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sasha_in_a_box's review against another edition
4.0
Cool concept - a son of Asian immigrants who have lived lives of "eating bitterness" is torn between his father's wish for him to pursue his "destiny" of becoming a gastroenterologist and his all-consuming need to play video games. The magical realism elements and the sparse watercolor art style allowed the emotional aspect to come through, since it gave me time to think about what was happening without overwhelming with a complicated style. I wish it was longer and explored the side relationships some more, plus more of a follow-up to the ending. As a work of coming of age and figuring out one aspect of one's life, however, this is quite a small gem.
ravensbuttons's review against another edition
4.0
Not as endearing as American Born Chinese, but still a fabulous coming of age story about finding your own path.
amber_lea84's review against another edition
2.0
I find it hard to relate to a protagonist who has such a hard time thinking for himself and who has a strict all or nothing approach to life. Growing up doesn't mean "eating your bitterness" and being miserable. You're allowed to have fun and enjoy what you're doing. And the fact that this character could have made a living doing something he was actually interested in but he felt guilted out of doing it is depressing. Like I have crohns and I absolutely would not want this character to be my doctor. I'd much rather have a doctor who has a genuine interest in medicine, and who is, frankly, smarter. Someone doesn't automatically make the world a better place by becoming a doctor. Please, for the love of god, do what you're good at and try to enjoy your life to the best of your ability. You'll be doing society a favor, I promise. The world doesn't need more miserable assholes doing things they're not very good at. Be an excellent professional gamer instead of a mediocre doctor. And of course being a professional gamer wont make you happy, but neither will being a doctor. (Like bro, have you MET doctors?) Most people aren't going to find what makes them happy at work.
I do like that he came to understand his father's motivations better. But this feels likes a messy first draft of an idea. It doesn't really feel like he knows what he's saying. There are a few points where I legitimately have no idea what this was trying to convey. Like there's a montage scene with his friends and I read it three times and I don't understand what is going on. It seemed like he decided to skip over a bunch of stuff, but there's not enough info to even understand what, exactly. Is there a B plot where his friend has a crush on him? Also the stuff where angels do his chores and harass him is so weird. I get that they're like a metaphor for overbearing Asian parents, but it makes him seem schizophrenic. Did his upbringing give him PTSD?
Also, the choice to write a graphic novel about how gaming is a hallow selfish hobby that wont fulfill you is like come on. I feel like I was tricked. The cover is like, "Oh cool, gaming." And it's actually about how gaming is addictive and bad and he "levels up" by outgrowing it. Lame.
I do like that he came to understand his father's motivations better. But this feels likes a messy first draft of an idea. It doesn't really feel like he knows what he's saying. There are a few points where I legitimately have no idea what this was trying to convey. Like there's a montage scene with his friends and I read it three times and I don't understand what is going on. It seemed like he decided to skip over a bunch of stuff, but there's not enough info to even understand what, exactly. Is there a B plot where his friend has a crush on him? Also the stuff where angels do his chores and harass him is so weird. I get that they're like a metaphor for overbearing Asian parents, but it makes him seem schizophrenic. Did his upbringing give him PTSD?
Also, the choice to write a graphic novel about how gaming is a hallow selfish hobby that wont fulfill you is like come on. I feel like I was tricked. The cover is like, "Oh cool, gaming." And it's actually about how gaming is addictive and bad and he "levels up" by outgrowing it. Lame.
rachelhelps's review against another edition
4.0
This graphic novel centers around the protagonist's conflict about living up to his parents' expectations and wanting to play video games. I kind of identified with him when he dropped out of med school, realizing that he wasn't studying for the right reasons. My biggest complaint is that the graphic novel was very expensive and not very long.
earlybirdie94's review against another edition
3.0
It's okay.... I felt like things where missing, so to speak.
rainmisoa's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second graphic novel that I've read by Gene Luen Yang, the first being American Born Chinese and it does NOT disappoint. I first heard of this comic from a YouTube video a few years back and I knew, me being a gamer, I would love this tremendously. After I read American Born Chinese and saw how much I enjoyed that story, it was a given that I was going to LOVE this book~ Well, the other day, I'm browsing the library and, lo and behold, there it was! On the shelf! In all its glory! I was ecstatic! I grabbed the comic with a speed faster than Sonic the Hedgehog and checked it out! And, boy, am I glad I did. This comic just SCREAMS for my inner gamer to grab all the video games in my house and play them all at once! This book is such an amazing coming of age story that anyone who feels trapped in their life can fully appreciate.
