skygiants

*slow blinks* that sure is...a lot!

They are about to be the first skaters from Not China ever to attend the school -- Not Taiwan has a major advantage in Ice Skating Based Martial Arts because they possess the secret of a building material that's Perfect for Ice Skating and never melts, so they can practice all year long
so...metaphor for the semiconductor industry, got it.

people are constantly referring to the historical event of Not!China's Great Leap. Peasprout Does Not Want To Talk About the Great Leap. It turns out this was a literal leap in which several hundred people were all planning to jump at the same time to redirect an earthquake towards Not Taiwan
WHUT

this whole book sounds wild, but alas the way you describe Peasprout's personality sounds exactly I would find it very frustrating to read about her making bad decision after bad decision, and not in a fun way.