“American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang

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Rating: 3/5 Stars

An interesting story that starts off being told in three separate parts before coming together at the end in a tale of being who you should be and on having friendships with others.

In one tale, Jin Wang is one of a few Asian-Americans in a school and gets picked on by other non-Asian students, as well as facing racist stereotypes. He eventually makes a good friend, another Asian student, and even gets involved in a relationship with a classmate. The another is the story of the Monkey King, who gets picked on by the other celestials for being a monkey. The third is about Danny, who has to suffer the agony of a visit from his very stereotyped cousin, Chin-Kee.

All three tales collide at the end when Danny lashes back at Chin-Kee, revealing the connection between the three tales and what Danny has to do to try to put things right.

So, an interesting story about being an out-of-place teen (as well as a Monkey King) going through relationship emotions and also low-level bullying, before learning acceptance and finding their way among peers.

Book read from 2023/04/22 to 2023/04/22