American Born Chinese

An interesting story that starts off being told in three separate parts before coming together at the end in a tale of being who you should be and on having friendships with others.

In one tale, Jin Wang is one of a few Asian-Americans in a school and gets picked on by other non-Asian students, as well as facing racist stereotypes. He eventually makes a good friend, another Asian student, and even gets involved in a relationship with a classmate. The another is the story of the Monkey King, who gets picked on by the other celestials for being a monkey. The third is about Danny, who has to suffer the agony of a visit from his very stereotyped cousin, Chin-Kee.

All three tales collide at the end when Danny lashes back at Chin-Kee, revealing the connection between the three tales and what Danny has to do to try to put things right.

So, an interesting story about being an out-of-place teen (as well as a Monkey King) going through relationship emotions and also low-level bullying, before learning acceptance and finding their way among peers.

Here is what I wrote about it in my blog:

"This was a book recommended by one of my colleagues, so I knew it would probably be good. It was great. It contains three seemingly unrelated stories: the story of Jin Wang, who just wants to fit in at school when his parents move into a new neighborhood; the story of Danny and his very Chinese cousin Chin Kee; and the story of the Monkey King. At first, the book seems to be a set of separate stories, but as one reads, the connection becomes apparent. The book does have some very funny moments too, and there are some lessons here and there as well. And when you get to the end, you just don't quite want it to end. A pleasure to read, and a fast read as well. I highly recommend this one."

I borrowed this one from the UHD Library.

The rest of the blog post is at:
[http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/06/short-booknotes-on-graphic-novels-14.html]