Measuring Up

At the beginning of the graphic novel, Cici lives in Taiwan. Her favorite flavor of boba tea is mango. She and her friends enjoy watching the panda at the zoo or running across the Dragon Bridge. Cici’s A-má—her grandmother—is the “best part” of living in Taiwan, and she loves spending time with her at the market.

Cici’s narration notes that her grandmother only speaks Taiwanese to her, and so they converse in Taiwanese as they cook dumplings.

A month after the narrative begins, Cici’s parents decide to move to America, and Cici does not want to go. A-má comforts her, having her wash the rice until the water becomes clear. A-má can’t come with them because she doesn’t have a green card. Cici tells her grandmother to come visit for her 70th birthday. Cici tells herself that it will happen, thinking of how A-má herself always keeps her promises.

A-má gives Cici her secret spice combination, which she learned from her own grandmother. In a series of black-and-white memory panels, she recounts how her grandmother taught her to make the spice blend. She says she’ll teach Cici, who is excited by all of the new tastes even as she is sad to leave Taiwan.