Millie Mak is back in the final instalment of this series for younger independent readers who enjoy contemporary realistic fiction that reflects both their lives and their relationships.
Now she has settled into her new life in a new school, her family having moved to a new neighbourhood to be closer to her mother’s parents, and made new friends, each as individual as she is yet sharing a love for creating, particularly with fabric, the Fru-Gals are trying to start their own online business. But, even though it’s school holidays, it’s tricky when you have to take care of younger siblings who seem intent on squabbling all the time. But a chance encounter with a family who are on a temporary visit to town shows them that not only can you have fun with your brothers and sisters but you can have your own adventures too, and the girls discover the magic of dyeing plain fabric with natural materials and then creating something really special with the squares.
In the second story, Veesa is caught in a dilemma. While the Fru-Gals pride themselves on recycling, repurposing and upcycling, Veesa’s mother earns her living by sewing “fast fashion” – cheap, mass-produced clothing which replicates current trends, encouraging frequent purchasing and discarding of items due to their low cost and rapid obsolescence – and this is in direct contrast to what the Fru-Gals believe, particularly the impact on the environment. Not only does the issue give Veesa food for thought, but it could spark conversations amongst the readers.
As usual, each story is followed by instructions to make some of the things that the girls do, encouraging both creativity and problem-solving as well as trying something new.
In this series, Alice Pung nails the issues of young girls straddling being the “little girl” and the one finding her identity as independence and the double-digit years loom, complicated by the physical differences and expectations as puberty kicks in. Millie expresses a lot of those inner thoughts and concerns that most have while trying to negotiate the ups and downs of relationships that involve others with similar insecurities, particularly those who might not as confident in standing up for themselves, but by realising that their feelings are not unique, might gain the courage to keep following their own path. But one of its strengths is that from that shy, new-girl-in-school, Millie has grown and matured – as have her friends, each having found their niche in both the group and the community – just as the regular readers will also have developed.
Interestingly, when I reviewed Millie Mak the Maker in 2023, my friend had just offered school-holiday sewing classes for young children and had been swamped by the response; and once again, she is finding the same thing. There is definitely an interest in these traditional crafts and a demand for those who can pass them on. Who knows where this series might take the reader…
Millie Mak is back in the final instalment of this series for younger independent readers who enjoy contemporary realistic fiction that reflects both their lives and their relationships. 
