Author(s): Maisie Chan

Senior Fiction | Social Issues & Relationships

Keep trying, keep laughing, keep dancing! The new novel from the Blue Peter Book Award shortlisted author of DANNY CHUNG DOES NOT DO MATHS Twelve-year-old Lizzie Chu lives in Glasgow with her grandad Wai Gong, and he's been acting a little strange lately. He is becoming forgetful, and spends a lot of time talking to his statue of Guan Yin - the Chinese goddess of compassion, kindness and mercy. Lizzie is worried about Wai Gong, but doesn't really know what to do to help him. She's already got a lot on her plate with caring for him, doing the shopping and everything else on top of schoolwork and the usual trials of being twelve! Then Lizzie comes up with a madcap plan. She's going to take Wai Gong on the trip of a lifetime, to Blackpool - to the Tower Ballroom, where he always longed to go, to dance with his late wife Grandma Kam. To rekindle that love for dancing and to see if Wai Gong can find his mojo again. The only problem is - just how is on earth is she going to get him there? With a little help from her friends Chi and Tyler, some ingenious costumes and an older brother with a beat-up Mini, Lizzie might just make it - and maybe she will be able to help Wai Gong get better after all?

A warmhearted, funny, intergenerational story for fans of Frank Cottrell Boyce and Benjamin Dean

Review: 'Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu is brimming with kindness, humour and lovable characters. The story of Lizzie and the obstacles she overcomes to help her grandfather had me laughing out loud on one page and welling up on the next. Maisie Chan is a wonderful storyteller.' -- Kate Gilby-Smith, author of The Astonishing Future of Alex Nobody
'Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths is both heart-warming and hilarious, filled with characters you'll instantly love.' -- Jamie Smart, author of Bunny Vs Monkey
'Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths is heart-warming and packed with fascinating snippets of Chinese culture. I loved reading about the intergenerational relationship between Danny and his grandmother. We all need a Nai Nai in our lives.' -- Jen Carney, author of The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.

Author Biography: Maisie Chan is a British-born Chinese author. She has written early reader books for Hachette and a collection of fairy tales, myths and legends in Stories From Around the World for Scholastic, as well as many stories for The Big Think: a well-being curriculum based around stories for primary school children. She also started the group Bubble Tea Writers to support and encourage new British East Asian writers in the UK. Originally from Birmingham, Maisie now lives with her family in Glasgow.