Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
First Second (2021), Edition: Reprint, 240 pages
Subjects
Description
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.
Media reviews
School Library Journal Review
Starred Review. Gr 7 Up Graphic novels that focus on nonwhite characters are exceedingly rare in American comics. Enter American Born Chinese, a well-crafted work that aptly explores issues of self-image, cultural identity, transformation, and self-acceptance. In a
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series of three linked tales, the central characters are introduced: Jin Wang, a teen who meets with ridicule and social isolation when his family moves from San Francisco s Chinatown to an exclusively white suburb; Danny, a popular blond, blue-eyed high school jock whose social status is jeopardized when his goofy, embarrassing Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, enrolls at his high school; and the Monkey King who, unsatisfied with his current sovereign, desperately longs to be elevated to the status of a god. Their stories converge into a satisfying coming-of-age novel that aptly blends traditional Chinese fables and legends with bathroom humor, action figures, and playground politics. Yang s crisp line drawings, linear panel arrangement, and muted colors provide a strong visual complement to the textual narrative. Like Toni Morrison s The Bluest Eye and Laurence Yep s Dragonwings, this novel explores the impact of the American dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama. Philip Charles Crawford, Essex High School, Essex Junction, VT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information Show Less
Awards
National Book Award (Finalist — Young People's Literature — 2006)
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Nominee — 2009)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 9-12 — 2008)
Eisner Award (Nominee — 2007)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2009)
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2009)
Green Mountain Book Award (Nominee — 2008)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Recommended — 2009)
Harvey Award (Winner — 2007)
Asian American Literary Award (Winner — 2007)
Printz Award (Winner — 2007)
The White Ravens (2007)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers (Nominee — 2009)
CYBILS Awards (Winner — 2006)
James Cook Teen Book Award (Honor Book — 2007)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2007)
CCBC Choices (2007)
Idaho Battle of the Books (2019)
Great Graphic Novels for Teens (Top Ten — 2007)
OYAN Book Rave (2007)
Original publication date
2006
Physical description
240 p.; 8.56 inches
ISBN
1250811899 / 9781250811899