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A review by kindredbooks
The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
fast-paced
4.5
It was not always easy to find information about the history of Chinese immigrant communities in North America, much less in contemporary fiction and graphic novels. When I first read the synopsis of The Legend of Auntie Po, I knew that I needed to add it to my reading list. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the gifted copy.
Mei is a young Chinese girl who lives on a Sierra Nevada logging camp in the 1880s with her father, who cooks for the logging crew. As Mei navigates her friendship with the camp foreman’s daughter and her aspiring (and impossible) dreams, the Chinese Exclusion Act changes things at the logging camp. While the Chinese workers have never been treated fairly or equally, things get even worse when her father is fired and there are racist and violent attacks against those in Mei’s community. Mei finds comfort and support in the stories she tells about Auntie Po, a legendary elderly Chinese matriarch who can protect her and those around her. This is a story about family, friendship, doing what’s right, and the resilience of the immigrant communities in America.
I connected with Mei through her experiences and challenges as growing up as a minority. My own family’s history and story of arriving in Canada is also one of hardship and systemic racism. The resilience and determination of Mei, her father, and her friends are a sign of hope for all of us who come from these immigrant communities who contributed to North America’s history. These stories are important, not just for those within our own communities, but for the general population to see how vital immigrant communities have always been.
TW: Racism, racial slurs, violence, death, xenophobia
Mei is a young Chinese girl who lives on a Sierra Nevada logging camp in the 1880s with her father, who cooks for the logging crew. As Mei navigates her friendship with the camp foreman’s daughter and her aspiring (and impossible) dreams, the Chinese Exclusion Act changes things at the logging camp. While the Chinese workers have never been treated fairly or equally, things get even worse when her father is fired and there are racist and violent attacks against those in Mei’s community. Mei finds comfort and support in the stories she tells about Auntie Po, a legendary elderly Chinese matriarch who can protect her and those around her. This is a story about family, friendship, doing what’s right, and the resilience of the immigrant communities in America.
I connected with Mei through her experiences and challenges as growing up as a minority. My own family’s history and story of arriving in Canada is also one of hardship and systemic racism. The resilience and determination of Mei, her father, and her friends are a sign of hope for all of us who come from these immigrant communities who contributed to North America’s history. These stories are important, not just for those within our own communities, but for the general population to see how vital immigrant communities have always been.
TW: Racism, racial slurs, violence, death, xenophobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia