Reading Diary: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Here is a synopsis from the publisher's website:

A tour-de-force by New York Times bestselling graphic novelist 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.

I first read this book back in 2008-2009, and I read it again yesterday while the kids were working since I'm trying to model non-device practices. I bought this for my classroom library because it seems like something the kids would like. The edition I have unfortunately has the Disney+ series photos on the cover. I'm glad the series got made because it brings more diversity to the lineup, but it's a live-action series.

I don't have much to say about this book other than that I like it. It was one of the first graphic novels I read. Up to that point, I had tried a few superhero comics and didn't really like them. I like Yang's Boxers and Saints duology better. It's about the Boxer Rebellion, and it handles the bloody violence in a way that is suitable for young adults, in my opinion. It's also a more interesting story to me, but I don't have a copy right now.

If you haven't read American Born Chinese yet, you should give it a try.