American Born Chinese

Yang, G. (2006). American born Chinese. New York: Square Fish. Written in the form of a graphic novel, American Born Chinese intertwines the life of three characters who all want to fit in and go to great lengths to do so. Jin Wang is the only American-Chinese student at his new school, but he wants to be American because he has fallen in love with an American girl. Danny is a popular athletic teen with the perfect life until his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee arrives from China. Chin-Kee is the typical stereotypical Chinese student and ruins Danny’s cool reputation. The Monkey King has ruled for thousands of years and is ready to live with the Gods, but is deemed unworthy because of his thoughtless actions. He must rely on a total stranger to help lead him to salvation. This graphic novel is a quick read, and is perfect for reluctant readers. The colorful and beautiful illustrations will captivate readers and help readers understand the story. The facial expressions on the characters help give readers a deeper understanding of the story. The strength of the story is its graphic novel format.