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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
American Panda by Gloria Chao
5.0
I haven't sat down and read a good realistic fiction since January, when I read [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190] with book club. And actually, I drew a lot of parallels between that one and [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662], which is about a Taiwanese girl who is in her first year of college at MIT and lives under the pressure from her traditional family to conform to Taiwanese standards. However, Mei does not want an arranged marriage, and there are factors that keep her from becoming a doctor, the only thing her parents ever wished for her. [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] is a journey of self-discovery and overcoming adversity.
I am a white girl living in America. My mother is third generation American, and my dad's family goes back even further. I've lived in the Midwest my entire life, so has my dad, and so have his parents and many generations of his family. For both [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190] and [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662], I started off reading with a sense of disbelief. I used to love to read historical fiction, but somehow I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that a lot of what people face is not historical by any sense of the word.
While [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190] and [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] are centered around very different issues and cultures, they've both helped me step out of the more sheltered world I live in. Yes, I've seen discrimination, but I live in a very open and diverse suburb of Chicago. I don't see racism in the halls, and I'm not really close enough with anyone to know what their home life is like outside of the day to day. But with [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662], I really did learn a lot about a culture and lifestyle that I'd never had a chance to look into before.
[b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] perfectly blends American and Chinese superstitions, right up to the exclusion of both a chapter 4 and a chapter 13. That, too, was something that especially called to me about this novel. The writing style incorporated so many superstitions, metaphors and idioms, both Chinese and American. I really love when a writer can successfully mix those elements into a story without making it sound cheesy and cliche, but [a:Gloria Chao|6610348|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472671142p2/6610348.jpg] creates the perfect blend.
I look forward to reading more authentic novels like [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662]. I used to read a lot of novels about cancer and other people with illness, and they were just not genuine. It wasn't because the author wasn't trying, it was simply because they didn't actually have firsthand experiences with the subject and characters they were writing about. I think this is why I've been so into science fiction and fantasy lately, because there's so much to get wrong. That's another reason why I thoroughly enjoyed both [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] and [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190], because I could really feel the authors' passions for the issues and experiences they were writing about. There's so much raw truth in both novels, and it's a great way for me to gain an understanding into this world that I was never a part of and will never have firsthand experience with.
I am a white girl living in America. My mother is third generation American, and my dad's family goes back even further. I've lived in the Midwest my entire life, so has my dad, and so have his parents and many generations of his family. For both [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190] and [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662], I started off reading with a sense of disbelief. I used to love to read historical fiction, but somehow I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that a lot of what people face is not historical by any sense of the word.
While [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190] and [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] are centered around very different issues and cultures, they've both helped me step out of the more sheltered world I live in. Yes, I've seen discrimination, but I live in a very open and diverse suburb of Chicago. I don't see racism in the halls, and I'm not really close enough with anyone to know what their home life is like outside of the day to day. But with [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662], I really did learn a lot about a culture and lifestyle that I'd never had a chance to look into before.
[b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] perfectly blends American and Chinese superstitions, right up to the exclusion of both a chapter 4 and a chapter 13. That, too, was something that especially called to me about this novel. The writing style incorporated so many superstitions, metaphors and idioms, both Chinese and American. I really love when a writer can successfully mix those elements into a story without making it sound cheesy and cliche, but [a:Gloria Chao|6610348|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472671142p2/6610348.jpg] creates the perfect blend.
I look forward to reading more authentic novels like [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662]. I used to read a lot of novels about cancer and other people with illness, and they were just not genuine. It wasn't because the author wasn't trying, it was simply because they didn't actually have firsthand experiences with the subject and characters they were writing about. I think this is why I've been so into science fiction and fantasy lately, because there's so much to get wrong. That's another reason why I thoroughly enjoyed both [b:American Panda|35297380|American Panda|Gloria Chao|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496856585s/35297380.jpg|52352662] and [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190], because I could really feel the authors' passions for the issues and experiences they were writing about. There's so much raw truth in both novels, and it's a great way for me to gain an understanding into this world that I was never a part of and will never have firsthand experience with.