Good Luck, Ivy

Good Luck, Ivy is the companion book for Ivy Ling; it is considered an extension of the Julie series. It is included with Ivy when she is purchased and can be purchased separately.

Facts

Author: Lisa Yee
Illustrator: Robert Hunt
First Published: 2007
Setting: San Francisco, California; June 1976^[1]
In relation to Julie's series: After the events of Julie and the Eagles

Characters

Introduced

Only in Good Luck, Ivy

Chapter by Chapter Summary

Chapter One: Off Balance

Ivy looks around the dinning table and sighs, asking why couldn't her family have American food like hamburgers and spaghetti instead of Chinese food. Andrew points out spaghetti is Italian and since many believe Marco Polo brought noodles from China to Italy, it was also Chinese. Ivy rolls her eyes. She thinks how they had Chinese food everyday since her mom was too busy to cook and would get takeout from Ivy's grandparent's restaurant, the Happy Panda. Ivy pokes her tofu as her brother started to brag about his kung-fu lesson.

Ivy thinks how impossible it was living with her older brother, and she recalls what happened last weekend. Ivy and Julie were watching The Brady Bunch when Andrew changed the channel without warning, saying The Six Million Dollar Man was on. When Ivy protests, Andrew smugly says Ivy had to do as he said as in China, the eldest son is treated like royalty. Ivy changes the channel as she points out they were in America and she giggles with Julie as Andrew stomped away.

Ivy smiles at the memory and asks her parents if she could call Julie. Her mother says after dinner and her father adds after Ivy had done her homework. Ivy thinks how lonely she felt without Julie. Although Julie visited on the weekends and they called each other, Ivy felt it wasn't the same as having her friend 'right there'. Ivy muses that if she were at Julie's house, they'd be eating something normal while watching a color TV, something Ivy didn't have.

Mr. Ling asks how was school and everyone, including Mrs. Ling, answers. Ivy felt sort of strange to have her mom go to school at her age. At first, Ivy thought it was exciting her mom went to law school as her mom would come home with funny stories. But Mrs Ling had stopped telling them for a while as she was too busy with school and since Ivy's dad got a second job, Ivy hardly saw her parents. Ivy wonders sadly why things had to change.

Mr. Ling puts on his security guard jacket and reminds Ivy to do her homework. Ivy does her book report and was near the end of her book when her mother asks Ivy to give Missy a bath. Ivy tries to protest, saying she wanted to call Julie, but Mrs. Ling says Ivy could call Julie tomorrow. As Ivy prepares the bath, Mrs. Ling comes in with some clean towels. Ivy asks her mother if she'll be in law school forever. Mrs. ling says it would just be a couple of years, and she also explains she knew it was hard on the family. She bit her lip as she tells Ivy she always wanted to go to law school and she was studying extra hard to make her family proud of her. Ivy says she was already proud of her mom, and Mrs. Ling thanks Ivy as she kisses her on the head. Ivy wishes to herself that she could have talked longer with her mom like they did in the old days. Missy asks Ivy if her bath was ready and Ivy tells her yes.

After the bath, Ivy walked with her sister to the room the two of them shared. Ivy picked up her sister's toys around the room as Mrs. Ling tucked Missy in for bed. Ivy smiles at her sleeping sister, thinking it was hard to believe it was the same, mischievous sister Ivy had to chase around. When Mrs. Ling leaves and turns off the lights, Ivy grabs her flashlight and goes to the window. She flashes her good-night code to Julie's house and sees only darkness Ivy is surprised when Missy tells Ivy Julie wasn't there. Ivy, grateful the dark hid her blushing face, tells her sister she already knew that and tells her to go to sleep.

Ivy thinks how the best time of the day was when school got out and Ivy could go to Chinatown's YMCA to practice with her gymnastics team, the Twisters. Coach Gloria calls the tam together and announces that weather they won or lost the all-city competition, they will have a big party. She explains they will have a fundraiser to earn pizza money for the party and she asks the team for suggestions. The girls suggest various ideas until the team decides to have a bake sale the following weekend. Ivy offers to bring her mom's famous Chinese almond cookies and other girls offer various treats. The Coach tells them they had great ideas before starting off practice.

Ivy pulls back her hair and stretches before getting on the mat. Ivy does her floor routine to the music as she thinks how even as a baby, Ivy would tumble all over the living room like a gymnast. Coach Gloria tells Ivy her floor work was good and asks if Ivy was ready for the balance beam. Ivy gulps, remembering the incident that happened at the tournament before last.

