Review (Becky): American Born Chinese

Title: American Born Chinese Author: Gene Luen Yang Pages: 240 Audience: Middle Grade Genre: Fantasy (graphic novel) Rating: 3 I'd friend this book on facebook 

Goodreads Summary

A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.

My Thoughts
I liked the moral here of accepting yourself and cherishing your roots rather than forcing yourself to be what you think other people want. I also liked the colorful, cartoon-style illustrations. The eventual entwining of the original separate story-lines was interesting, but I didn't really care for the fantasy element. I think the story would have been more powerful if the myth was kept symbolic and the realistic story-line remained believable.  This would be a good classroom read to teach about diversity, bullying, other cultures, myths etc.

FTC Disclaimer

All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.