Praise for Gene Yang

American Born Chinese

While attending St. Petersburg College in 2006, I was enrolled in the education program and taking a course on diversity.  In that class, one of our projects was to seek out an age appropriate book for young students that dealt with the sensitive issue of race in America and to create a lesson plan based on how that book would be discussed in a class with middle school students.  Being half Asian, I knew that I wanted to try to find a book that tackled the subject of race through the eyes of an Asian-American.  I began my search for the right book like most people do by Googling the subject.  It wasn't long before I found what appeared to be the perfect book: Gene Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese.

The 2007 Michael L. Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist, American Born Chinese melds three unique story lines together to make a statement about being young, being socially conscious, and being an American-born Chinese. The first plot concerns the traditional Chinese tale of the Monkey King. Though revered by his monkey subjects, the Monkey King is looked down upon by outsiders. The Monkey King trains himself to be all-powerful, but still encounters difficulties being recognized by the gods as a god himself. He is sent on a quest of sorts to overcome his pride and understand true respect. The second story thread follows Jin Wang, the son of Chinese immigrants, whose family moves from the comfort of Chinatown to a suburban nightmare. As one of only a handful of Asians in his school, Jin is immediately pegged into stereotypes and assumptions that hold him back and hurt his feelings. His situation is complicated when he falls for Amelia, a Caucasian, “all-American” girl. Jin must carve out a place for himself at school and figure out how to win the affections of Amelia. The third story line features Danny, a Caucasian boy, whose Chinese cousin comes to pay a visit, and systematically destroys his reputation and social life. The cousin, Chin-kee, is the worst of all Chinese stereotypes blended into one. This plot quite bluntly exposes unfair assumptions about the Chinese people; Danny must learn to come to terms with his overwhelming disgust with Chinese culture. The three stories come together into a single plot in the end, revealing the true nature of being Chinese and defining one's self.

I think that what I found to be one of the most winning characteristics of American Born Chinese is its graphic novel format. Though the book focuses on the cultural aspects of being Chinese-American, and does so in a way that naturally invites conversation about prejudice and tolerance, the moral voice of the novel applies to students of every ethnicity and culture. Yang's essential message to readers is to be proud and continually aware of who you are, and to be able to keep an honest perspective of one's own cultural heritage, as well as the hegemonic culture in which one lives.  I was inspired by Gene Yang's American Born Chinese and what I felt to be its relevance to my experiences growing up as an Asian-American. The protagonist's experiences and ultimate revelations in the book helped me to put into words some of the lessons that I've learned from my childhood.  Thank you Mr. Yang.