In the past, Ivy always did well at the all-around competition but at the tournament before last, she messed up her balance beam. Ivy recalls smiling confidently on top of the beam and the crowd and doing her routine perfectly. Then Ivy lost her balance and fell off the beam. Ivy tried to climb back onto the beam, but she slipped off again. Tears started to form in her eyes and mortified by this fact, Ivy ran away and hid in the bathroom.

Pushing the memory out of her head, Ivy got on the balance beam. Coach Gloria asks Ivy if she still felt unsure of herself and Ivy admits yes. The Coach tells Ivy to put her fears aside and do her best as Ivy begins her routine. The Coach gives Ivy a lot of critique during her practice, causing Ivy to feel as if she couldn't do anything right. Coach Gloria then calls for a break and tells Ivy that Olga won a Olympic gold medal on the balance beam. Ivy adds she also got a gold in floor and the Coach adds she helped her team win the gold. The Coach asks if Olga was the reason Ivy took gymnastics and Ivy nods yes. Ivy remembered watching Olga at the Olympics when Ivy was six, and she was mesmerized by the performance.

Ivy comments that Olga could do a backyard aerial somersaults with her eyes closed while she herself couldn't even stay on the balance beam. Coach Gloria tells Ivy Olga had to practice a lot before making her moves look easy. Coach Gloria tells Ivy she had talent, all she had to do was push back her fears. Ivy mentally repeats the word 'practice' to herself as she walked slowly to the water fountain. She then returns to the balance beam and practices her back walkover. Ivy thought she was improving when she heard Missy say "Look, there's Ivy!" Distracted, Ivy fell off the beam. Missy screams to her mom that Ivy fell off again and Ivy growls she was all right.

Mrs. Ling tells Ivy it was time to go home, but Ivy asks if she could practice for 10 more minutes. Looking tired, Mrs. Ling explains they were late and she still had to pick up dinner. Ivy thinks "Just my luck. Right when I'm getting better, I have to leave." Coach Gloria approaches Mrs. Ling, thanking her as she explained Ivy volunteered to bring her mother's almond cookies. Mrs. Ling looks surprised as she comments if she could even find the time. She glances at Ivy, who was holding up crossed fingers, and says she could make the cookies as she gives Ivy a weary smile.

Coach Gloria tells Ivy not to worry as Ivy will master the balance beam again and do great in the tournament. Ivy attempts to smile, wishing she could share her coach's confidence. Missy points out to her stuffed lion Roary sitting on the balance beam. The Coach and Mrs. Ling laugh, but Ivy thinks "Great. Roary can stay on the beam, so why can't I?"

Chapter Two: A New Twist

On a Saturday morning, Ivy is woken up by the bed shaking and she fears it was an earthquake for a second When she realizes it was just Missy jumping on her bed, Ivy asks her to stop. Missy says their om said Ivy had to get up now and get ready for Chinese school. Ivy grumbles as she gets out of bed and changes, wondering why she had to go to school on a Saturday. Andrew explains to ivy later on as they walk to Chinatown that their parents wanted them to suffer. Ivy asks what was the point of being forced to learn a language they'll never use and the two agree they would rather be training in their respective sports rather then learn Chinese.

They pass by the Lucky Five and Dime store and Ivy thinks how happy she was that Julie and Mr. Albright were picking her up after her lesson. Otherwise, Ivy would have to wait ages as her older brother would admire the store's Bruce Lee merchandise. Andre knocks on the Happy Panda's door and GungGung answer it, telling them to come in. Ivy thinks how she liked the restaurant the most when she and her brother would come over before Chinese school and before the restaurant opened to eat breakfast with their grandparents.

PoPo calls out Ivy and Andrew's names as she brings out their breakfast. As Ivy gets her breakfast, she thinks that although jook wasn't her first choice for breakfast, she enjoyed the time spent with her grandparents. PoPo asks Ivy to eat in the kitchen and keep her company and Ivy complies. When GungGung and Andrew enter with their empty bowls, Ivy asks if her grandparents needed help around the restaurant and volunteers her time after breakfast. GungGung says that Ivy asked that every Saturday and Popo explains school was a privilege some girls in China never got, thus there would be no skipping class. Andrew smirks and he tells his sister it was a nice try as they leave the restaurant and go to school.

At the school room, their teacher Mrs. Chan greets the class in Chinese and starts the lesson. Ivy struggles to stay awake at the lesson, thinking ow the Chinese language was very confusing. Ivy sighs and wonders if it would make any difference if she could speak or read Chinese when she was an American who lived in America. The class works on their writing until Mrs. Chan shuts off the lights and puts a dragon on the overhead projector. She tells the class about it's connection to the Chinese zodiac and Andrew begins to franticly wave his hand.

When called upon, he tells the class how he and Bruce Lee were both born in the year of the Dragon. Then he suddenly gets into a Kung-Fu stance and yells, waking up a boy in front of him. As the class laughed and Mrs. Chan scowled, Ivy thinks how her brother loved to be the enter of attention. She bets if he fell off the balance beam in a competition, he would bow to the crowd instead of running away. Ivy thinks "It's just my luck to have a brother like Andrew. Everything comes so easily to him."

When Mrs. Chan manages to calm the class down, the lesson was about to end. She announces an extra-credit assignment and Ivy pays attention, wanting to lift her so-so grade. Mrs. Chan explains it was a family history project where they had to collect family stories and if two siblings were doing the project, the other one could do a biography on a famous Chinese-American. Ivy slumps on her chair, thinking this was a complicated project to do along with her tournament. She considers doing the biography, but Andrew announces he would write about Bruce Lee. Mrs. Chang tells him he doesn't need the extra credit, but Andrew insists she would still do it, promoting groans from his classmates.

The lesson ends and Ivy exits, and she meets up with Julie and Mr. Albright. The girls go to Ghirardelli Square and look around at the chocolate Shop. Ivy looks into the barrel of broken chocolate slabs and picks up a big piece of chocolate that cost less than a quarter. Afterwards, Ivy and Julie ask if they could go to K&B's Groceries to pick up some items for Mrs. Ling. Mr. Albright asks if he should wait for then afterwards, but Ivy says they could walk to her house. The two get triple the ingredients they need for the cookies meant for the bake sale and walk back to Ivy's house. Inside, Andrew and Missy signal for the two to be quiet as Ivy and Julie notice Mrs. Ling asleep on her homework.

The girls giggle and Ivy suggests they could make the cookies themselves as Ivy has seen her mother make them many times. The girls mix in the ingredients based on assumption and after the cookies have been put in the oven, Julie realizes they forgot the almonds. Ivy opens the oven door, thinking they could still add the almonds in time, and screams. Mrs. Ling enters the kitchen almost instantly and asks what was the matter. Ivy cringes at her mom's reaction to the messy kitchen and the pan with the cookie dough run together in a blob and bubbling.

As Mrs. Ling carries the pan to the sink, Ivy apologizes and explains how they wanted to give her some time off by baking the cookies themselves. Mrs. ling says she was touched by the thought, but it was best to cook with n adult and Mrs. Ling says she'll cook them this time. Andrew enters the kitchen and asks what was in the pan. When Ivy tells him it was cookies, Andrew snorts and asks if they were using a Twilight Zone cookbook. The word 'cookbook' gives Ivy an idea and she asks her mom if they had her recipe written down, they could cook while Mrs. Ling studied. Mrs. Ling said she would study in the kitchen table so as to be there for the girls and Ivy and Julie agree to it.

The girls follow the recipe carefully and Ivy comments these batch of bookies look a lot better. After Ivy adds the almonds to the top of the bookies, she gets an idea. Ivy pulls out the chocolate she got from Ghirardelli and asks if she could put a piece next to each almond. Mrs. Ling says although it wasn't how the almond cookies were traditionally made, she lets them add it.

Later, when the last batch of cookies were done, Mrs. Ling tried a cookie as Ivy and Julie held their breath. Mrs. Ling says she was disappointed. "For years I have been known as the best Chinese almond cookie baker in North Beach. But today, I think I have been replaced. These are delicious!" The girls beam and Mrs. Ling compliments the addition of the chocolate, saying it was a great new twists. Ivy decides to name the new recipe 'Chinese Almond Twisters' in honor of her team name.

Andrew enters the kitchen and tries a cookie. He tells his mother these were her best batch yet, then he turns to Ivy and says she could never make cookies as good as these. The girls burst out laughing as Andrew asks what they were laughing about.

