Pacy Books in Order

The Pacy books are Grace Lin’s realistic middle-grade novels about a Taiwanese American girl who is also called Grace at school. They are partly inspired by Lin’s own childhood, but they read like stories first: school projects, family dinners, best friends, jealous moments, awkward questions, and lots of food.

Pacy wants to know who she is.

That question runs through all three books. In The Year of the Dog, Pacy hopes the new year will help her find both a best friend and her special talent. She meets Melody, thinks about what it means to be Chinese, Taiwanese, and American, and slowly begins to see herself as someone who can tell stories. The book is funny and honest about childhood worries without making those worries too heavy.

The Year of the Rat brings change. Melody moves away, a new Chinese boy arrives at school, and Pacy has to face uncomfortable feelings about difference, belonging, and how easy it can be to let other people be unkind. The story keeps its child’s-eye view. Pacy is not perfect, which is why she feels real.

In Dumpling Days, Pacy and her family travel to Taiwan for a month. It is supposed to be a trip into her roots, but she finds it confusing. She looks like many people around her, but she does not speak the language well. She takes a Chinese painting class, eats new foods, visits relatives, and starts to understand that identity is not something she has to solve all at once.

Family stories are a big part of the series. Pacy’s parents tell tales from Taiwan and from their own lives, and those stories help her make sense of what is happening now. The books also use Lin’s small black-and-white illustrations, which feel like Pacy’s own notebook drawings.

The tone is gentle, but the themes are not small. Friendship, racism, cultural expectations, sibling tension, art, and confidence all show up in ways middle-grade readers can grasp.

Start with The Year of the Dog. The books build naturally from there, and Pacy’s growth is best read in order.