Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American

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 the timeliness of talking about anti-Asian hate as spawned by the Covid-19 epidemic hits especially hard.

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 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 show more 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 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 show more at how quickly such a timely book was brought to press.

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

Loved this. Laura Gao, born in Wuhan, lived in Texas, San Francisco - her difficulties with self-discovery and her biases. We watch Laura transform as she grapples with life - from her early childhood years through college and slightly beyond. Brings up pandemic and how she had finally found her true home only to discover the prejudice against Asians - and especially those from Wuhan.

Laura Gao moved from Wuhan to Texas as a child and experienced drastic displacement and alienation as a minority in her small town. She soon gets a baby brother, and eventually they figure out how to team up, but the larger theme of the story is Laura figuring out her identity as a Chinese-American lesbian. Young Laura desperately wants to fit in, but doesn't feel acceptance in her majority-white school. The occasional trip back to China provides the opportunity to renew her bond with her cousins and practice the language. College at Penn provides a tremendous learning experience, in and out of the classroom, and living in San Francisco after college is a revelation. But when the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, Laura sees and feels show more the impact of anti-Asian hate.

The style is visually lively, with lots of artistic and video game references ("unlocked," "level up"). English is in black text, Chinese (translated into English or not) in blue.

See also: Kelly Yang, Thanhhai Lai, Ellen Oh, Lisa Yee

Quotes

I barely knew how to pronounce "Texas," let alone call it my home. Wuhan was more foreign than Mars here. I wished we'd never moved so that I wouldn't have to explain myself. (18)

DISS: Deception for Immigrant Sibling Solidarity (22)

Wuhanese 101 (p. 101)

"Do you miss it?"
"Yeah...I do. But things change. That's just how it is." (Laura and her dad, 109)

Finally, I could explore whatever I wanted without my friends, family, or faith in the way. Moving across the country [to Penn] gave me the perfect blank canvas. (167)

After being spoiled by how accepting San Francisco had been, I'd forgotten how easily people could turn when they're afraid. (232)

..I was scared to think that the place we all called home could change in a heartbeat. (265) show less

A breezy, energetic, and pleasing autobiography of a Chinese American immigrant. Laura Gao has a fairly interesting life and has a lot to say about it; I only wish she had slowed down to delve a bit more into a few of the many issues raised: racism, assimilation, COVID, LGBTQ+, and generation gaps. As it is, she races past intriguing moments and big ideas, barely letting family and friends poke their heads in.

I do look forward to seeing what she does next.

(In the realm of fun coincidences, this is the second -- and much better -- book I've read this week about Asian American school girls playing basketball. The first was Bounce Backby Misako Rocks!)

A diverse coming of age story that captures the in-betweenness of being an Asian immigrant and all its humor, frustrations, and complexities. Laura's story moves from being a toddler surrounded by family in Wuhan, to moving to America with her parents at age 4, and coming up in the school system through college graduation and queer young adulthood. Contemporary readers will appreciate Laura's various intersections and her journey of figuring it all out.