Book 21: American Born Chinese

American Born ChineseTITLE: American Born Chinese
AUTHOR: Gne Luen Yang
STARTED: April 9, 2011
FINISHED: April 9, 2011
PAGES: 240
GENRE: Graphic Novel

FIRST SENTENCE: One bright and starry night, the gods, the goddesses, the demons, and the spirits gathered in heaven for a dinner party.

SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com] As alienated kids go, Jin Wang is fairly run-of-the-mill: he eats lunch by himself in a corner of the schoolyard, gets picked on by bullies and jocks and develops a sweat-inducing crush on a pretty classmate. And, oh, yes, his parents are from Taiwan. This much-anticipated, affecting story about growing up different is more than just the story of a Chinese-American childhood; it's a fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they could escape. The fable is filtered through some very specific cultural icons: the much-beloved Monkey King, a figure familiar to Chinese kids the world over, and a buck-toothed amalgamation of racist stereotypes named Chin-Kee. Jin's hopes and humiliations might be mirrored in Chin-Kee's destructive glee or the Monkey King's struggle to come to terms with himself, but each character's expressions and actions are always perfectly familiar. True to its origin as a Web comic, this story's clear, concise lines and expert coloring are deceptively simple yet expressive. Even when Yang slips in an occasional Chinese ideogram or myth, the sentiments he's depicting need no translation. Yang accomplishes the remarkable feat of practicing what he preaches with this book: accept who you are and you'll already have reached out to others.

THOUGHTS: This book was bright, funny, and entertaining. The perfect book to break up the drama that was the morning of my read-a-thon. The art was bold, dynamic, and very enjoyable (see an example here) and the story was entertaining while still retaining a life lesson that did not hit you over the head.

Many graphic novels are all story and no fun (or vice versa). This book is a heck of a lot of fun and you don't get the full impact of the plot until the finals pages. Well done, Mr. Yang, well done indeed. I like the lesson you tell and how you tell it.

I had no idea what to expect when I selected this book. I needed another graphic novel and this was the first one I came across. Twas a charming read and I'm glad it landed in my pile.

RATING: 7/10 [Very Good]

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