Laura Gao

Loved this -- doesn't pull punches, tells a great story, really lets the reader in. Laura Yuyang Gao talks about growing up as an immigrant, with immigrant parents. About the different flavors of racism that affect Asian Americans, including the internalized. About being queer. She captures so many painful and realistic parts of growing up -- from the mistakes to the annoying to the nostalgic, to the choices teens make when they are trying to figure out who they are. The art is fabulous, and show more the timeliness of talking about anti-Asian hate as spawned by the Covid-19 epidemic hits especially hard. show less

In Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Whuanese American, Laura Gao tells the story of her experience immigrating to the U.S. as a young child to follow her parents, who preceded her in immigrating for employment opportunities. Having spent her first few years in her grandparents’ care, she didn’t recognize her parents and felt a sense of displacement at moving to Texas. Gao describes her feelings of conflict as she sought to fit in while her parents had their own goals for her as the show more eldest daughter of immigrants. No one in the U.S. knew of Wuhan when she was young, but that changed after college.

Gao’s story is an American story of identity formation in a land of immigrants, though it also reveals the extra structural barriers that face immigrants. She discusses her conflicted feelings of identity as she tried to balance her heritage, her new home, and figure out who she was within both. Gao’s art brilliantly illustrates her story, using expressions and color to bring her memoir to vivid life. A great read that’s all too relevant given the rise of anti-Asian racism since the pandemic. show less

I have never met a "staff recs" section in a bookstore like the one at Hooked. Enough books I have read and loved (some of which fall far from the beaten path) to fill my heart with trust, and then always somehow a handful of I DID NOT KNOW THIS BOOK EXISTED UNTIL THIS SECOND BUT NOW I NEED IT IMMEDIATELY. Like this one.

Listen, I don't now when Asian-Amereican immigration stories became a thing for me, but here we clearly are. Plus it's a graphic novel! And it's queer! And it grapples with show more the anti-Asian hate that rose during the pandemic.

I loved the energy in Gao's art, and I loved the honesty and humor in this. Given the subject matter, I think this finds an ultimately uplifting balance between the fear and the joy, and I'm impressed at how quickly such a timely book was brought to press.

I hope this book finds many, many readers. show less

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Content warning for homophobia and allusions to rape.)

-- 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 where necessary --

When a rather spectacular fall sidelines high school sophomore Kirby Tan, she's forced to choose an extracurricular other than rock climbing to pad her college applications. Since her English grades are in the toilet, Kirby's high school counselor convinces her to join the high school newspaper. An already challenging show more placement strains the "Queen of Balance's" patience when she's paired with Beatrix "Bex" Santos. Kirby's mission, should she choose to accept (or even embrace) it? Help this astrology-loving, tarot card-reading, out and proud, queer hippie chick catapult her "Ask the Universe" advice column onto the screens of every kid at Lowell High.

Only Kirby doesn't believe in the stars, or possibly even love. Not since her baba died, way too young. Not since her mom joined a conservative Christian church in order to fill the void. And certainly not since her beloved yeye had a stroke - right after Kirby came out to her family.

I was really worried that I wouldn't enjoy KIRBY'S LESSONS FOR FALLING (IN LOVE). Bex's intro is over-the-top dramatic and I didn't really care for her initially. But she grew on me rather quickly, much as she did with Kirby. Kirby and Bex make a cute pair, and watching their friendship evolve - and then deepen - was pretty lovely. Best friends Eric and Astrid round out the friend group, and both characters are well developed. I especially loved (in a bittersweet way) the backstory of how Astrid and Bex met (in detention, natch). show less