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mazer_nickham's review against another edition
4.0
Much like American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang combines earnest characters and life lessons with expertly drawn and timed humor. This book reads like a combination of Scott Pilgrim and Vera Brosgol's work. It should be noted that this graphic novel does not feature the clean and cartoony look of American Born Chinese and instead opts for more pastels and relaxed line work.
babenclaw's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting read. I enjoyed the art style and I always love graphic novel style memoir. However, themes were a little on the nose.
quietdomino's review against another edition
3.0
This is pretty slight, especially in comparison to American Born Chinese, but Gene Yang never can entirely disappoint.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t like this book. It was strange. I wasn’t a fan of the angels at all and I understood that the main character had a hard time finding his path in life, but I didn’t like the way the story was told.
sqeeker's review against another edition
3.0
My Synopsis:
- Dennis Ouyang is intrigued by video games. When the NES comes out, he freaks!
- Sadly, Dennis's father thinks that video games are waste of time and money.
- Dennis is weighed down by his father's rules and expectations, but when his father passes away, FREEDOM!
- Dennis becomes an all out gamer! However, his gaming gets in the way of his studies, and Dennis is floundering in school.
- Some "messengers" come to help Dennis fulfill his destiny (aka the life his father wanted him to have), and Dennis decides to give up his gaming ways.
- Dennis doesn't hate his new life, but he doesn't love it either. He must choose his own way of life instead of doing what his father would want him to do.
My Thoughts:
- I LOVE the cover of this book. I often held it like a real Gameboy and pretended to hit the buttons.
- The story made me reminisce about the good ole' days of playing Mario and other games. The NES was a good console.
- For me, the story wasn't really finished. I wanted a little more at the end.
- The "angels" were creepy! I would hate to be haunted by those things, but I would appreciate all the help with chores.
- I like that Dennis makes new friends in med school, and I like that school isn't totally miserable in his new life.
- The illustrations were fun and really simple. I think it would have been cool if the illustrations had been done to look like 8-bit.
- Not my favorite graphic novel, but it was fun. A definite must-read for gamers!
- Dennis Ouyang is intrigued by video games. When the NES comes out, he freaks!
- Sadly, Dennis's father thinks that video games are waste of time and money.
- Dennis is weighed down by his father's rules and expectations, but when his father passes away, FREEDOM!
- Dennis becomes an all out gamer! However, his gaming gets in the way of his studies, and Dennis is floundering in school.
- Some "messengers" come to help Dennis fulfill his destiny (aka the life his father wanted him to have), and Dennis decides to give up his gaming ways.
- Dennis doesn't hate his new life, but he doesn't love it either. He must choose his own way of life instead of doing what his father would want him to do.
My Thoughts:
- I LOVE the cover of this book. I often held it like a real Gameboy and pretended to hit the buttons.
- The story made me reminisce about the good ole' days of playing Mario and other games. The NES was a good console.
- For me, the story wasn't really finished. I wanted a little more at the end.
- The "angels" were creepy! I would hate to be haunted by those things, but I would appreciate all the help with chores.
- I like that Dennis makes new friends in med school, and I like that school isn't totally miserable in his new life.
- The illustrations were fun and really simple. I think it would have been cool if the illustrations had been done to look like 8-bit.
- Not my favorite graphic novel, but it was fun. A definite must-read for gamers!
pixelgeist's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first graphic novel ever to have read. I really liked the story, and the illustration was cute. I hope to see more from the pair that put this together!
nssutton's review against another edition
I loved the way in which these huge themes – loss, father/son relationships, pre-determined destiny, college friendships, and video games – were paired with four bossy greeting card angels.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
I gotta say it - I missed Yang's pictures. Although his storytelling is absolutely good enough to suck you in no matter what the pictures look like, I feel like the magical realism elements to this story didn't work as well in watercolor as they do in the computer-based illustrations Yang used in [b:American Born Chinese|118944|American Born Chinese|Gene Luen Yang|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317066615s/118944.jpg|114515].
That said, I appreciated that this wasn't just another "Asian-amerikan kid under massive pressure by his parents" story. I enjoyed the detail in the medical school and video game subcultures, and found the heart of the story really touching. Pham's use of color is really interesting.
Deceptively complex.
That said, I appreciated that this wasn't just another "Asian-amerikan kid under massive pressure by his parents" story. I enjoyed the detail in the medical school and video game subcultures, and found the heart of the story really touching. Pham's use of color is really interesting.
Deceptively complex.
justaprilann's review against another edition
4.0
Wasn’t sure I was going to like this one, but it all came together and of course I was verklempt at the end!