Richie's Picks: AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Luen Yang, First Second, September 2006, ISBN: 1-59643-152-0

"I fear the monkey in your soul."
--Steely Dan

A surprising interweaving of Chinese myth and legend, prejudice and self-acceptance, and the coming of age of a first generation American-born boy of Chinese descent, make AMERICAN BORN CHINESE an exceptionally entertaining and thought-provoking graphic novel.

More than halfway though reading the vividly illustrated story, I still had no idea how the three distinct and alternating tales that make up the book were going to eventually come together as promised on the flap copy.

"I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released."
--Bob Dylan

One of the three threads involves the Monkey King, who wants to be a god and literally gets himself buried in trouble. Another is the story of Jin Wang, whose previously blissful childhood, spent in San Francisco's Chinatown, is transformed when his family moves to a very different community and Jin starts attending Mayflower Elementary School. The third thread is about Danny, a popular (and non-Asian) basketball player whose school life is annually disrupted by the arrival of his cousin Chin-Kee, who physical characteristics, dress, and mannerisms epitomize the extremes of Chinese stereotyping.
I cannot imagine a reader not being sucked into this one after the scene in which Jin gets his first hit of Mayflower Elementary. The teacher introduces him as Jing Jang (instead of Jin Wang), tells her students that he moved from China (instead of Chinatown), and then when one of the kids immediately raises his hand to tell the class that 'Momma says Chinese people eat dogs," the teacher responds, "Now be nice, Timmy! I'm sure Jin doesn't do that! In fact, Jin's family probably stopped that sort of thing as soon as they came to the United States."

I've never gotten to do a graphic novel read aloud. Now I can't wait to figure out how to make it happen. I can easily imagine assigning parts to students each day and doing AMERICAN BORN CHINESE as readers theater. (All I need now is a way to scam a class set.)

In any case, this is a graphic novel that belongs in every middle school collection.

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com ( )

Summary: Jin Wang moves to a new school where he’s the only other Asian kid. He eats lunch alone and has no real friends. Will he ever be like the other kids?

Review: This is the first graphic novel I’ve ever read. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I think that’s more to do with me getting used to a new story medium than with this specific story.

The message of this book—to accept yourself—is universal, and the artwork is crisp and vibrant. And I enjoyed how the three different storylines come together in the end.

But I would like to try reading more graphic novels to see if I can get into the format. ( )

American Born Chinese began as a web comic and has become an award winning graphic novel. At first it seems that are three separate stories going on. First, the well known legend of the Monkey King. Unsatisfied with his position as most powerful monkey, he aspires to be as great or greater than the gods. Second, we have Jin Wang's struggle to fit into his predominantly white suburban school. Third, we have the all-American boy Danny, whose Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee visits annually, often resulting in Danny having the switch schools. Chin-Kee is the embodiment of every Chinese stereotype, followed around by his own laugh-track. Yang brilliantly combines all three stories for a surprising climax and hopeful ending. The art is simple, but appealing and conveys the story well. American Born Chinese is an unique and amazing approach to telling a story about a teenager's struggle with identity when faced with stereotypes and internalized racism. ( )

Gene Yang has said he based this novel on his own experience in a predominantly white, priviledged school in California when he was growing up. Although yang is now an adult, he beautifully captures feelings and insecurities of adolescence. Yangs, colorful illustrations and writing style are humorous, bold, and touching at the same time. Although the graphic novel genre and simplicity and sparing text may seem for younger readers, older teens and adults will enjoy the sophistication of Yang's interwoven plotlines.

A graphic novel with many different stories blending together to tell a single story about a Chinese boy and his struggles to fit in American society. This story can be a little bit hard to follow at times but definitely gives a good insight into what it can feel like to come from another culture and live in the United States. ( )