Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - American Born Chinese

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

29 reviews

ashar_allaire's review

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I finished this book and immediately started from the beginning to re-read it. It's one of those books that comes together so well at the end that you have to go back with the full context, but I LOVE that. It becomes more powerful the second time through. This has stayed on my mind since I finished it and it's something I think is so important and raw. I like that it never talks down to young people and it doesn't shy away from the complex and difficult topics it covers, while navigating them in a clear and understandable way. 5 stars.

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booktavernkeep's review

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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swordjas's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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bookishcb_21's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This graphic novel has been on my TBR list for some time now (after having read “Dragon Hoops” a few years ago) and I’m so happy to have finally picked it up! It will be a Disney+ series this year, so I was thinking this was the right time to pick it up. It follows 3 separate storylines, starting with Jin Wang - he moves to a new neighborhood and is having a hard time fitting in at school/making friends. He does eventually develop a crush on a fellow classmate, but doesn’t know how to approach the situation. The other two storylines eventually start to make sense as the story continues, but I wouldn’t want to give too much away. If you want to find out, you need to pick up this graphic novel for yourself! 📚 I will say the ending was very good, throwing in a plot twist I didn’t see coming and witnessing Jin learn some positive life lessons.

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sleepylit's review

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funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of my favorite books of all time!

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alyssastellar's review

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emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

American Born Chinese is the story of three seemingly-unrelated characters stories. The Monkey King is the all-powerful ruler of Flower Fruit Mountain in an ancient fable. Jin Wang, a Chinese boy (whom I would list as the graphic novel's main character), is new to his neighborhood and the only Chinese-American child at his new school. Chin-Kee, a cousin of Danny, a white boy at Jin Wang's school, and the novel's graphic personification of Chinese stereotypes. In the end, these three stories join together in a way that may surprise you and leave you reflecting on the qualities within yourself that you may find negative.

Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel is most appropriate for students of early elementary school in terms of reading difficulty, but you may want to consider the novel's graphic xenophobia, racial slurs, and bullying when presenting young readers with this text. It may be worth having a personal chat about racism and Chinese culture with your student or child before presenting them with this text or allowing them to run with it alone. For these reasons, I'd suggest guided or instructional reading of this text at ages 7-9, and independent reading at ages 10-14. It is also an enjoyable story though, so if you're older than 14 - have at it!

For me, it was a bit difficult to read through the racial slurs and xenophobia present in Chin-Kee's character, and the moments of bullying in Jin Wang's story. However, this graphic novel was a quick and, at times, hilarious read. It was also one of the only graphic novels that has ever kept my attention, and for that alone, I must praise it. I appreciated the fables in the Monkey King and the exposure to Chinese culture. I also am thankful for Yang's ending in the novel. Without spoiling anything, I think we need more texts like this one.

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