American Born Chinese

This book is great for reluctant readers and combines humor with the seriousness of embracing our existence.

Given the book's popularity, I was expecting something a bit more meaningful. This book isn't for adults. There are books which call themselves children's books or young-teen's books, but aim to enlighten all ages(ex: The Little Prince). This isn't one of those books. Adults, and probably older teens, will be put off at some of the crudeness and lack of realism in the overall story. Neither the book nor the author is to blame however, as the book is written specifically for older children and young teens, who, accustomed to reading older literature, will definitely get a kick out of this book's obvious relevance.

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel that cleverly takes readers through a journey that combines three storylines and three characters into one idea. The stories merge into a single narrative that looks at stereotype, immigration, and assimilation. The graphic novel interweaves Chinese mythology with the American Dream. Students are sure to enjoy the images and text through the quick moving stories. Teachers will find the book surprisingly useful as a springboard for discussions about discrimination, tolerance, stereotyping and immigration.

"American Born Chinese"
by Gene Luen Yang
(First Second Books, 2006)
----------------------------------------
This deft, fast-moving, semiautobiographical graphic novel is a multi-layered memoir in which an American-born Chinese man (Gene Luen Yang) examines his childhood past as an Asian student in a white-dominated suburban school, bringing remarkable honesty and clarity to his inner struggles as he attempts to find himself and to assimilate. These goals are often at odds, and bookending the grade-school narrative is an enchanting retelling of the Chinese myth of the Monkey King (a symbol of potency and recklessness) and a parallel storyline about "Chin-Kee," a vicious amalgamation of centuries-old racial caricatures. The Chin-Kee character is both disturbing and laughable... Chin-Kee looks and talks funny -- buck-toothed, small, dressed a cartoonish "Asian" outfit, transposing his Ls and Rs, bowing low while lusting after "pletty" white women. That these stereotypes could persist to the current day is as surprising as the power they still hold. The Chin-Kee plotline is framed as a television sitcom (eerily similar to the CW's "Aliens In America") where an embarrassing Asian relative visits his white American cousin Danny and even attends his school, which shames the cousin and crushes his social life. It isn't until the end of the book, when Yang merges the three stories, that we realize that it is Danny who the narrator sees as an alter-ego, not Chin-Kee. Although this book has a strong sense of humor, Yang's exploration of ethnic identity, social pressure and self-loathing is powerful and rings true. He explores deep themes without hitting us over the head with a hammer -- this would be a great book to use in a classroom setting, and is sure to provoke good strong discussions. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Gene Luen Yang's colorfully illustrated graphic novel weaves three distinct stories together depicting his experiences growing up Asian American. The first stars the Monkey King, folk hero of Chinese legend; the second recounts the struggles of a Chinese-American boy trying to fit into a predominantly white suburb; and the third is a sit-com starring everybody's favorite racial stereotype, Cousin Chin-Kee.

Tweens, teens and adults will enjoy the book on different levels. I asked a thirteen-year-old boy to read it and give me his opinion. He thought it was interesting and funny. The plots were easy to follow, however, he did not perceive any deep spiritual message in it. I enjoyed reading it also and could appreciate the plot twists and how the author took a traditional Chinese tale and stories from the Bible and made them his own. A great book to start spiritual discussions from.

This book has won multiple awards including the Michael A. Printz Award, Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year, and was a National Book Award finalist in 2006.