Chapter Three: Ivy's Dilemma

When Ivy goes back to the YMCA on Monday, Coach Gloria happily announces they raised enough money to have pizza for their after party. The team cheers and Ivy recalls how their Chinese Almond Twisters sold out almost instantly. During practice, Ivy does well on the floor, vault, and uneven exercises but doesn't do as well on the balance beam. Ivy thinks how if anyone saw her right now, she would look like a terrible beginner. Fearing she would only hurt the team if she messed up on the balance beams in the tournament, Ivy asks if the Coach could scratch her name off the beam for the tournament Coach Gloria frowns as she explains Ivy didn't participate in the balance beams last tournament and she wanted the entire team to compete in the all-around. Ivy looks at her hands as the Coach assures her she understood her worries, but that was all the more reason to try again. Ivy practices some more on the balance beam, but keeps slipping off.

When Ivy heads back home, she was still wound up with worry from her practice. When she sees the Chinese food, Ivy grips "Happy Panda again? I'm so tired of Chinese food." The entire family grows silent and Ivy turns around to see her grandparents walking towards the front door silently. Ivy immediately regrets her words and wishes she could take them back. No on says a scolding word and Ivy, with her face flushing, lowers her head and eats her meal in silence.

On Saturday morning, Andrew tells his sister to hurry up Ivy was dreading all week to going back to the Happy Panda. At the restaurant, Ivy's grandparents still greeted them both warmly and Ivy sees an egg custard tart, one of Ivy's favorite treats, next to her bowl of jook. Ivy felt ashamed, thinking how even after her awful words, her grandparents still treated her with kindness. Ivy forced herself to eat every bite and although she didn't say a word, Po Po didn't seem to notice.

After Chinese school, Ivy finds Julie waiting on her front steps. Julie suggests they walk around North Beach. Ivy is quiet during their walk and Julie asks what was wrong. Ivy says nothing, but Julie tells her she knew she was lying. Feeling too ashamed to tell the truth, Ivy instead tells Julie how she couldn't work on her Chinese project as her parents were too busy. Ivy thinks how this was true as she tried asking her parents questions all week to no avail. The girls walk until they see a crowd gathering around a frantic Asian woman. Everyone looked concerned, but nobody knew what she was saying. Ivy listens carefully and realizes she was talking in Chinese.

Ivy pushes through the crowd, saying she could help, and listens to what the woman was saying. She translates for the woman and says that her son was lost. Ivy gives the details and everyone looks until the boy is found The woman thanks the crowd and Ivy and Ivy translates her message. As Ivy and Julie continued their walk, they hear a man tell his wife how if Ivy hadn't been there, the boy might still had been lost. Julie nudges Ivy as she calls her a hero. Ivy felt warm inside and thinks how she couldn't wait to tell Mrs. Chan about the event.

That night at dinner, Ivy tells her family about the boy and everyone is impressed, even Andrew. Mr. Ling comments that Ivy and Andrew would have another chance to use their Chinese for the family reunion at the Happy Panda. Mrs. ling happily announces that both sides of the family would be coming over this year and she shares a smile with Mr. Ling. While Ivy was pleased to see her parents so happy, she wasn't sure how she felt about the family reunion.

She remembers how weird her aunt and uncles could be, recalling how her Great Uncle Henry always reenacted the moment he won a color TV on 'The Price is Right', and how her Great Auntie Lu would constantly remind everyone she was a acrobat in China and would show off her skills whenever someone showed interest. Ivy also recalls her annoyance at how everyone would fuss and fawn over Andrew. Ivy tells herself no one cared what crazy relatives thought, but she couldn't help but think she would get noticed herself if she did well at the tournament.

At the next gymnastics practice, Ivy worked extra hard on the balance beam. Ivy wasn't discouraged by her coach's critic and Ivy felt she was improving. After practice, as Ivy walked back home with her mom and Missy, Ivy felt cheerful until her mom and Missy walked into the Happy Panda. Mrs. Ling asks impatiently why Ivy was straggling and Ivy tells them to go ahead, faking interest in a window display. As soon as her mom and sister entered the restaurant, Ivy looked inside the window to see them hugging her grandparents. Filled with shame, Ivy turns away.

That night during dinner, Andrew announces he finished his paper on Bruce Lee. Ivy examines a piece of her rice, thinking how she didn't even start on her project. Mr. Ling tells the family Great Uncle Henry and Great Auntie Winnie got their bus tickets for Saturday. Ivy asks what for, wondering if her parents told them about the tournament and they were coming over to see it. Mr. Ling laughs and says it was for the reunion. Ivy is surprised and tells her father she had her tournament this Saturday. Mr. Ling tells Ivy she would just have to miss it, but Mrs. Ling tells him how much Ivy had been practicing for the tournament. The two start to argue as Ivy wishes she could disappear. Mrs. Ling then looks at Ivy and suggests that Ivy could make the final decision. She tells Ivy to give it some thought and to let them know when she made her choice. Ivy swallows and thinks how much easier it would have been if her parents made the decision for her.

