Finally Seen

An escort leads Lina through customs. Lina brags about her family, sharing tidbits she memorized from their letters: Her father is a microbiologist, and her mother works in a salon; they live in a two-story home 40 miles from Los Angeles. Lina is excited to exchange “I love yous” with them every day.

Lina’s mother embraces her. Her father and sister join in the hug. Lina feels better about her choice to move to the US. When Lina says she is thirsty, her mother gives her $5 for water at a café counter. Lina does not understand the clerk’s question about “sparkling or still” (13), and Millie must intervene; Millie sees that $5 will not be enough, so she asks for a cup of ice instead. Lina’s mother praises Millie for saving the money.

Lina’s parents explain on the way home from the airport that while her father did study microbiology, he now works on an organic, regenerative farm for a man named Pete Burton. When Lina asks if they can go to the beach, her parents are hesitant to agree since Dad works so frequently. Mom mentions that she makes bath bombs, which Lina first misinterprets as explosives.

Napping in the car, Lina dreams of Bei Gao Li Village, a “waiting” farm where she and Lao Lao went twice a year to volunteer. Many children “wait” there with grandparents, left by parents who moved to big cities for work. In the dream, the children beckon Lina to play. Lao Lao tries to hug children running near but cannot quite reach them. Lina chooses to sit with Lao Lao and watch the sunset.

Lina wakes in the bottom bunk in a small bedroom. Millie is excited to try the treats Lina brought from China, but when Lina tells her it is called “rabbit candy,” Millie refuses to eat any. Lina tries not to care even though Lao Lao went to many stores to find the candies for Millie. Lina sees that there is no room in the closet for her clothes because Millie did not remove her stuffed animals. Lina tries not to be shocked that home is an apartment and that her parents sleep on a mat in the living room. She asks how she can help with the bath bombs.

Lina and Millie take bath bombs to a courtyard to dry. Other tenants discuss how they owe six months back rent and hope a rent relief program will help them out. Mom explains that she lost her job at the salon during the pandemic and cannot find another without a green card. When Lina and Millie ask about the rent relief program, Mom is evasive, says it is “complicated,” and claims they will have the money once the bath bombs catch on.

Mom gives Lina the task of designing a receipt for the bath bombs. When Lina tries to use “QML”—Q for Qian, her mother’s name—on a new logo design, Millie tells Lina their mother changed her name to Jane for ease of communication. Millie tries to commandeer Lina’s sketchbook—Lina’s prized possession, for how much she loves to draw—to improve Lina’s logo ideas. Lina grabs it back and tells Millie she cannot draw in it. Millie storms away. Lina thinks that Lao Lao would be disappointed in her.

Lao Lao knows that Lina is upset when they talk on the phone, but Lina does not reveal details initially. Lao Lao tells Lina how nurses took away her bonsai tree and that the other residents do not welcome her to play games. Lina admits she and Millie had a disagreement, and Lao Lao tells Lina that sisters always work through their issues. They both agree to keep trying.

Lina apologizes to Millie. Millie shows Lina her photos of the bath bombs on their Etsy shop. Lina notices Millie’s school awards in their room. Lina unpacks, giving Millie the mittens Lao Lao knitted for her. Millie is thrilled and plans to show them to Hazel, a popular girl in her class whose mother is a TikTok hair influencer: “Someone who has great hair!” (42).

Lina’s mother takes her to a consignment store for clothing. After, Lina wants to go into an ice cream shop. Her mother says they might have a free sample she can try. Lina attempts to ask for a free sample of Chocolate Sheet Cake but mispronounces it. Her mother says they must leave when two girls, one with trendy heart-shaped glasses, laugh at Lina. Outside, Mom tells Lina, “Never let yourself be treated that way over ice cream” and explains immigrants must have an “iron will” (48).

A plumbing emergency calls Dad to the farm, so Lina and Mom go there to fetch Millie. When they arrive, Pete, Dad’s boss, yells about having to run “daycare” for Millie. Lina meets Carla Muñoz. She and her mother live and work at the farm as volunteers for WWOOF, an organic farming co-op. Millie translates for Lina as Carla describes her travels to far places like Montana and Portugal for WWOOF. Lina says, “Good talk. Bye!” when Mom calls her to go (53).

Dad comes home after extra hours at Pete’s farm. When Lina asks, he explains that Carla and her mother are “WWOOFers,” which means they receive free room and board for volunteering as farm workers. Carla is homeschooled. Pete is helping Dad get a green card since Dad’s student visa expired. Because of Dad’s job, Millie and now Lina can attend public school in Winfield, the location of the farm, which has a much nicer school than where they live.

Lina watches enviously as Millie and Dad share a special high-five greeting. Sensing Lina’s worry, Mom tries to assure Lina that they will be fine financially. She encourages both girls to play an imagination game and detail what kind of life the family will have in five years. They imagine a beach walk, a dog, swimming, and surfing. Lao Lao is there too. Mom dreams that Target sells her bath bombs. When she leaves, Millie tells Lina that Mom used to design rides at an amusement park in China and that when they played the imagination game before, it was to imagine Lina being with them.

Lina nervously goes to school. On the way, Mom reminds the sisters that they must act invisible since they are there on a permit. After showing Lina the beautiful school grounds, Millie shows Hazel Lao Lao’s knitted gloves but claims they are a store brand, which confuses Lina. Millie also says she tried a wonderful new bath bomb over the weekend, from an Etsy brand, JML. Mom takes Lina to Mrs. Carter’s class. Lina sees the new arts center and pauses to dream of growing as an artist.

Mrs. Carter is nice, though she has Lina sit up front. When the boy, Finn, next to Lina offers his hand to shake, Lina hears a girl giggling behind her. It is the girl with heart-shaped glasses who laughed at her in the ice cream shop. Lina pulls away and does not shake Finn’s hand.

The heart-shaped glasses girl is Jessica. When Mrs. Carter announces that the Blue Patrons, a fundraising group for the school, is funding an author visit for this year’s book fair, Jessica says the author choice will be Tony Walsh because she likes his Royal Pets series, and her mother is head of the Blue Patrons. Mrs. Carter says the school will be voting on the choice. She asks Lina to read aloud about a project on class novels. Lina mispronounces a few words, and Jessica audibly complains. Mrs. Carter gives Jessica the job of reading the details. Lina decides she will no longer speak English at school.

Mom does not ask too many questions about Lina’s first day, to Lina’s relief; she did well in math but got poor scores in vocabulary and spelling and ate lunch alone. Mom is distracted because a customer wants a graduation-themed bath bomb but buying a mold costs too much. Lina suggests painting a graduation robe on the bombs, but Millie insists no paint exists that will work on the bath bomb surface. Online, Lina finds a paint that will work. They go to Michael’s for mica paint. There, Lina sees Millie’s mittens are gone; Millie lent them to Hazel. Lina is upset: “Lao Lao may never knit another pair!” (77). Millie calls Lina a “drama queen.”

Brushes are $5 at Michael’s, so they try Pete’s, but Pete wants to charge $4 for a used brush. Lina offers to work the fields for four hours instead. He agrees. In the field, Lina paints the bath bomb while Millie and Carla work. Carla and Lina discuss school. Lina says new classmates do not like her because her English is poor, but Carla explains Lina is like a seedling; she just needs to be carefully replanted to take off growing.

The customer loves the painted bath bomb, and Lina feels proud to make a significant contribution. At school, Mrs. Carter asks for the homework about the class read-aloud choice, which Lina forgot. Finn offers some quick help, explaining what the rating is in English and translating it to Chinese. Lina is shocked to hear it; Finn says he had a Chinese au pair when he was young.