Gene Luen Yang is a fantastic story-teller... if a bit unconventional. However, I think because he steps out beyond the norm makes him a very unique story-teller in his own right. All of his stories have a message to them. There's always an underlying point he is trying to get across and he does it fairly well... most of the time. The message in this book is not so clear-cut and the comic suffers because of it. I think it's due to its length. The story felt short and I felt there needed to be a bit more in order for the message that he was trying to convey would have come across a bit more clearly. However, this is the only setback to the entire novel. Everything else about it was amazing! One of the best parts of this book is, of course, all the video game references! From Super Mario Bros. to The Legend of Zelda to even Pac-Man! It just pours all of the video game references all over you and if you are a gamer, like me, you will eat it up happily! The artwork is a bit cartoony but it works! For all the little jokes here and there, the artwork needed to be as cartoony as it was for it to actually make sense and I loved every minute of it.
The characters were a lot of fun to read about! The main character, Dennis, is a bit of a slacker and chooses to play more video games than to actually work hard at anything. He's goofy and a nerd but also tends to be very charming. He goes through so much growth by the end of the book that you are just cheering him on! You WANT to see him succeed in whatever he does. It's amazing! Kat, a friend of his, is badass in every sense of the word! She won't take anyone's crap and works hard for what she believes in. Ipsha, his first friend in college, is smart and caring. She wants to please her family more than anything. She's a lot like Dennis in that sense. He wants to please his father so he wants to do whatever it takes, even if it means putting aside his own happiness for it. Hector, another friend, is the perfect example of a person on the wrong track making a comeback and proving that he CAN make it in this world. I literally have nothing bad to say about these characters because they were all so colorful and fun to watch! I enjoyed them in everything they did. Man, what a riot they were!
What can I say? I love this book! This comic is one of the best I have read this year and I could continue to read this for years to come because it is THAT good! As I said, the message it is trying to convey isn't done the best as it should have and might leave the reader feeling confused. (It's kind of sending mixed messages.) But I don't think that it ruins the reading experience in any way! There's so much more to this comic that you can find it enjoyable regardless! For the humor, for the art style, for the concept, for whatever! It's just that good! If you are a gamer, I know you will definitely enjoy this. If you like graphic novels, read this book! If you're just curious and want to see what it's about, then read it! I think everyone and anyone will be able to enjoy this read. I know that I am going to keep a look out on anything else Gene Luen Yang creates because he is proving to be a pretty awesome person!
Gene Luen Yang is a fantastic story-teller... if a bit unconventional. However, I think because he steps out beyond the norm makes him a very unique story-teller in his own right. All of his stories have a message to them. There's always an underlying point he is trying to get across and he does it fairly well... most of the time. The message in this book is not so clear-cut and the comic suffers because of it. I think it's due to its length. The story felt short and I felt there needed to be a bit more in order for the message that he was trying to convey would have come across a bit more clearly. However, this is the only setback to the entire novel. Everything else about it was amazing! One of the best parts of this book is, of course, all the video game references! From Super Mario Bros. to The Legend of Zelda to even Pac-Man! It just pours all of the video game references all over you and if you are a gamer, like me, you will eat it up happily! The artwork is a bit cartoony but it works! For all the little jokes here and there, the artwork needed to be as cartoony as it was for it to actually make sense and I loved every minute of it.
The characters were a lot of fun to read about! The main character, Dennis, is a bit of a slacker and chooses to play more video games than to actually work hard at anything. He's goofy and a nerd but also tends to be very charming. He goes through so much growth by the end of the book that you are just cheering him on! You WANT to see him succeed in whatever he does. It's amazing! Kat, a friend of his, is badass in every sense of the word! She won't take anyone's crap and works hard for what she believes in. Ipsha, his first friend in college, is smart and caring. She wants to please her family more than anything. She's a lot like Dennis in that sense. He wants to please his father so he wants to do whatever it takes, even if it means putting aside his own happiness for it. Hector, another friend, is the perfect example of a person on the wrong track making a comeback and proving that he CAN make it in this world. I literally have nothing bad to say about these characters because they were all so colorful and fun to watch! I enjoyed them in everything they did. Man, what a riot they were!
What can I say? I love this book! This comic is one of the best I have read this year and I could continue to read this for years to come because it is THAT good! As I said, the message it is trying to convey isn't done the best as it should have and might leave the reader feeling confused. (It's kind of sending mixed messages.) But I don't think that it ruins the reading experience in any way! There's so much more to this comic that you can find it enjoyable regardless! For the humor, for the art style, for the concept, for whatever! It's just that good! If you are a gamer, I know you will definitely enjoy this. If you like graphic novels, read this book! If you're just curious and want to see what it's about, then read it! I think everyone and anyone will be able to enjoy this read. I know that I am going to keep a look out on anything else Gene Luen Yang creates because he is proving to be a pretty awesome person!