On Tuesday at gymnastics practice, one of Ivy's teammates asks if Ivy was excited for the upcoming tournament and Ivy says es, unable to tell her she may not be able to go. Ivy was doing well at her practice that day and Ivy considers going to the tournament. "The team needs me, and I'm definitely improving. Plus there's the big pizza party afterwards." Just then, Ivy saw her grandparents and nearly lost her balance as she wondered what they were doing here. She approaches them to hear Coach Gloria tell them Ivy was a real asset to the team. Her grandparents were glowing with pride. Gung Gung sees Ivy and tells her she was coming with them. He assures her she had permission from her mother and Ivy wonders nervously what they were talking about.

As she followed her grandparents, Ivy wanted to apologize to them, but the words were stuck in her mouth. Ivy then couldn't hold it in anymore and she starts to cry. Po Po asks what was wrong and Ivy apologizes for saying she was sick of Chinese food. Po Po holds Ivy's hand as she tells her granddaughter she was just speaking her feelings. Gung Gung assures Ivy they loved her still, then tells her to stop blubbering as they were going somewhere special. Ivy hugs her grandparents and they go onto a tram.

Ivy asks where they were going, but Po Po just smiles mysteriously. They arrive to a restaurant called Frankie's Diner and they enter it. Ivy is confused as she sat in her seat. Her grandparents confide to Ivy that sometimes they got sick of eating or even seeing Chinese food. So every once in a while, they would go out to a far way restaurant, making sure none of their customers saw them. Gung Gung says tonight they were going to have good old American hamburgers. Without even looking at the menu, Ivy orders a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake and her grandparents order the same.

They soon talk about the reunion and Ivy's grandparents excitedly tell Ivy about their plans for the reunion. Ivy muses that maybe she should go to the reunion as it meant so much to the family. Just then, the waitress arrives with their food and Gung Gung asks Ivy to keep their restaurant outings a secret as he winks. Ivy promises as she winks back. She then lifted her milkshake and said "Here's to the family reunion, and to Chinese food, and to cheeseburgers - every now and then."

Chapter Four: Dragons Rule

Mrs. Ling asks if Ivy was completely sure and if she had thought it through. Ivy tells her parents she was sure, realizing how important the reunion was to her family after dinner with her grandparents. Mr. Ling says that was wonderful and mentions how everyone will be thrilled to see her. Ivy smiles back at her dad as he left. Once he was gone, Ivy was staring out the front door. Mrs. Ling asks if Ivy was alright and Ivy says yes, but mentions it was going to be hard to tell her Coach the news. Mrs. Ling offers to tell the news, but Ivy says she will do it herself.

The next day, Ivy took her time going to her practice. She lingered at the Lucky Five and Dime Shop and looks at a poster of Bruce Lee. She was impressed with this kung-fu form and Ivy could see why Andrew admired him so much. Ivy wonders if Bruce Lee would choose to go to the reunion or to the tournament if he was in her situation.

When Ivy finally arrives, Coach Gloria calls out after Ivy and says she was worried Ivy wasn't going to show up. Ivy asks if she could talk to her and Coach Gloria says yes. When Ivy hesitates, Coach Gloria correctly guesses that Ivy wanted to talk about the tournament. Ivy says "It's just that I don't think I can-" and Coach Gloria says she knew what Ivy was going to say and also says not worry about it. Ivy asks if she was sure, confused and wondering if her mom already told her Coach about the reunion. The Coach assures Ivy that although it was natural to worry, Ivy had really improved on the balance beam and the team was counting on her. Ivy tires to explain the truth, but Coach Gloria smiled encouragingly and Ivy just says she'll go to practice. Coach Gloria pats Ivy on the back and tells her "That's the spirit, Ivy!"

That night at dinner, Ivy is silent and Andrew asks if Ivy was even going to complain about the Chinese food. Mrs. Ling asks if Ivy is alright and Andrew guesses that Ivy was upset because she hadn't even started her family project. Ivy shook her head no and Mr. Ling asks if Ivy was bothered he didn't tell her anything about her relatives. Ivy shook her head again as she blurted out that her Coach still thought Ivy was going to the tournament since Ivy couldn't tell her. Ivy runs to her room before anyone can say a word and she cries into her pillow.

