56 pages • 1-hour read
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Chapters 13-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism, gender discrimination, and bullying.
Mia looks for Hank to see if he’s excited about the Pasadena Grill serving his burger, but she can’t find him. She calls a few Chinese restaurants to ask for any leads on the Chinese team. One restaurant owner tells her that business is way down, which he attributes to people choosing sides between Team USA and Team China. Hank comes back and reveals that the Pasadena Grill never called. Mr. Yao interrogates Hank about leaving. Hank has not forgiven Mr. Yao for how he treated Hank in the past. Mr. Yao apologizes and acquiesces to Hank’s demands.
Mia tries to ask Mr. Yao about his childhood, but he doesn’t want to talk about it. When nobody answers the phone at the Pasadena Grill, Hank, Mia, and Jason set out to talk to the manager in person.
Chapter 14 Summary
Jason feels bad about the way Mr. Yao puts him down. Mia tries to comfort him. They read another note from Mr. Yao’s childhood where he writes about getting teased for his lunch at school and the way his dad has injured his back. Young Mr. Yao dreams of a future where he doesn’t have to work all the time and he can enjoy his life. Mia and Jason wonder when Mr. Yao’s attitude changed. They arrive at the Pasadena Grill.
Chapter 15 Summary
The receptionist tells Hank that Mr. Wamble is unavailable, but Hank and Mia barge in. Mr. Wamble claims that the new “crunch burger” is not stolen from Hank’s recipe, but Hank and Mia know the truth. Mr. Wamble smugly refuses to acknowledge them. Jason excitedly points out that the coach of the US women’s soccer team has just left the restaurant.
Chapter 16 Summary
Jason points out the van for the US women’s team. The coach has just ordered 20 crunch burgers. Despite the horrible way he’s been treated, Hank encourages Mia to go seek her interview. The driver rolls down the window and Mia identifies herself as a student reporter. Jason asks if they can get autographs. Suddenly the door swings open and the US women’s team, including stars Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain, cheerfully signs their T-shirts and notebooks. Mia Hamm tells Mia that they aren’t doing press but they’re happy to pose for a photo. They kick around a marker and encourage Mia to play soccer just for the fun of it. Mia can’t stop smiling.
Chapter 17 Summary
Back at the motel, Mia finds her mom in the middle of coaching the math cup team. Mr. Yao protests her use of the white board to non-paying customers. The administration wouldn’t officially let her take over, so she’s decided to teach the team unofficially at the motel. Mom gives Mr. Yao $50 to stop bothering them. As Jason tells Mr. Yao about meeting the soccer players, Mia takes the $50 out of the register to give back to Mom. Jason claims that the US team is coming to the restaurant. Mr. Yao suggests they go shopping to spruce up the restaurant. Jason needs to start cooking so Mr. Yao takes Mia.
Chapter 18 Summary
Mr. Yao buys Mia a Slurpee. Mia feels weird being inside Mr. Yao’s car after spending so much time being afraid of him. Mr. Yao insists that the US team will win because they have more money. Mia argues that passion matters too, but Mr. Yao thinks passion makes you continue working on something when you should give it up. Mia asks him questions about his past and he finally admits that he misses his parents. Mia thinks they would be proud of him.
Chapter 19 Summary
Mr. Yao buys hundreds of dollars’ worth of restaurant décor. Mr. Yao wants Jason’s dreams to come true even when life isn’t fair. Mia secretly still wants to believe that life is a meritocracy.
Back at the motel, Hank gets himself a lawyer. Mia returns the $50 to her mom. Mom tells Mia that Dad found a real estate agent and they’ll see a new listing the next day. Mom also reveals that the school administration thought her English wasn’t good enough to coach Math Cup. Mia plans to convince Mr. Yao to stop bothering Mom about the math team.
Chapter 20 Summary
Jason invites Mia over to look for more diary entries. At school, they show off the photo with Mia Hamm and Jason brags that the team is coming to the restaurant. Mia shows the polaroid to Mr. Antwell but admits she didn’t get a full interview. Mr. Antwell won’t change her grade for just the photo.
After school, Mia and Lupe mind the motel. Lupe recounts how a pretty girl named Allie joined the math team and now all the boys are distracted. Mia and Lupe wonder if they’ll ever be pretty. Mia feels mystified by all the unspoken beauty rules for women and the apparent lack of rules for men. Lupe pulls out a soccer ball, but Mia struggles to kick it with her. Lupe asks if she’s still worried about getting hurt even though they have health insurance. Mia finally expresses her insecurities. Lupe shows Mia how fun soccer can be and Mia musters up the courage to kick the ball. Mr. Yao comes out and commands them to stop playing in the lot and get back to work. Mia manipulates Mr. Yao into cleaning the rooms himself.
Chapter 21 Summary
Mia and Lupe run through the hotel, messing up rooms so Mr. Yao will have to clean them. Mia finds Mr. Yao exhausted and sweaty, struggling with a sheet. She makes a deal that she will help him clean if he will let Mom teach the math team here and let her and Lupe play soccer. Hank comes back and is surprised to see Mr. Yao in a cleaning uniform.
Chapter 22 Summary
Dad cleans the rest of the rooms and then takes Mom and Mia to go meet the real estate agent. Mia imagines having a dog named Comma.
The house is beautiful. Mia is particularly excited about a loft space where she can write. Josie, the real estate agent, encourages them to make an offer quickly. Mom and Dad agree.
Mia can’t sleep that night and finds Hank at the vending machine. He tells her that there may be some legal recourse with Mr. Wamble, but it will cost so much money that Hank might have to sell his condo. Mia offers to write an article, but Hank worries he will get sued for defamation. Hank doesn’t want to just give up and let Wamble take away his creation.
