American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Review by Lauren
Source: copy from library; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently
unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his
family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at
his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest
and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the
ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s
life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with
an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.
Review: Reading the above summary and seeing this book stated as a fable, American Born Chinese makes a little more sense to me. I do have to admit though, that I finished this book mostly thinking “what?” I liked Jin Wang and how it’s tough for him to be the only Chinese-American student at his school. I was even okay with the Monkey King because I’ve read other books by Gene Luen Yang, and it seems like a normal aspect of his work. Overall though, this book was a bit too strange for my liking. There is a twist at the end that was interesting…but I’m not entirely sure I could reconcile the twist with the rest of the book. It just didn’t really make sense to me.
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I read this book for my YA Literature Course – we had to choose a Printz Award winning book and I’d been curious about this graphic novel, so I thought I’d try it out! In the end, I’m happy to have given this a chance but I’ll stick to other works by this author.
Glad you gave this a chance but sorry it didn't quite work out for you. Nothing worse than wondering what in the heck just happened and what in the world did you just read. 😛
Sorry that in the end the book was quite strange for you.
It does sound intriguing – shame it was just a little too strange for you. Thank you so much for coming to visit my Saturday post 🙂
Oh, bummer. It sounded promising, at least, shame it was a bit too weird for you (though totally get it) and was interested in that twist until it felt random. 🙁 Hope your next pick is better! 😀
Oh, I can't stand when you finish a book with that question in mind – it makes you feel, a bit, as if you've wasted your time. :/
xx
Haven't heard of this one but soery to hear it wasn't all you'd hoped
I've read a couple of books that left me like that…I don't know if I missed something or what.
I hate when you get to the end and it doesnt' make sense. Those type of reads drive me nuts!
Hmm, this had so much potential, what with the cultural diversity and all, and the graphic part seems nicely done, but I'm sorry it didn't work and I'm curious about that odd twist.
Lovely review!
That's too bad that it was a little too strange. I'm not a graphic reader but I know what you mean. Hopefully the next one is more up your alley!
I have this on my wish list. I didn't know it was a graphic novel.
I've always wanted to try different sorts of reads, and this book does sound interesting, I am intrigued about the twist at the end. I'm sorry you weren't able to enjoy this one more. But great review! 🙂
Alas I can't say I'm tempted by this. I've never read a graphic novel before and I'm not at all convinced this is the one with which to start.
My daughter read this and thought the same thing you did.
I really loved Boxers & Saints by Gene, and I've been wanting to go back and read this one. It does sound a bit strange, but I'll probably still give it a go. Great review!
I'm curious to know if it actually reads like a comic book? Also, is it a children's book? My eldest is currently learning about the California Gold Rush and the commencement of Chinese immigrants in America. This would be a fun read I think 🙂
The summary sounds interesting, so it's too bad the book didn't deliver.
Bummer about it not making complete sense, maybe you need to read the fable first?
I think I have this book (or another by Gene) on my to-read list. Have always been very interested in Asian-american literature. I might, like you advise, start with another of his books first …