Ivy could hear her parents arguing weather Ivy should do as she said and go to the reunion, or go to the tournament. Ivy wishes she had never did gymnastics so her parents wouldn't fight like this. She wonders if Julie's house was like this before her parents got a divorce. The voices soon stop yelling and Ivy's parents if they could come into Ivy's room. Ivy says yes as she wipes her tears. Her parents enter and despite the lack of arguing, the air felt thick.

Mr. Ling tells Ivy if the tournament really meant that much to her, then she could go to it. Ivy notices her dad's eyes looked kind instead of angry and asks if he was sure. He says yes, and Ivy hugs him as she thanks him. Mr. Ling says that Ivy should thank her mother and comments she would make a fine lawyer one day. Ivy promises her mother that she would do her best and make her proud of her, but Mrs. Ling tells Ivy they were already proud of her.

On Thursday morning, as Ivy ate breakfast, she was thinking about the all-city tournament and how many people would be there. Andrew tells Ivy to bring home some trophies and ivy grows nervous. She glares at her brother and says she wasn't like him. Andrew asks what she meant and Ivy explains he was lucky. He had good grades, good kung-fu skills, and everyone loved him. Ivy found that her voice was rising when she said that Andrew had all the luck.

Andrew tells Ivy he worked hard for his grades and trophies, just like 'Little Dragon' Bruce Lee. He tells Ivy not to say all of his work was just luck. He tells Ivy that dragons made their own luck. Ivy groans and tells her brother to forget what she said. That afternoon, however, Ivy couldn't stop thinking what he said about making his own luck. Ivy wonders if there was some truth to that, but she thinks how she couldn't be a dragon like Andrew and Bruce Lee as they were fearless while she wasn't.

After practice, Ivy hangs out in the Happy Panda's kitchen. Po Po asks Ivy what was wrong, saying she could always see what was in her heart. ivy tells her worries that she might fall off the balance beam again and Gung Gung jokes it would be the end of the world if she did. Po Po tells Gung Gung to shush as she tells Ivy a story from when she first arrived to America.

She was asked at school to give a speech about America, but her English wasn't good and she was worried everyone would laugh. But Po Po loved her new country and decided she wasn't giving the speech to impress others, but rather she had something important to say. Ivy asks what happened and Po Po says she focused on her words and feelings instead of the audience. Ivy asks if she was afraid and Po Po says yes, though her belief in her speech gave her the courage. Gung Gung adds proudly that Po Po ended up getting a standing ovation and Po Po blushes. She confides to Ivy that a boy had helped her with her English. Gung Gung says she was the prettiest girl in Chinatown ad still was as he winked at Ivy. Po Po playfully brushes Gung Gung away and tells Ivy to have fun at the tournament as she could see that gymnastics was in Ivy's heart.

Chapter Five: The Big Day

On Saturday morning, Ivy dressed up for the tournament and walks around the house. Her entire family was working on decorations for the reunion and when Ivy offered her help, they tell her they're fine. Mr. Ling was looking at the guest list and Ivy peeked at it. Ivy had a small ache in her heart when she saw her name crossed off. The doorbell rings and Ivy answers it to see Julie and her dad waiting to take Ivy to the tournament.

Ivy grabs her gymnastics bag and before leaving, Mrs. Ling tells Ivy good luck. Mr. Ling tells Ivy to do her best, and Missy puts a red paper flower and something soft into Ivy's hand as she says it was for her. Ivy sees that her sister had given her Roary and Missy explains Ivy could borrow him and he could bring luck. Ivy thanks Missy and heads for the car. Andrew appears just as Ivy gets into the car and he gives her an envelope. He tells her not to open it until she got to the tournament and he leaves before Ivy could say anything.

Ivy soon arrives at the stadium and Julie gives her a quick hug before going to her seat. Ivy meets up with her team and prepares for her first event on the floor. Ivy does very well, getting in the lead in the floor category and Ivy then does her next event. Ivy does her best to get high scores and her routine flowed smoothly in each one. Then it's time for the balance beam and Ivy grows nervous, trying not to think what happened last time. She suddenly remembers Roary and she gives him a squeeze. Ivy thought about her sister instead of the incident, thus calming her down. She then pulls out Andrew's envelope and opens it. Ivy finds a picture of Andrew, Missy, and their parents holding up a sign with a dragon reading "Good Luck, Ivy!"

