56 pages • 1-hour read
Key Player
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Chapters 49-60Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 49 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism, gender discrimination, and bullying.
Mr. Yao leaves without talking to Jason. Lupe and Mia debrief about Allie, and Lupe resolves to tell her mom about her feelings. When they look through Mia’s pictures from the math meet, they discover that Sentilla’s team cheated by hiding a calculator under the table. Mom agrees to support them in going to the administration to demand a rematch.
That night they feast on Jason’s excellent roasted duck, which he calls “Anaheim Duck.” Hank is sure the Chinese players will love it. They decide to set up a long table by the pool and serve it family style.
Chapter 50 Summary
In gym the next day, Mia scores a goal against Bethany. Mia hopes the Chinese players feel similar joy when they win against the US. Mia turns in her article, feeling at peace about her decision to root for Team China. Lupe arrives and tells Mia that they’ve been granted a rematch with Sentilla thanks to Mom’s advocacy. The administration has also agreed to let Mom be the coach.
Mia walks home with Jason and runs into Mr. Yao in the parking lot. He gives Jason a special carving knife that belonged to Jason’s grandfather. Mr. Yao apologizes for his behavior. Jason hugs his dad and invites him to stay for dinner.
Chapter 51 Summary
The Chinese players arrive for dinner at the Calivista. Gao signs a soccer ball for some of the weeklies—longtime residents of the Calivista—and challenges them to play after dinner. Mia introduces Mr. Yao as a musician and Sun reveals that she likes to sing. They all start singing along with Sun, even Mr. Yao. Gao reveals that Sun also writes poetry. Mia asks to read it and Sun recites a line from a poem encouraging girls to follow their dreams. Jason presents the Anaheim Duck and the players love it. Mr. Yao finally expresses his pride in Jason. They all toast to family.
Chapter 52 Summary
Everyone joins in playing a friendly match in the motel parking lot. Even though Hank tries silly techniques to distract the players, nothing can shake Gao Hong’s focus. Soon photographers from the Anaheim Times show up and start taking pictures. Mia has never felt so connected to the other guests at the Calivista. She starts to really understand the power of sports to bring people together. The players stay late to pose for pictures and answer reporters’ questions. They praise the duck and their experience at the Calivista.
Chapter 53 Summary
At school, everyone talks about the motel soccer match. Mia tells them how amazing the Team China players are.
On Thursday, Mia heads to CBS for the interview. She worries that she will mess up her Mandarin but tries to push her doubts aside. The Chinese players are nervous so Mia offers them words of support. Mom cheers when she sees that Liane Johnson, her favorite TV journalist, will be conducting the interview. Liane introduces herself as a big fan and Mia can tell that the interview will be great.
Chapter 54 Summary
Liane poses a final question, asking what the players would say to American fans. Sun replies that she is cheering along with them because no matter who wins, this game is a huge accomplishment for women’s soccer. After the interview, Mom congratulates Mia and dries a tear. The producer encourages Mia to consider a career in broadcast journalism. The producer lives in Maple Hills, the development that didn’t allow parties or dogs. The producer reveals that whoever told them those rules was making it up and there are many dogs in Maple Hills. The house on the corner is still for sale. Before they leave, Gao hands Mia an envelope with 20 tickets to the World Cup final.
Chapter 55 Summary
The Tangs reconsider Maple Hills. They aren’t sure they want a neighbor who would lie to keep them out, but Mia urges them not to let the bad neighbor win. Mia gives out tickets to the weeklies and Lupe’s family. Mom studies her English pronunciation flash cards so the other coaches at Math Cup rematch will take her seriously. Mia encourages her mom and reminds her of how much she has accomplished.
Chapter 56 Summary
At Math Cup, mom watches the Sentilla kids like a hawk. The Sentilla coach makes snide comments to Mom and boasts about her students’ skills. She accidentally mispronounces “cosine,” and the Sentilla coach laughs at her. Lupe raises her hand signifying that her team has finished first. The judges check the answers and Team Anaheim wins. Mom hands out World Cup tickets to all the team members. Mia takes a picture of the Sentilla team with their mouths hanging open.
Back at the Calivista, everyone sits down in front of the TV to watch Mia’s big interview while enjoying Hank and Jason’s food. The interview goes great, and Mia feels like she looked confident and poised on TV. Mia’s cousin Shen calls to rave about her column in the Gazette about the Chinese team. Mia finally feels like both halves of her identity are flourishing together. Lupe tells her mom about her feelings for Allie and Mia can tell the conversation went well.
Chapter 57 Summary
It’s the morning of the big game. Mr. Antwell calls to wish the Chinese team good luck and congratulate Mia on the TV interview. Mia and Lupe decorate red shirts with white-out marker to celebrate the Chinese team plus white socks, scrunchies, and shorts to support Team USA. Mia banishes all thoughts of real estate and bigoted neighbors, choosing to focus on the game. The Rose Bowl is crowded with fans wearing USA colors and flags. Mia discovers that they have the best seats in the house full of diverse fans rooting for Team China. Mom excitedly waves a postcard of the Calivista, the closest things she has to a flag. Mia cheers loudly for Team China.
Chapter 58 Summary
The game is a scoreless draw and moves into penalty kicks. Mia can barely watch as the penalty kicks begin. Briana Scurry saves a kick and puts the US ahead. It all comes down to Brandi Chastain. Brandi scores and takes off her shirt to celebrate. Team USA wins. Mia feels bittersweet and wipes tears from her eyes. Mia, Jason, and Lupe jump over the divider to congratulate Team China. Mia can see Gao Hong is taking the loss hard. Mia tells the players that 90,000 people came to see them play, more than any women’s game in history. Gao cracks a smile. Jason invites the team to his grandparents’ former restaurant for dumplings.
