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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
As a child, Dennis was forbidden from playing video games. When his father died, he played them all the time. He was even good enough to consider playing on the professional circuit. But that was before THEY showed up. Four cute little angels with plenty of attitude and a lot of bossiness seemed to know exactly what Dennis should be doing with his life, and it certainly was not video games. Instead, they pushed and insisted in his father’s name that he start studying hard and then go to medical school. But will Dennis find happiness there? Or will he return to his love of gaming?
Yang captures the tension between following your own dreams and following those of your parents. The four angels serve as universal parental voices, insisting that the future path is set and that one must fulfill one’s destiny. The writing is infinitely readable, down-to-earth and yet striking. The book wrestles with important themes, using the graphic format to lighten things but still looking deeply at the choices that shape a life.
Pham’s illustrations are filled with simple lines, washes of color, and often have a play of light and dark backgrounds in different frames on a page. But if one looks at the illustrations, they are well rendered, interesting and far more than the simple lines may originally seem.
This book has teen and gamer appeal galore. Before I got to read it myself, my husband and two sons had to read it first. Both the theme of video games and the graphic format made it impossible for them to pass up. Appropriate for ages 12-15.
Yang captures the tension between following your own dreams and following those of your parents. The four angels serve as universal parental voices, insisting that the future path is set and that one must fulfill one’s destiny. The writing is infinitely readable, down-to-earth and yet striking. The book wrestles with important themes, using the graphic format to lighten things but still looking deeply at the choices that shape a life.
Pham’s illustrations are filled with simple lines, washes of color, and often have a play of light and dark backgrounds in different frames on a page. But if one looks at the illustrations, they are well rendered, interesting and far more than the simple lines may originally seem.
This book has teen and gamer appeal galore. Before I got to read it myself, my husband and two sons had to read it first. Both the theme of video games and the graphic format made it impossible for them to pass up. Appropriate for ages 12-15.
When he’s six, Dennis Ouyang sees his first video game, “a beat-up old Pac-Man coin op” in a neighborhood restaurant. His parents won’t let him near it, but as he remembers that night, he thinks, “From then on I dreamed in pixels.” Despite heavy hints, his father refuses to buy him a game, instead he gets a chemistry set for Christmas, and overhears his father saying how much bitterness he has eaten so that his son can grow up in America and be a success, not waste his time playing games. But when his father dies unexpectedly next year, the first thing Dennis does is buy himself a game. Gaming becomes his life—until the angels appear!
Yang’s always remarkable storytelling ability is complemented by Pham relaxed simple cartoons and his alternately cute and fierce angels. The dedication to the book says a lot about the creators’ intent. It reads, “…to our brothers Jon and Thinh, both of whom work in the medical field, for being good Asian sons.”
Yang’s always remarkable storytelling ability is complemented by Pham relaxed simple cartoons and his alternately cute and fierce angels. The dedication to the book says a lot about the creators’ intent. It reads, “…to our brothers Jon and Thinh, both of whom work in the medical field, for being good Asian sons.”
This story isn't perfect, but I really like it. I see a lot of readers who seem to think this book is condemning video games. I'm pretty sure that's a misread. I felt like the story was all about balance, living neither solely for yourself nor for your parents, but still finding time to do the things you like and honor the people who helped along the way. The author clearly hasn't played video games in decades, but I still found the story charming.
This GN reminded me quite a bit of Gene's American Born Chinese because they both use aspects of realism and magic to tell the story. All the same, Gene's confusion about family loyalty and his place in the world will resonate with my teens and college students.
Cute, simple artwork and a plot that resonated with me. So many people deal with balancing what we feel we "should" do with the things that make us happy, and this graphic novel is a brief exploration of those anxieties. It could have gone a little more in-depth, but overall complete and very enjoyable.
An interesting tale of strict parenting, a natural gift for video games and the relationships that develop in between. It was humorous and evocative of the struggles many young people face when they start moving away from their parents and try to decide what they want to do with their life.
I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially the various revelations that happen as Dennis "levels up" as he chooses between his dreams and his parent's expectations. Sometimes you don't exactly know what you want until you stumble on it.
