American Born Chinese

     American Born Chinese is the most unique book I have ever read. I did not know what to expect since it was a comic book and I have never read one before. The book starts out with a monkey wanting to go to a dinner party, which was the last think I expected from reading the title. Then after reading the next few sections, I felt intrigued to read the entire book to find out how the monkey, Jing, and Chin-Kee fit together because it seemed all so random. It was so weird reading three separate stories in one book. The first was about a monkey who felt the need to be bigger than just a monkey. The second story was about Jing, a Chinese boy, who did not fit in because of his ethnicity. The third story was about an annoying Chinese cousin who would visit his family in America. In the end of the story, when it all came together, I thought it was very well put together. The theme this book presented was to both accept and embrace who you are and where you come from. This would be an important lesson to teach in both high school and middle school. However, the theme was not fully developed until the end when the audience figured out how the three characters were related. Another theme of this book is stereotyping, which was depicted through people making fun of Jing because he was Asian. Jing’s peers also made fun of his friends because they looked the same as him, even though they were from different places. It kind of makes the audience curious about the different Asian cultures, which could be something to teach along side with the novel.  

The way the book was set up, it allowed for a lot of character development for each of the main characters. I believe that a lot of adolescents would be able to relate to Jing, because they are figuring out who they want to be and what they want to identify with. Also, a lot of adolescents struggle with what to identify with ethnically. I think this book would gravitate toward adolescents because it is relatable and I also think they would love the fact that it is a comic book. I would think that adolescents would prefer reading this over just books with words because it is a super quick and easy read. I also think it would appeal to adolescents like it did me due to how random and weird the story starts out with the monkey. It captures the audiences’ attention with how it is divided into three continuing stories.

I would give this book a C because it is personally not my taste. I do not like comic books because I feel like there is not enough depth in the story for me. I just prefer words to explain things that are happening rather than pictures. I did like the overall story and theme of American Born Chinese.