birthday, so the two become fast friends and scheme to get a DNA test. Donna's family, including her Amah who is from Taiwan, is very strict, and since she has a younger brother who is the biological child of her parents, she is very worried about being the perfect student so they continue to love her. Both girls are huge fans of the band A2Z, and are working on a school project where they have to design a family crest, as a warmup to a competition to design a logo for their school, the name of which was recently changed from Sheridan to Marian Anderson Middle School. After Amah sees Dessie fight with her parents, she won't allow Donna to be friends with her, which does make Dessie think about the way her family communicates. When Amah is brutally attacked at the Pike Place Market in a racially motivated attack, the school, as well as Dessie's family, rallies around. Dessie finds out that her grandmother was a very vocal advocate for social equality back in the day, and the scarf that she wove for Dessie incorporates part of a sweater that she frequently wore to rallies. Dessie's parents, who are afraid that she will want to be a part of Donna's family because of their shared ethnic heritage, think that going to a rally to her Donna speak is too dangerous. When the band A2Z has a racist lyric in their new song, Dessie is appalled, and comments on their social media. The band replies and apologizes, making Dessie momentarily famous. Will Dessie be able to make peace with Donna as well as heal the problems within her own family?
Strengths: Just about all middle school students secretly want to have a twin... except those who actually do! Any book that posits the idea of a twin you didn't know about will be instantly popular! I liked that the families were very different, and it was interesting to see that Dessie's parents hadn't made any effort at all to offer Chinese cultural opportunities to her. The fact that their style of communication was too flippant and snappish was something that should be explored more in middle grade books, because I see a LOT of that kind of interactions from students, which is why I always try to model very polite conversations! Amah's attitude was understandable, but it was good to see that she was able to change her mind. Dessie's grandmother was involved in marches to support the Asian Community after the death of Vincent Chin in 1982, which was an good historical inclusion.
Weaknesses: Ten years ago or more, I did see the occasional student who had been adopted from China or Russia, but there has been a marked decrease in that population. I did appreciate that Chen wrote this in part because she has stepdaughters who were adopted from China into a white family.
What I really think: This incorporates the long lost twin scenario of Siddiqui's Bhai for Now, the social activism of Bajaj's Count Me In, the adoption from China storyline of Peacock's Red Thread Sisters, and agrandmother with dementia similar to the ones in Campbell's Rule of Threes or Messner's The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
When Dessie Mae moves with her family to Seattle, she's not thrilled, but knows that it's important for them to be near her grandmother, who has descended into dementia after the grandfather's death. Dessie was adopted from Hunan, China when she was two, and has two older brothers who have not moved with the family. Her father composes music for video games, and her mother plays the music, so the family life is fairly unstructured and members talk to each other casually. When she starts school, many people call her "Donna", which confuses her until she meets Donna, who looks exactly like her. Dessie had dismissed this, since she was one of very few students of Asian descent at her old school and thought this might have been a slur. Donna has also been adopted from China, and has the same birthday, so the two become fast friends and scheme to get a DNA test. Donna's family, including her Amah who is from Taiwan, is very strict, and since she has a younger brother who is the biological child of her parents, she is very worried about being the perfect student so they continue to love her. Both girls are huge fans of the band A2Z, and are working on a school project where they have to design a family crest, as a warmup to a competition to design a logo for their school, the name of which was recently changed from Sheridan to Marian Anderson Middle School. After Amah sees Dessie fight with her parents, she won't allow Donna to be friends with her, which does make Dessie think about the way her family communicates. When Amah is brutally attacked at the Pike Place Market in a racially motivated attack, the school, as well as Dessie's family, rallies around. Dessie finds out that her grandmother was a very vocal advocate for social equality back in the day, and the scarf that she wove for Dessie incorporates part of a sweater that she frequently wore to rallies. Dessie's parents, who are afraid that she will want to be a part of Donna's family because of their shared ethnic heritage, think that going to a rally to her Donna speak is too dangerous. When the band A2Z has a racist lyric in their new song, Dessie is appalled, and comments on their social media. The band replies and apologizes, making Dessie momentarily famous. Will Dessie be able to make peace with Donna as well as heal the problems within her own family?
