Review: The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang

The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang.

Kane Miller
Publication Date: September 2011
List Price: $4.99
ISBN-13: 9780141316499

Review: Do you feel like you've read every interesting book there is? If you haven't read The Garden of Empress Cassia, then you haven't! Gabrielle Wang is the author of The Garden of Empress Cassia. The main character is a girl named Mimi Lu. Her life changes a lot from a small gift.

The Garden of Empress Cassia is about an unpopular, new girl named Mimi Lu. At school, she excels in art. Because of this, her teacher gives her a box of pastels that turns out to be more than they seem. She draws beautiful pictures on the stones and one day, she creates The Garden of Empress Cassia. This drawing is so powerful, that it has the ability to suck people inside of it and release them as a new person. They don't even remember what has happened! But Mimi has to be careful because the pastels are "A Treasure for Some / A Curse for Others." She especially had to protect them from Gemma, a girl at school who is bullying her, and who wants the pastels in order to stop Mimi's gaining popularity.

The Garden of Empress Cassia is very interesting in multiple ways. I'm especially a fan of art, so the book is inspiring. I feel that the quote "A Treasure for Some / A Curse for Others" really explains that only polite people are treated respectfully, while bullies might not be respected by others. This book shows that although people are equal and should be treated that way, each person is unique in some way. Mimi is as much of a person as Gemma, but Gemma is jealous because of her artistic talent. This book also inspires readers that as long as you have the material, anything can come from your artwork. This really shows the power of creativity.

The Garden of Empress Cassia will appeal to people who may be shy, new, or unpopular because it shows that the inner you is what really matters. Also, this book is very inspirational to creative people. It shows the true value of artwork and emphasizes that the value something or someone has is the inner beauty, not what there is to be seen on the outside.

Review written by Kelly (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Kane Miller for providing a copy of The Garden of Empress Cassia for this review.

Have you read The Garden of Empress Cassia? How would you rate it?