American Born Chinese

Title: American Born Chinese

Author: Gene Luen Yank

Published: Sep 2006

ISBN: 9781596431522

Pages: 233

Price: 9.99

Reading Level: 3rd grade

Interest Level: 7th-12th grade

Genre: graphic novel, fiction

Awards: Printz Award, National Book Award Nominee, ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults. 

Plot Summary: The comic has 3 story lines, one of a monkey king who wants to take work his way up to the gods, Jin Wang who moves to a new neighborhood and is the only Chinese-American student and Chin-kee who is the embodiment of Chinese stereotypes and is ruining his cousins life by embarrassing him at school. The stories go back and forth with no real connection other than they all deal with some part of Chinese culture. While the stories seem unrelated they are far more related then believed at the beginning.

Critical Review: Often times graphic novels don't have a serious meaning but American Born Chinese focuses on issues of identity and culture. It explores how complex being different can be, especially when it comes to race and ethnicity. It really explores issues of stereotypes and how our culture and race influence how we see ourselves and others in society. I enjoyed how the three separate story lines came together in the end and create one cohesive story built upon the three story lines. The artwork is also wonderful with bright bold drawings. Also each story line has a different feel. The monkey king is a myth while Jin Wang is a straight forward realistic story line and then Chin-kee is presented as a tv comedy with the audience laughing at his stereotypical behavior. It was a short read with some complex themes.

Reading Annotation: An action filled modern Fable the story includes three separate story lines that culminate to create a unique twist ending.

Bibliotheraputic Usefulness: This story will have big appeal to teens who deal with racism or stereotypes. It focuses on culture identity and many teens can relate to that struggle. It also shows how stereotypes can be hurtful and wrong. 

Main Themes: racism, identity, culture

Book Talking Ideas: The story centers around trying to fit in and stereotypes, those would be good themes to focus on for the book talk.

Issues: The story contains racial stereotypes about the Chinese community which some may find offensive. 

Author Website: http://geneyang.com/

Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly

Why include this book? This book is a perfect example on how graphic novels can tackle complex issues.