Strengths: Just about all middle school students secretly want to have a twin... except those who actually do! Any book that posits the idea of a twin you didn't know about will be instantly popular! I liked that the families were very different, and it was interesting to see that Dessie's parents hadn't made any effort at all to offer Chinese cultural opportunities to her. The fact that their style of communication was too flippant and snappish was something that should be explored more in middle grade books, because I see a LOT of that kind of interactions from students, which is why I always try to model very polite conversations! Amah's attitude was understandable, but it was good to see that she was able to change her mind. Dessie's grandmother was involved in marches to support the Asian Community after the death of Vincent Chin in 1982, which was an good historical inclusion.
Weaknesses: Ten years ago or more, I did see the occasional student who had been adopted from China or Russia, but there has been a marked decrease in that population. I did appreciate that Chen wrote this in part because she has stepdaughters who were adopted from China into a white family.
What I really think: This incorporates the long lost twin scenario of Siddiqui's Bhai for Now, the social activism of Bajaj's Count Me In, the adoption from China storyline of Peacock's Red Thread Sisters, and agrandmother with dementia similar to the ones in Campbell's Rule of Threes or Messner's The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
July 12, 2024
I was adopted and I have many students that were adopted. The main character in this book was adopted from an orphanage in China. She has not really thought much about that as her family is her world and where she was before has not entered her mind often, other than the blanket she remembers coming from the orphanage with her that is now gone. Her parents have to go to be with her grandmother who is suffering from dementia, so Dessie will be in a new school for that year. On her first day in her new school, she meets someone that looks like her. Not just a bit, but exactly. So the questions start about that orphanage in China and what little she knows about her Chinese Heratage. Her classmate, Donna, was adopted by a Taiwanese family and seems to know quite a bit about Asian holidays making Dessie feel like she needs to do more. This story is interesting on that front alone, but it includes classmates with very real situations. Dessie left her best friend behind. Donna has a best friend. There is a class clown/bully that also has a friend that follows his lead. Friends are very much a huge part of the life of every middle school student. The sense as you read is there is more coming that will either destroy or bond these students. That sense is the power of this story. Using a school project connecting their new school name to their own lives and interests allows quite the powerful culmination in this story. Justina Chen did an amazing job with these characters feeling "real" and building this beautiful and flawed community for these students. This book sings!
Upper elementary and middle school students will find connections here, for sure!
Upper elementary and middle school students will find connections here, for sure!
May 15, 2024
Dessie Mei and Donna Lee, both adoptees from China, find each other in this wonderful new book by Justina Chen. Moving effortlessly from YA fiction to Middle Grade, the author retains all of the fluidity of prose that captivates a new generation while maintaining her YA and adult reader fans.
The story involves two girls adopted from the same orphanage in China, one to a white family the other to a Taiwanese-American family.
A change of school brings the girls together and they begin to find striking similarities in themselves and striking differences in their families and upbringings. Spoiler alert - after an unsanctioned DNA test, they finally learn that they are biological sisters!
The story goes on explore the excitement of newfound sisterhood and newfound cultures. Most events bring understanding, but soon there is tension and crisis - this is where the story turns to life lessons - Dessie Mei begins to learn her true self, her sense of belonging and what it really means to be a sister.
Your child will love it and you’ll want to read it as well. ♥️
The story involves two girls adopted from the same orphanage in China, one to a white family the other to a Taiwanese-American family.
A change of school brings the girls together and they begin to find striking similarities in themselves and striking differences in their families and upbringings. Spoiler alert - after an unsanctioned DNA test, they finally learn that they are biological sisters!
The story goes on explore the excitement of newfound sisterhood and newfound cultures. Most events bring understanding, but soon there is tension and crisis - this is where the story turns to life lessons - Dessie Mei begins to learn her true self, her sense of belonging and what it really means to be a sister.
Your child will love it and you’ll want to read it as well. ♥️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2024
Imagine showing up for 6th grade at a new school and seeing someone who looks just like you!
