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A review by ele_b
American Panda by Gloria Chao
4.0
This was a fun, quick read, perfect for those days where you just feel like you need a break. While I thought a large portion of the jokes in the first part were unnecessarily vulgar, it isn't so bad in the second half.
The humor in this book is FANTASTIC and will leave you rolling on the floor. It's awkward and embarrassing and all-too familiar jokes like these that litter the pages of this book, and make it such a comfort read.
At the end of this book, there is an Author's Note that clearly states this was just the experience of herself and those she knows. Yes, one should address the overly-strict ways of some Asian parents - but we shouldn't say all are like that.
I also loved that for a change the 'culturally unacceptable' relationship was between two non-white people. I'm sick and tired of reading about the 'shocking' love between a white person and an Asian. I'm sorry. It's been done before, and is usually written in such a demeaning way. Instead, we have the issue of the relations between Japan and China. Japan has been completely disgusting towards this region - the massacre of Nanjing was no isolated occurrence - but it shows that prejudice against the entire race is wrong. How they text each other with the greetings of their own, contrasting languages was honestly precious, if not refreshing from all the 'Oh-look-a-white-guy'.
As I said, this was a very fun read and I very much enjoyed it. If you enjoyed this book I would like to recommend [b:I Love You So Mochi|39828159|I Love You So Mochi|Sarah Kuhn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538099552l/39828159._SX50_.jpg|61583997] and [b:Kinfolk|40669824|Kinfolk|Pearl S. Buck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530287762l/40669824._SY75_.jpg|1595962] for their depiction of Asian family, and also you may want to look into the works of [a:Meg Cabot|11654|Meg Cabot|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532640822p2/11654.jpg] and [a:Becky Albertalli|7579036|Becky Albertalli|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1392414949p2/7579036.jpg] for fun, similarly light-weight reads.
Please be a female, please be a female, please be a female -
"Let me look at your rash" said the male Indian doctor in a heavy accent.
The humor in this book is FANTASTIC and will leave you rolling on the floor. It's awkward and embarrassing and all-too familiar jokes like these that litter the pages of this book, and make it such a comfort read.
At the end of this book, there is an Author's Note that clearly states this was just the experience of herself and those she knows. Yes, one should address the overly-strict ways of some Asian parents - but we shouldn't say all are like that.
I also loved that for a change the 'culturally unacceptable' relationship was between two non-white people. I'm sick and tired of reading about the 'shocking' love between a white person and an Asian. I'm sorry. It's been done before, and is usually written in such a demeaning way. Instead, we have the issue of the relations between Japan and China. Japan has been completely disgusting towards this region - the massacre of Nanjing was no isolated occurrence - but it shows that prejudice against the entire race is wrong. How they text each other with the greetings of their own, contrasting languages was honestly precious, if not refreshing from all the 'Oh-look-a-white-guy'.
As I said, this was a very fun read and I very much enjoyed it. If you enjoyed this book I would like to recommend [b:I Love You So Mochi|39828159|I Love You So Mochi|Sarah Kuhn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538099552l/39828159._SX50_.jpg|61583997] and [b:Kinfolk|40669824|Kinfolk|Pearl S. Buck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530287762l/40669824._SY75_.jpg|1595962] for their depiction of Asian family, and also you may want to look into the works of [a:Meg Cabot|11654|Meg Cabot|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532640822p2/11654.jpg] and [a:Becky Albertalli|7579036|Becky Albertalli|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1392414949p2/7579036.jpg] for fun, similarly light-weight reads.