42 pages • 1 hour read
Lily LaMotte, Illustr. Ann XuMeasuring Up
Lily LaMotte, Illustr. Ann XuFiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 14-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 14 Summary
On Saturday, there are six contestants left. The secret ingredient is a sweet potato, which Cici thinks is a good sign since “Taiwan is shaped like a sweet potato” (127). Things are awkward between her and Miranda.
Miranda makes sweet potato toast, and Cici makes “freckled potato pancakes” (128). One of the judges notices how Cici’s dish was influenced by Julia Child, while Mr. Bonce notes that she should have a crispier crust.
The judges announce that two people are being eliminated. He also announces that spinach is next week’s ingredient.
Chapter 15 Summary
On Sunday, Cici video calls A-má, who wants to meet her American friends. They talk about how odd it is that American houses, many of which are made of wood, often burn fires inside.
After they hang up, Cici looks through Julia Child’s book to find a spinach recipe.
Chapter 16 Summary
Miranda starts to say something to Cici, but the judges begin speaking, interrupting her.
Cici has decided to make Julia Child’s Spinach Surprise, but she’s adding cheddar cheese rather than Swiss cheese and cinnamon as part of her own spin.
She blanches the spinach in water and then puts it in ice water to refresh it. She flips a thin pancake to put over the spinach, making the vegetable the surprise.
Miranda makes a polenta pizza with spinach and pancetta. When she repeats a phrase that she heard from her Nonna in Italian, Cici is amazed that Miranda communicates with her grandmother in another language too.
The judges announce that they will eliminate two people. They also will not reveal the secret ingredient for the next round. Both Cici and Miranda make it to the finals.
Chapter 17 Summary
Cici has two weeks until the final round. At home, her father asks if she studied for her math test. When Cici points out that she just had one, he replies that she should study for the next one since tests make her smarter. She gathers her stuff and leaves the room to call A-má.
A-má, however, repeats what Cici’s father says, reminding her granddaughter that each generation’s lives have gotten easier. Parents want their children to be more successful than they are.
Cici promises to obey her father, but she crosses her fingers behind her back. She feels like her mom will support her. Cici and her mom make dinner together, and Cici shows her mom new dishes. She also tries to study for her next math test, but it arrives faster than she expected. She wonders if she prioritized cooking more than she should have. She believes it will pay off so that her family can be together like they used to.
Chapters 14-17 Analysis
Julia Child signifies hope and the acceptance of imperfection to Cici. Her influence also means something to the judges. As one states, Cici “couldn’t do better than the doyenne of French cooking in America” (129). Using classical French and American recipes builds credibility for Cici with the judges. This may make them more likely to trust her cooking skills and prepare them to approve of her final dish, which is explicitly Taiwanese-inspired.
Cici does not want to surrender her Taiwanese identity, but she enjoys not having to explain Taiwanese customs and food. She sees Julia Child as a way to succeed. It is easier to follow Child’s traditions, and shows how Cici is still working to find a balance between her Taiwanese homeland and her new home.
Still, as when A-má repeats her sentiment about fireplaces—“I hear American houses are all made of wood. Aiyah! Burning a fire inside”—it is clear that there are elements of American culture that are foreign to Cici, just as there are some customs that are unfamiliar to her friends (131).
These chapters explore Friendship and Teamwork Between People and Cultures as well as the differences Cici feels between herself and her peers. Miranda surprises her once again when she speaks Italian. Cici reflects: “She does it, too—talks to her grandmother in another language” (137). She realizes that communicating in a language other than English is not unheard of.
In this section, Parental Expectations and Pressures come from a surprising place: A-má. Cici sees her grandmother as someone who is always on her side, not realizing that she is also someone who was raised to believe that successive generations should do better than their predecessors. It is particularly hard for Cici to hear A-má say: “It does not matter if I come now, if you throw away your future” (143). It is the first time that Cici does not agree with her, and crosses her fingers to get out of her promise to obey her father when it comes to studying. She believes that this betrayal will “be worth it. We will all be together like we used to be” (143). Her family will in fact be able to transcend their family motto—“Good grades, good college, good job, good life” (31)—but it will first put her in a difficult position with her father.
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