Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd (Gigi Shin, Bk. 1)

This first book in a sparkling middle grade series “reminiscent of Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitters Club books” (Kirkus Reviews) follows a young Korean American girl who starts a business with her best friends to support her artistic dreams.

Jiyoung “Gigi” Shin loves to create, from her zany outfits to self-executed haircuts. She dreams of becoming an artist and doodles every chance she gets—at school instead of taking notes, in choir instead of singing, and at home instead of homework. Art is her way of escaping her boring life in suburban Middle of Nowhere, Texas. Unfortunately, her working class, immigrant parents want her to focus on her studies and pursue something more “practical.” Gigi only really feels like herself in art class and at lunch with her best friends, Carolina and Zeina.

When Gigi learns about an elite art camp on the east coast, she’s determined to go. But she knows her parents won’t let her, much less pay for it. After overhearing her little brother Tommy complain about how hard math is and how his teacher goes too fast for him, Gigi has a brilliant idea: forming a tutoring club with her friends to make enough money for the art camp.

With Carolina, Zeina, and Carolina’s friend, Emma, the girls go all in, each with a reason for wanting the business to succeed. But the first few sessions with their classmates are a little chaotic, and Gigi wonders if she will end up sacrificing more than she bargained for to achieve her dreams.