|
Loading... American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendations
Loading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This book contains three interweaved tales: the first is a fable of monkey who wants to be a deity; the second is about a young Chinese-American boy trying to fit in at a new all-white school; and the third is an Americanized adolescent whose attempts to fit in at various all-American high schools are thwarted by visits from him cousin from China who embodies all the negative stereotypes associated with Chinese immigrants. All three stories discuss issues of identity and being true to one’s self. The clever intertwining of these stories, together with the vivid illustrations, serves as a good reminder of this important lesson. Despite its length, it’s a quick read as it quickly draws the reader into these three stories. There was a little too much religious overtone for me, but otherwise I would recommend this book. (  ) sweetiegherkin | Dec 26, 2009 |  I love graphic memoirs, and American Born Chinese reads like a graphic memoir, even thought it is considered fiction. I don't doubt that Yang put a lot of himself into it. Yang weaves together three seemingly separate and unrelated tales--a contemporary chinese american high schooler, an ugly asian stereotype and a famouse chinese legend, The Monkey King together with universal YA issues of identity and teen angst and comes up with one great graphic novel. Award winner and quick, quirky read-- i loved it and recommend it to all. ( ) bplma | Dec 16, 2009 | Intertwined stories of a Chinese American boy and his struggles to overcome both family strictures and schoolmates' prejudice; the monkey king who works to become the equal of the gods only to find one God he cannot better; and a teenage boy embarrassed by the annual visit of his stereotypical Chinese cousin. As in "The Eternal Smile," Gene Luen Yang uses the combination of image and text masterfully, distilling story and emotions into a form easily read and understood but rich in content. ( ) wortklauberlein | Dec 11, 2009 | This is a great graphic novel, with a variety of levels or layers of complexity, and can be read enjoyably at any of these levels. It deals with issues of race and belonging partially by relating it to mythology, and without pushing a hasty moral at the close of the novel. ( ) milkyfangs | Nov 23, 2009 | Some books try hard to describe the importance of knowing oneself. Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel does more than illustrate the importance of knowing oneself, it provides a richly textured, aesthetically pleasing story that follows the paths of three characters as they journey to self-understanding. At once a novel that illustrates the harmful tendencies of racial bigotry, but also a novel that explores the role of individual in a misunderstood ethnic society. It is not difficult to see why Yang won the prestigious Micheal L. Printz award for this clever story. This title is currently available in our library. Happy Reading! ( )2  SturgisPublicLibrary | Nov 3, 2009 | 
 School Library Journal Review Starred Review. Gr 7 Up Graphic novels that focus on nonwhite characters are exceedingly rare in American comics. Enter American Born Chinese, a well-crafted work that aptly explores issues of self-image, cultural identity, transformation, and self-acceptance. In a series of three linked tales, the central characters are introduced: Jin Wang, a teen who meets with ridicule and social isolation when his family moves from San Francisco s Chinatown to an exclusively white suburb; Danny, a popular blond, blue-eyed high school jock whose social status is jeopardized when his goofy, embarrassing Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, enrolls at his high school; and the Monkey King who, unsatisfied with his current sovereign, desperately longs to be elevated to the status of a god. Their stories converge into a satisfying coming-of-age novel that aptly blends traditional Chinese fables and legends with bathroom humor, action figures, and playground politics. Yang s crisp line drawings, linear panel arrangement, and muted colors provide a strong visual complement to the textual narrative. Like Toni Morrison s The Bluest Eye and Laurence Yep s Dragonwings, this novel explores the impact of the American dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama. Philip Charles Crawford, Essex High School, Essex Junction, VT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information
References to this work on external resources.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book description |
|
Yang skillfully weaves these affecting, often humorous stories together to create a masterful commentary about race, identity, and self-acceptance that has earned him a spot as a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People. The artwork, rendered in a chromatically cool palette, is crisp and clear, with clean white space around center panels that sharply focuses the reader's attention in on Yang's achingly familiar characters. There isn't an adolescent alive who won't be able to relate to Jin's wish to be someone other than who he is, and his gradual realization that there is no better feeling than being comfortable in your own skin.--Jennifer Hubert
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:02 -0400)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
Quick Links |
Wikipedia in English
