AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Luen Yang

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Yang, Gene Luen. 2006. American Born Chinese. St. Louis: Turtleback Books. ISBN 9781417754496

American Born Chinese is a groundbreaking graphic novel made up of three different storylines. The first part revolves around Jin Wang who is the son of Chinese immigrants. Jin's family moves to a new neighborhood where he is the only Chinese American student in his school. He desperately wants to fit it, but is constantly picked on and bullied by the other students. The second part depicts an old Chinese folktale about a very powerful and well liked monkey king who aspires to be a “Great Sage, Equal of Heaven.” The monkey king is eventually told that he will never be happy if he cannot accept himself for what he is. The third part centers on Danny and his cousin Chin-kee. Danny is a very popular, well liked student at his school. While his cousin Chin-kee embodies the characteristics of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype. When Chin-kee comes to visit every year, Danny feels embarrassed and ashamed of his heritage and feels as though his cousin is ruining his life. At the end of the graphic novel, all three of these storylines are cleverly intertwined.

This work clearly belongs in the young adult genre and would appeal to high school aged readers. It has all of the elements of teen literature including the themes of acceptance, romance, and searching for identity, all with an optimistic ending. VOYA summarizes, "this graphic novel could be especially cathartic for teens and adults of Asian descent, but people of any ethnicity would find themselves reflected in the universal themes of self-acceptance, peer pressure, and racial tensions." The format of the graphic novel is visually clean, simple, and interesting. Publishers Weekly explains, "true to its origin as a Web comic, this story's clear, concise lines and expert coloring are deceptively simple yet expressive." The emotions of the characters are very clearly conveyed in the illustrations, more effectively than they would be in a traditional novel. 

American Born Chinese is the first graphic novel to win the Michael L. Printz Honor Award in 2007 along with a National Book Award nomination in 2006.

This book can be successfully used as a supplement to classroom discussions about identity, assimilation, and stereotypes about the Asian experience or other cultures in general. 

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed December 14, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/