American Born Chinese

Gene Luen Yang

Sep 2006 · First Second

About this ebook

A tour-de-force by rising indy comics star Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he's the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny's life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.

American Born Chinese is a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

This title has Common Core Connections

Ratings and reviews

American Born Chinese is a youthful graphic novel that I needed to read for a college course this Summer. This was my first time reading anything by Gene Luen Yang and it definitely wont be my last. Yang does a great job when it comes to choosing themes to cover in his writings. Although this book may have been intended for a younger audience, at some points, It felt more so suitable for adults or teens to read. I say this because of the flagrant usage of religious themes and ideals that Yang uses to get his point across. Aside from this, the overall message Yang tried to get across was a great one but it might not be understood by younger people. The whole "You can become anything you want as long as your willing to forfeit your soul" thing is pretty deep. Other than that, the use of word/pic combinations were brilliant. I'd definitely recommend this to adults/teens(16+) who like a quick read with a valuable lesson to learn. -S. Hado

American Born Chinese is a great graphic novel. When I started to read I had to finish it before I put it down. The theme in this book is very powerful and was an eye opener for me. Gene Yang uses three different stories to tell a great story about a person identity. The monkey king who wants to be something that he is not created to be added a religious aspect to all three stories. The monkey kings show us if we don’t learn to deal with our emotion then we will waste a lot of time doing thing that might not have anything to do with what we are supposed to do in our life. Yang uses an amusing way to illuminate issues that most of us deal with in our lives. We all in some kind of way deal with fitting in and that what Chin, one of the characters of one of the story line, has to deal with. Over all this is a great book and it is appropriate for any audience. by D.S

I purchased this book as a required book in an English class. I give this a four star rating, it was ok. At first I didn't think I'd enjoy the book at all, but the author brought out strong messages. The strongest point in my opinion acted act a thesis statement for the rest of the story. When Jin was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, his reply was a transformer. H wanted to be able to be different things just like the his transformer toy. After explaining exactly what the transformer was, the woman told him he could be anything he wanted to be as long as he was willing to give up the soul. In other words, giving up who you are in order to be something else. That statement tied in because Jin gave up himself to fit in with another culture throughout the book. he struggled with not wanting to accept himself as he was. According to Scott McCloud's book Understanding Comics,there were many techniques used. When ever there were time jumps, or transitions from story to story gutters are being used. There were also a lot of action to action moments used in the story across panels. They were even used in tiny parts like when the Jin watched the girl take off her jacket.

About the author

Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant, a prestigious comics industry grant, for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work. He has since written and drawn a number of titles, including Duncan's Kingdom (with art by Derek Kirk Kim), The Rosary Comic Book, Prime Baby and Animal Crackers. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second, was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. He also won an Eisner for The Eternal Smile, a collaboration with Derek Kirk Kim. Yang lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he teaches high school.