ntembeast's review against another edition
5.0
I first read Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese for a Graphic Novels and Manga class back in 2010, and having fallen madly in love with his skillful story wielding, being intrigued by his unusual characters, and really enjoying his humor, I recommended the book straightaway to my partner, who loved it so much that they picked up this graphic novel as well. And even though I'm reading so much later than I read American Born Chinese, I'm so glad I'm reading this book now, because boy is it an encouragement to the soul and the weary heart, when you're exhausted by the bullshit of family and life to the point where you don't even want to deal with it anymore, and you feel like you're carrying a shield and sword everywhere, fighting more than you're living. For such a short read, it was exponentially refreshing for the soul to read something that says, "Hey, you can do something that you love for a living. Trust me." Because I've been dealing with fucking holy hell about my life choices for a while now, and it's getting to be trying. I don't want to live up to anyone's expectations except my own anymore, and it's always a bigger struggle when the economy says, "Nah, you're not experienced enough," and I say, "WELL THEN GIVE ME A CHANCE TO GAIN SOME BLASTED EXPERIENCE, DAMN IT!" to no avail.
It was a solace and a pleasure. Soothing for the bitter soul. And a fun getaway from things, even as it brought up the very same problems I'm going through in my day-to-day life as it is. I'm really glad that Gene Luen Yang wrote this one as well, because it was great to read, and a real pleasure to see, with thanks to the illustrations by Thien Pham, who, I must add, created such an easy, engaging art style for this work that it allowed the much heavier and bigger themes to be engaged without being overwhelmed by them. Both of these amazing people made a great experience for me, and lifted my heart a little in this endless fighting that Life is right now for me. So I owe them a debt of gratitude and thanks. Thank you, guys. It was an unexpected help, and that's the most any reader can ask for when they're not even looking for it.
spiffysarahruby's review against another edition
4.0
Still on the lookout for a good graphic novel to have as a future book club selection for the adult literacy office I work for, and having enjoyed “The Eternal Smile” by the same author, I wanted to look at “Level Up.” Man, I have a hard decision to make!
I really liked the premise of this book, a boy named Dennis who is “destined” to be a G.I. doctor, but falls off the path by becoming addicted to video games. Spurred back on the path by 4 cute/scary looking little angels, something still doesn’t feel quite right...
My one concern about using this for the adult literacy book club is that perhaps they might not relate to Dennis’s love of video games, however I don’t feel too nervous about that, since you don’t need to be a gamer to understand the references (lots of Pac-Man and the mention of a few game systems like Nintendo, so nothing really new, not a lot of info to be confused about). On the other hand, I do think they would really relate to Dennis’s struggle of finding where he belongs in the world, and the fight that everyone seems to face with a perceived destiny and the choices that could alter that destiny. I also like the notion of how Dennis finds a way to reconcile his sweet, sweet gamer skills with being a G.I. doctor, and that could be an encouraging message to our adult learners—find your passion and make the best of it.
This was a very fun read and I think our learners would enjoy it.
***
So far the competition for this book is “Tales from Outer Suburbia” by Shaun Tan. It’s beautiful and completely imaginative, but I think the students would be able to relate to “Level Up” better. “Tales…” would be challenge to stretch their imaginations and while I love that… don’t know quite how the learners would feel. *shrug* I’m just started “Our Cancer Year” by Harvey Pekar for a non-fiction option. We shall see…
I really liked the premise of this book, a boy named Dennis who is “destined” to be a G.I. doctor, but falls off the path by becoming addicted to video games. Spurred back on the path by 4 cute/scary looking little angels, something still doesn’t feel quite right...
My one concern about using this for the adult literacy book club is that perhaps they might not relate to Dennis’s love of video games, however I don’t feel too nervous about that, since you don’t need to be a gamer to understand the references (lots of Pac-Man and the mention of a few game systems like Nintendo, so nothing really new, not a lot of info to be confused about). On the other hand, I do think they would really relate to Dennis’s struggle of finding where he belongs in the world, and the fight that everyone seems to face with a perceived destiny and the choices that could alter that destiny. I also like the notion of how Dennis finds a way to reconcile his sweet, sweet gamer skills with being a G.I. doctor, and that could be an encouraging message to our adult learners—find your passion and make the best of it.
This was a very fun read and I think our learners would enjoy it.
***
So far the competition for this book is “Tales from Outer Suburbia” by Shaun Tan. It’s beautiful and completely imaginative, but I think the students would be able to relate to “Level Up” better. “Tales…” would be challenge to stretch their imaginations and while I love that… don’t know quite how the learners would feel. *shrug* I’m just started “Our Cancer Year” by Harvey Pekar for a non-fiction option. We shall see…
grid's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this (autobiographical?) story of a college kid who just wants to play video games but struggles to live up to his father's posthumous expectations.
raechsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Video Games, Med School, and family all combine into a story of a young man with the tough decision of what to do with his life!