Ivy could hardly believe her brother made the sign, actually got both of their parents together, and took this picture just to give Ivy luck. Coach Gloria tells Ivy she was next. Ivy holds the picture to her heart before putting it away and walks out to the stage. She sees Julie waving from the audience and gives her a small nod. As Ivy begins her routine, she reminds herself this wasn't about the audience or the judges. It was just about herself and the balance beam.

Ivy does her routine and when she's nearly finished, she wonders if she would fall off again. She was beginning the back walkover and was worried she would slip when she remembers how Po Po told her gymnastics was in her heart. Ivy reminds herself that Dragons made their own luck and she had practiced this movie a million times. Ivy manages to perform the move correctly and she finishes her routine without falling off. When she goes to backstage, Coach Gloria hugs Ivy and tells her she knew Ivy could do it. Ivy tells her Coach she had help from a dragon.

At the awards ceremony, Ivy receives first place on the floor exercises and the Twisters overall get 2nd place. Her team celebrates and Ivy notices she was the only one who didn't have her family there. She looks at Andrew's picture and Missy's flower and thinks that maybe she didn't have to miss all of the reunion. Ivy taps Coach Gloria's shoulder and tells her she wouldn't be able to attend the pizza party as there was somewhere she needed to be.

Mr. Albright pulls over at Ivy's house and Ivy promises she wouldn't be long. She rushed inside and changed into her lucky Chinese dress.

As they stood in front of the Happy Panda, Ivy could hear voices from inside. She links arms with Julie and entered the restaurant, Mr. Alrbright following behind with Ivy's trophy and Roary. Andrew shouts that Ivy was here as soon as he sees her, and everyone cheers. Missy then notices Ivy's trophy and everyone cheered again. ivy's other grandparents and her mom ask about the tournament, but Po Po says they had to feed the gymnast and her guests first. Mr. Albright said it wasn't necessary as they were just dropping Ivy off, but Gung Gung insists he and Julie were like family.

The three eat and Julie tells Ivy she was lucky her grandparents owned a Chinese restaurant. Ivy says she knew that as she winks at Po Po. Later, Ivy greeted the rest of her family and everyone seemed pleased to see her, weather Ivy was holding her trophy or not. Ivy sees Great Uncle Henry and Missy talking and she figures Missy was trapped listening to how he won a color TV. Ivy overhears that he was telling Missy how he left China to go find gold in California. Ivy realizes this would be perfect for her project as she grabs a notebook and asked her other Aunts and uncles about their stories.

Ivy collects enough stories to write a dozen family history papers and she is impressed by their stories. Ivy asks her Great Aunt Lu if she liked being an acrobat in China and she says yes. She hesitates before asking if Ivy would like to see her perform. Her aunt beams when Ivy says she would love to, and she shows off her skills with a chopstick and a plate.

Julie approached Ivy with a plate of Chinese Almond Twisters, explaining how Ivy's grandmother made them for Ivy after Mrs. Ling gave them the recipe. The girls eat the cookies as they survey the room. Missy was delighted to see Great Aunt Lu juggle teacups, Great Uncle Henry was telling Mr. Albright how he won a color T.V., and Andrew was pretending to be a dragon as he chased his cousins. Ivy also saw her parents sitting in the corner together, gazing happily around the room.

Julie tells Ivy it must be nice to be part of a big family. Ivy smiles and says "It's wonderful! I had no idea how lucky I am!"

Looking Back: Chinese Americans

Discusses the history of Chinese Americans. Topics include:

The first Chinese immigrants who came to America because of the California Gold Rush
Chinese immigrants' contributions to constructing the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s
Formation of Chinatowns in major cities and daily life
Racial prejudice against the Chinese
How the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco benefited Chinese Californians
How the 1965 Immigration Act allowed more Chinese to immigrate to America
Famous Chinese Americans such as Bruce Lee

Items associated with Good Luck, Ivy

Ivy's New Year Outfit

References

↑ It is mentioned in Chapter 1 five months have passed since Ivy had worn her New Year Outfit during the events of Happy New Year, Julie!, which was back in January.

[1] It is mentioned in Chapter 1 five months have passed since Ivy had worn her New Year Outfit during the events of Happy New Year, Julie!, which was back in January.

[1]