Chapter 59 Summary
Everyone packs into the Lotus Garden for dumplings. Mr. Yao remembers how he always wanted to Americanize the restaurant by moving away from traditional Chinese elements, but he respects how Jason has embraced his Chinese heritage. Mia stands and toasts Team China.
Mia sees Mom showing Gao the flyer about the house. Mr. Yao pipes up that he knows a good real estate agent who could help. Mia feels like she catches a glimpse of young Mr. Yao. The restaurant owner passes Mia another envelope she found from the Yao days. In it, Mia finds plane tickets to London and a cassette of trumpet music from the radio. Mia watches the emotion wash over Mr. Yao’s face as he realizes that his parents had planned to visit him and had been listening to trumpet music for him. They were proud of him. He lets go of his pain and regret.
Chapter 60 Summary
Three weeks later, Mia gets a call from the San Francisco Tribune offering her a full scholarship to journalism camp. Mr. Yao plays a celebratory tune on his trumpet. Mia’s family is buying the house in Maple Hills, and Mia feels bad about missing time with them. Mr. Yao encourages her to go and chase her dreams.
Hank runs in brandishing an article in the Anaheim Times in which Team USA declares Hank’s burger the best burger in Los Angeles. Mia admits that she sent Mia Hamm a burger. Mia gives Hank $700 that the restaurant in China sent him as his cut for using his recipe. Now he can pay back the loan on his condo. Lupe’s team wins regional Math Cup, securing them a spot in the state championship in San Francisco. Mia thinks of Sun Wen’s poem and resolves to keep following her dreams.
Chapters 49-60 Analysis
Throughout the novel, Mia struggles to reconcile the two sides of herself—a tension Yang mirrors in the upcoming soccer game between Team China and Team USA—highlighting the challenges of Navigating Hybrid Immigrant Identities. In the novel’s final section, the outfit Mia wears to the soccer final physically represents the balance she has finally achieved. She wears a red shirt “just like Gao Hong and Sun Wen were wearing” and “white socks, white shorts, and white scrunchies for Team USA” (284-85). Wearing the colors of both teams makes Mia feel “perfectly represented” for the first time, as she does not feel like she has to actively repress either essential part of herself. Mia learns to find joy in soccer and inspiration that watching the players overcome adversity. For her, the game is no longer about one side winning but about the triumph of what both teams have achieved in this iconic moment in the history of women’s professional sports.
Sports, and particularly the Women’s World Cup, provide a symbolic and literal arena for cultures to come together. The bittersweet outcome, in which Team USA wins, does not diminish the historic and emotional significance of the match. Similarly, Jason continues to model and embrace his hybridized identity reflected in his “Anaheim Duck” recipe. Combining Chinese ingredients with a special recipe from his own family’s “American Chinese” restaurant, Jason not only reflects his hybrid Chinese American identity, but honors the hybridized legacy of his parents and grandparents.
Mr. Yao’s apology to Jason and the gift of the family carving knife marks Mr. Yao’s transformation from a rigid, controlling figure to a more expressive and emotionally present father. As Mr. Yao lets go of his guilt and mends his relationship with his son, the carving knife represents Mr. Yao’s fraught connection with his parents, something precious and fragile, carefully hidden away. In gifting it to Jason, Mr. Yao gives the carving knife a new significance as a symbol of his commitment to supporting his son’s dreams. Mr. Yao finally respect’s Jason’s autonomy, admitting that “it’s [his] life” and “[he] has to do it [his] way” (255). These words validate Jason and give him the space to explore his skills and passions with the expressed support of his father.
In these final chapters, Yang emphasizes the triumph of justice and integrity as a throughline that connects the various subplots, highlighting the characters’ Resilience in the Face of Adversity. After discovering that the rival Sentilla team cheated at Math Cup, Mia and her mother advocate for a rematch. Their successful push for fairness—ultimately leading to Team Anaheim’s victory—reflects how the Tangs have grown in confidence and agency. This moment also marks a turning point in the community’s recognition of Mrs. Tang’s abilities. Despite being mocked for her accent and dismissed by the Sentilla coach, she proves herself as a capable leader. The contrast between the coach’s superficial judgments and the Tangs’ perseverance illustrates how the novel critiques bias while affirming the strength of marginalized voices. Mia’s own development is anchored in her growing sense of purpose and voice. Her successful TV interview and the offer to attend journalism camp in San Francisco affirm her talent and emerging future as a writer and advocate.
Throughout the final chapters, Yang threads in subtle reflections on belonging and home. The Tangs’ decision to move into Maple Hills despite the earlier discrimination remains complex. Mia doesn’t want to let a bigoted neighbor’s lie keep them from a better life. Yet there’s also an awareness that belonging must be claimed, not passively granted. Even as the Tangs continue to pursue their dreams, the Calivista Motel remains the center of their community. It’s where the characters gather to watch the interview, share food, and celebrate their shared history—as Mia acknowledges, this kind of community is actually “family.”
The final lines of the novel reiterate the thematic importance of pursuing one’s dreams with the support of one’s community. Mia’s decision to attend journalism camp, Lupe’s advancement to the state championship, and Hank’s recognition as a culinary talent all affirm the power of persistence and self-belief. Sun Wen’s poem about girls chasing their dreams acts as a guiding beacon, linking the personal to the political and highlighting the novel’s argument that young girls, particularly immigrants and children of immigrants, can and should take up space in the world.
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