Chapter 23 Summary
Mia and Da-Shawn debate how to take on Wamble but don’t find a solution. During gym, Mia pictures Mr. Wamble’s head on the soccer ball and her anger inspires her to kick the ball hard. Mr. Antwell is impressed. Mia tries to take a shot but slips and falls. She still feels proud of herself for conquering her fear of the ball. Bethany tries to trash-talk Mia after class but Mia trash-talks her back.
Mia helps Jason go through more boxes in their garage. She finds another diary. In one entry, Mr. Yao recounts seeing a mean kid from school at his family’s restaurant. He has to clean up their spills, listen to insults, and then they don’t even leave a tip. Mr. Yao hopes to one day travel Europe as a renowned trumpet player. Jason says he didn’t even know that his dad played the trumpet. He admits that he’s always felt embarrassed that his family owned a motel but Mia has made it much cooler. They find the address for the Yao’s family restaurant in Pasadena. Mr. Yao comes in and yells at them for wasting time and abandoning the restaurant. He shouts that the soccer players probably aren’t coming because they don’t want Chinese food. Jason asks why his dad invested in the restaurant if he doesn’t believe in the food. Mr. Yao admits that he wants to help Jason succeed. Jason is offended that his dad wants to buy his success. Jason quits the restaurant.
Chapter 24 Summary
Mia finds Jason hiding behind a tree, angry and hurt. Mr. Yao comes looking for them and Jason and Mia hide under a pile of leaves.
Back at the Calivista, Mia and Dad try to convince Jason not to quit. Hank encourages Jason to talk about his feelings and cook with him. Jason agrees but only if nobody tells Mr. Yao where he is.
Chapters 13-24 Analysis
The second section of the novel develops the main character arcs while introducing new obstacles and setbacks that challenge their resilience. This section also develops the novels investigation of the American Dream and what it means to each of the characters.
Yang introduces the subplot of Hank’s conflict with Mr. Wamble, contributing to the novel’s thematic exploration of Resilience in the Face of Adversity. Hank faces a significant setback when Mr. Wamble steals his secret burger recipe and refuses to credit him. This betrayal not only threatens Hank’s livelihood, but also challenges his sense of identity and ownership over something he worked hard to create. Hank and Mia recognize that the recipe represents his “slice of the American Dream,” and the promise that “anyone anywhere” can “compete, fair and square” (129). Hank’s picture of the American Dream centers on the idea of autonomy, entrepreneurship, and upward mobility. He also uses the language of sports and competition to indicate his belief that America offers equal opportunity to anyone. Mr. Wamble’s patently unfair treatment of Hank not only takes away Hank’s immediate opportunity but challenges his whole belief system about the American Dream.
Mia and her family root their own understanding of the American Dream in the idea of owning their own home—a symbol of financial stability and personal autonomy. For Mia, Hank offers a living example of this dream. His condo represents peace and control over his own time and environment—something Mia understands deeply, especially after experiencing life without Mr. Yao’s control. Each Tang family member projects their own dreams onto the new house: Mia imagines writing in a quiet loft, her mother dreams of a spacious kitchen island, and her father fixates on the fireplace. These domestic symbols contrast sharply with their current cramped, demanding life at the Calivista Motel. Dad emphasizes that in their own home, they “can do whatever [they] want” (125), highlighting their desire to have the freedom and space to enjoy life, free from constant surveillance and dependence on employers like Mr. Yao. In Mr. Yao’s diary entries, he longs for the exact same thing, the ability to “enjoy [his] life,” further underscoring the connection between himself and Mia (91).
Jason and Mr. Yao represent two conflicting visions of the American Dream that point to the challenges of Navigating Hybrid Immigrant Identities. Mr. Yao, shaped by past painful experiences, believes that success in America means suppressing cultural identity in favor of assimilation. He believes that the US team didn’t show up to the Calivista because “to white people” the Chinese food at the restaurant “is just fast food” (138). Mr. Yao believes that embracing his Chinese culture will be a hinderance to business and by extension, stand in the way of achieving his version of the American Dream. Mia and Jason resist this idea, choosing to pursue ways to honor their dual cultural identities instead. Jason expressly pushes back on his father’s criticisms of his hybridized cooking, stressing that “the food we make is so good” (138).
As Mia continues probing in Mr. Yao’s diaries, she feels compelled to solve the mystery of his drastic personality shift—one of the plot engines that drives the narrative forward. As Mia learns more about Mr. Yao’s dreams of playing trumpet and escaping the critical eye of his parents, she feels more certain that there is a way to get through to Mr. Yao. These entries add complexity to his character and serve as a narrative device, highlighting the novel’s thematic interest in the Written Word as a Tool for Empathy and promoting understanding. Through reading, Mia and Jason begin to view Mr. Yao not just as an antagonist, but as someone whose early hopes mirror their own.
The emotional triumph Mia experiences as she conquers her fear of the soccer ball for the first time evidences her personal growth from fearful to confident. Her past experiences, shaped by a lack of healthcare and physical vulnerability, made her afraid of getting injured, but she’s encouraged by the US Women’s National Team to imagine the game as something joyful, not dangerous. Later, Lupe guesses Mia’s real worry and offers supportive words that combat Mia’s inner negative voice, reminding her that they have insurance now and she “can totally do this” (118). When Mia finally kicks the ball during gym—even slipping in the process—it becomes a symbolic moment of growth as she overcomes her fear and shame. It is her community—Lupe, Hank, and the encouragement of her soccer heroes—that allows Mia to grow into a braver, more confident version of herself.
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