I also thought that the little angels who did his housework and threatened him until he studied were awesome. I wish I had some of those...well nicer ones anyway. Though the transformation they went through near the end of the novel was both frightening and hilarious.
I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially the various revelations that happen as Dennis "levels up" as he chooses between his dreams and his parent's expectations. Sometimes you don't exactly know what you want until you stumble on it.
I also thought that the little angels who did his housework and threatened him until he studied were awesome. I wish I had some of those...well nicer ones anyway. Though the transformation they went through near the end of the novel was both frightening and hilarious.
This was just okay. It has a good moral, lesson at the end. But It was a little weird too. I enjoyed American Born Chinese a lot more.
Level Up by Gene Luen Yang Source: Library Publisher: First Second Series: - Edition: Hardcover, 160 Pages Genre: Coming of Age Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository* *I receive a small monetary kickback from Amazon purchases Rating: 4/5
Level Up is a quirky, fun, and emotional graphic novel by one of my favorite graphic novel authors. This is a coming of age story focused around Dennis, a college student dealing with his father’s death and his video game addiction.
I really liked the set up and style of this one. It’s kind of laid back and really delves into the problems a lot of college students have…distractions. In college everything can be a distraction; gaming, friends, family, stress. So in that aspect the book is very easy to relate to. It also has a surprising touch of emotion as Dennis slowly comes to terms with the death of his father as well as the path his father wanted him to pursue. Of course he doesn’t go through all of this without help and there enters the four greeting card angels and their good intentions…that turn into bossy suffocation.
I love watching Dennis learn and grow as a person and as a student, and I love that not everything with his father was a cut and dry as he thought it was. It a touching coming of age story that can really be enjoyed by everyone especially those in college or about to enter it.
Level Up is a quirky, fun, and emotional graphic novel by one of my favorite graphic novel authors. This is a coming of age story focused around Dennis, a college student dealing with his father’s death and his video game addiction.
I really liked the set up and style of this one. It’s kind of laid back and really delves into the problems a lot of college students have…distractions. In college everything can be a distraction; gaming, friends, family, stress. So in that aspect the book is very easy to relate to. It also has a surprising touch of emotion as Dennis slowly comes to terms with the death of his father as well as the path his father wanted him to pursue. Of course he doesn’t go through all of this without help and there enters the four greeting card angels and their good intentions…that turn into bossy suffocation.
I love watching Dennis learn and grow as a person and as a student, and I love that not everything with his father was a cut and dry as he thought it was. It a touching coming of age story that can really be enjoyed by everyone especially those in college or about to enter it.
I judged this book by its eye-catching cover. Unfortunately, that's pretty much the best part about it. The story paradoxically manages to be too serious and too silly. It reads like a memoir until some comic relief characters show up, then loses focus. Disappointing, but a quick enough read that it doesn't make much of a difference.
I feel this book is misleading or dishonest or perhaps just unclear. I enjoyed reading through it, and the style is clear and interesting enough to look at, but it never really takes a stand on anything. It's a book that wants to impart some type of wisdom and then never makes it clear what that wisdom is.
At the center, it's a conflict a young man faces about whether to continue his dead father's dream that he become a doctor. He doesn't enjoy it. He enjoys playing video games, and is good enough that he could make a career of it and does for a short time (yes people get paid to play video games these days). At times it praises video games, and for many of the right reasons. At other times it damns them, and I can't figure out why. Even the damning parts praise the genre, despite the context in which they're damned, and I suppose that's why I couldn't really endorse this book in the end, as much as I liked its subject matter.
At the center, it's a conflict a young man faces about whether to continue his dead father's dream that he become a doctor. He doesn't enjoy it. He enjoys playing video games, and is good enough that he could make a career of it and does for a short time (yes people get paid to play video games these days). At times it praises video games, and for many of the right reasons. At other times it damns them, and I can't figure out why. Even the damning parts praise the genre, despite the context in which they're damned, and I suppose that's why I couldn't really endorse this book in the end, as much as I liked its subject matter.