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Title: American Born Chinese
ISBN: 1596431520
Author:
Gene Luen Yang
Publicate Date: 2006-09-05
Publish: 2006-09-05
List Price: $17.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.18
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.99
Amazon Merchant Price: $14.53
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Interesting Presentation, Positive Story
Gene Luen Yang's low-key but heartfelt American Born Chinese seems to tell three stories at once: the traditional Chinese fable of the Monkey King; the young life of a son of Chinese immigrants; and the story of a blond-haired, blue-eyed high-schooler whose mortifying Chinese cousin visits every year.
Yang brings creative personal touches to each story: his pithy retelling of the Journey to the West (the original novel is over 2,000 pages long) presents a wonderfully sympathetic Monkey King. The third story is done in the style of a sitcom, complete with a cheesy laugh track (you didn't think a comic book could have a laugh track? It can). And through Jin Wang, the protagonist of the second story, Yang shows the anxieties of youth with painful clarity.
As the book progresses, it becomes clear how the three stories are in fact integral to each other, and work together to advance Yang's simple message of self-acceptance. "American Born Chinese" is eloquent, not only about a specific cultural experience, but about struggles--and hope--common to us all.
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2: Very good
ABC is a great book, very well thought out. It made me think for a long time after I read it.
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3: Racist.
I understand what the author was TRYING to do, I just also understand that the author failed. In an attempt to show how offensive Asian stereotypes can be, the author creates an Asian stereotype that is horrifyingly offensive (even to nonasians, such as myself). This character's name is "Chink-ee".
I don't think much more needs to be said about Chink-ee.
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4: Prize winning graphic novel
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is the first graphic novel I've read. I read it for the Book Awards Challenge II. It won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2007 and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It is the first graphic novel recognized by the National Book Foundation. American Born Chinese starts out by telling three stories. The wonderful illustrations were colored by Lark Pien.
* The first is the story of The Monkey King. He wanted to rule, but he didn't want to be a monkey.
* The second story is about Jin Wang, a young boy who was born in America to parents who immigrated from China. Jin Wang never feels like he fits in with the American students he goes to school with.
* The third story is about Danny, an All-American boy who is embarrassed when his Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee comes for his annual visit.
The stories don't tie together until the end of the book. The book is about learning to live with and accept who you are. It was a very quick read. I think this book would really appeal to young males. While this was a fun, fast read, I don't think I'll be picking up another graphic novel anytime soon. I appreciate how much work went into the drawings, but they just weren't enough to justify the price in my mind.
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5: Moral of the Story: Be a Monkey
Some people mentioned it is offensive to Christians. Ha, I didn't even catch that because I'm not religious. Some say it's racist. I disagree. The book merely points out some of the things the main character experiences while he is in school which is racism! However, I really expected a lot more from this book. You see the main character suffering from racism, low self-esteem given the racism, and some other things, but those cannot be the only problems an American Born Chinese would face. How about home relationships with parents and relatives? So much emphasis is on his school life, there is nothing about home and relatives. The main message is just be yourself which is nice, but does that really require over 200 pages to say this? This is a quick read given it's a graphic novel and the pages are very small, not your average 8-1/2 x 11. I finished this in like an hour. The artwork is really simple, clean-cut drawings. Nothing spectacular and very mediocre. Writing, well there is not that much writing. So given lack of story, lack of good writing, lack of quality artwork, I really can't recommend this book.
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