Justina Chen’s Middle Grade novel, With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei (Katherine Tegen Books) hits the sweet spot for me: great characters, humor, suspense, and a story that has something to say beyond the pages of this book. In this case, about experiences related to international and transracial adoption, relating to a beloved grandparent affected by dementia, violence against Asian elders, and maintaining friendships over distance (physical and emotional). The author doesn’t try to explain too much, just uses well placed details that interrupt the standard narrative in some delightful ways. And it’s one of those books that encourages readers to ask more questions. The fast paced narrative kept me reading until the satisfying end. I think young readers will love this book but I hope older readers will check it out as well. #bookstagram #childrensbooks #asianamerican #aanhpiheritagemonth
Justina Chen’s Middle Grade novel, With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei (Katherine Tegen Books) hits the sweet spot for me: great characters, humor, suspense, and a story that has something to say beyond the pages of this book. In this case, about experiences related to international and transracial adoption, relating to a beloved grandparent affected by dementia, violence against Asian elders, and maintaining friendships over distance (physical and emotional). The author doesn’t try to explain too much, just uses well placed details that interrupt the standard narrative in some delightful ways. And it’s one of those books that encourages readers to ask more questions. The fast paced narrative kept me reading until the satisfying end. I think young readers will love this book but I hope older readers will check it out as well. #bookstagram #childrensbooks #asianamerican #aanhpiheritagemonth
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2024
What a phenomenal read! I immediately told my neighbor about the book and passed her my signed copy. When I told her about the story she said, “Wow, that sounds oddly familiar!” It turned out that she was adopted into a white family as a baby. I have two cousins that are several years older than me that are Asian and were adopted into a white family. The book and my neighbors response have prompted me to start the conversation about what it was like for them. Being a younger cousin, it was just normal for me and I probably didn’t even know they were adopted until late elementary school.
Anyways, I just love when a book prompts your heart to do something in real life.
I thought there was the perfect amount of predictability to the storyline and plot twists for middle schoolers. I teared up too many times to count. Being excluded is a universal hurt and the desire to belong is such an important topic for all of us to be reminded of.
Anyways, I just love when a book prompts your heart to do something in real life.
I thought there was the perfect amount of predictability to the storyline and plot twists for middle schoolers. I teared up too many times to count. Being excluded is a universal hurt and the desire to belong is such an important topic for all of us to be reminded of.
May 29, 2024
Dessie and her parents move to Seattle in the middle of the school year to take care of her grandma who is suffering from dementia issues. At her new school, students call her Donna and she realizes there is another girl who looks *exactly* like her! Dessie and Donna realize that they have the same birthday and were both adopted from the same place in China. As the girls get to know each other and each other's families, they realize the have similarities but also some differences - mostly due to how they have been raised.
There are some really deep issues raised here about racism (Donna's grandma is attacked at Pike Place Market), school name changes and the reasons behind them, dementia and how it affects families, adoption - especially how the separation of twins affects families and how multiracial families interact and the impacts this can have
Recommend!
There are some really deep issues raised here about racism (Donna's grandma is attacked at Pike Place Market), school name changes and the reasons behind them, dementia and how it affects families, adoption - especially how the separation of twins affects families and how multiracial families interact and the impacts this can have
Recommend!
June 8, 2024
With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei is a wonderful, poignant novel with a delightful main character whose exuberant voice leaps off the page. I absolutely loved Dessie Mei Breedlove and her newly discovered twin sister, Donna Lee. But this story is about much more than two eleven-year-olds finding out that they're identical twins from the same orphanage in China, separated at birth and raised in two very different families: one white, one Taiwanese American. As they navigate the social complexities of middle school, a shocking hate crime forces Dessie Mei to reevaluate her priorities and step outside of her comfort zone in the name of community and justice. With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei is a heartwarming is a coming of age story, full of well-drawn characters, that explores friendship, family, home, diversity, solidarity and... the risks we're willing to take for those we love.
February 29, 2024
This was such a good read while also tackling some tough issues. But, since these issues are incorporated into a fun story, and helps kids navigate new school, bullies, social justice as well as transracial adoption. And, it's a find a twin story, which is always so appealing. What this book also does so well, is the transracial adoption piece. It's clear that Dessie Mei's white family all love her but there is still a bit of lack of understanding, what it's like to be a difference race, within a loving family. And, Dessie feels just as lost with her new found twin sister's Asian family, since Dessie doesn't know about so many things about her birth culture. Readers of Kelly Yang and Susan Tan will love this book.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
May 6, 2024
I think this is a good read that has good representation of different family dynamics. I thought that somethings were a little over the top, like not letting friends talk after witnessing a family argument.
But I did think that there were great issues about racism brought to light and that I liked how the families rallied around each other to help.
Dessie and Donna are both strong characters dealing with different issues within their family. I think their meeting and finding out their family history brings them together and brings out the best in each of them.
Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.
But I did think that there were great issues about racism brought to light and that I liked how the families rallied around each other to help.
Dessie and Donna are both strong characters dealing with different issues within their family. I think their meeting and finding out their family history brings them together and brings out the best in each of them.
Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.
June 18, 2024
This book y’all!! I cried AT LEAST 4 times, what a remarkable accomplishment!
Sensitive, insightful mature and yet very middle school relatable. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
My one teeny sad part was when the author used the overdone “karen” reference…would’ve could’ve left that out but by no means let that be a hindrance. Excellent read!
Mindy Kaling are you watching? You need to bring this to the screen! I have Josh duhamel as dad, Jennifer Garner as Mom, Michelle Yeoh as Amah (maybe add some high kicks) and Shirley MacLaine as Grandma…Dessie Mei m, idk. Principal (gender change) Utkarsh Ambudkar
Sensitive, insightful mature and yet very middle school relatable. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
My one teeny sad part was when the author used the overdone “karen” reference…would’ve could’ve left that out but by no means let that be a hindrance. Excellent read!
Mindy Kaling are you watching? You need to bring this to the screen! I have Josh duhamel as dad, Jennifer Garner as Mom, Michelle Yeoh as Amah (maybe add some high kicks) and Shirley MacLaine as Grandma…Dessie Mei m, idk. Principal (gender change) Utkarsh Ambudkar
July 22, 2024
This beautiful debut in middle grade fiction from awarded and acclaimed YA novelist Justina Chen gives the reader fresh insight into the warmth and power of belonging.
Within a setting involving transracial, transnational adoption, family separation and reunion, racism and justice, two sisters find each other and open themselves to differences, learning, and love.
Welcome to this well crafted, beautiful novel which will touch readers and affirm that we all belong.
Within a setting involving transracial, transnational adoption, family separation and reunion, racism and justice, two sisters find each other and open themselves to differences, learning, and love.
Welcome to this well crafted, beautiful novel which will touch readers and affirm that we all belong.
March 11, 2024
This book had a LOT. Twin sisters separated at birth reunited, Chinese girl raised in a white family, Chinese girl raised in a Taiwanese family, moving, grandparent with dementia, new school, issues with classmates, racism, attacks on Asian Americans, organizing protests, classroom scenes, music and video games, following and boycotting a favorite band. I love the plot of twins reunited, but it almost seemed to be an afterthought at times. Donna and her family help off contact with Dessie and uninvited her to Donna's birthday party because they thought she was rude- because of big cultural differences. It was confusing that Dessie's older twin brothers stayed behind in their old town when she and her parents moved to help their grandma. The brothers are in high school- are they simply living by themselves? There was too much going on in this book. I thought that if the girls had gone to different elementary schools, and simply met at middle school (either regular public school or they both were sent to the same private school) it would have avoided the moving to a new town, brothers being away superfluous plots.
ARC given by NetGalley for a review
ARC given by NetGalley for a review
March 25, 2024
I liked the plot in this book and it was a unique story. It has a lot of events that people can relate to, but there are also things that make it different. The author did a good job at including details and moments that make the book more entertaining and exciting. I enjoyed reading this book because it has realistic characters and events, which helps the reader understand more of the book.
July 11, 2024
A nice twist on the "found twin" storyline.
July 15, 2024
Dive into a nuanced portrayal of the transracial, transnational adoptee experience, including the joys and the sorrows within the wide spectrum of experiences as an adoptee.
August 1, 2024
I just loved Donna and Dessie! I think this one definitely has Newbery potential - a great story about family, good trouble, and using your voice!
June 8, 2024
With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei is a fabulous middle grade novel featuring a lively, determined main character, Dessie Mei Breedlove, who discovers her long-lost twin sister, Donna Lee. But this story is about much more than two eleven-year-olds finding out that they're identical twins from the same orphanage in China, separated at birth and raised in two very different families in America. When a shocking hate crime reverberates through their community, Dessie Mei and Donna rally to stand up for what they believe in. With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei is a deeply engaging, complex tale of family, friendship and social justice.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews