ASIAN BOOKS- American Born Chinese

A while ago, I read a book by a Korean author, Chang-Rae Lee, titled Native Speaker. Although it is not one of my all time favorite books, this book stood out to me for the sole purpose of the main character being Korean. I could identify with the character on some level- the culture, thoughts, and senses of being Asian.

It seems that there are more cultural novels as our society becomes more pluralistic; I intend to read everything I can. I stumbled upon this great graphic novel titled American Born Chinese by Gene Yang. I finally found comfort in a book- I could relate to the character’s troubles growing up Asian in a predominantly white area. Actually, I kept thinking about my brother’s childhood because the character, Jin, is a boy.

Jin is a young boy who’s family moves out of Chinatown, San Francisco to a predominantly white suburb. Growing up in this area, Jin faces a lot of racist remarks and isolation. He tries to find his way in life- sometimes he gives up his Chinese heritage and sometimes he embraces it. For example, Jin tries to change his image to be more attractive to the blond girl in his class.

Woven through this story is the fable told by his mother about the Monkey King in China. In the end of the novel, both Jin’s life and the Monkey King’s life weave together. The ending is a bit abrupt, but I loved everything else about this novel. The author, Gene Yang, has made several other graphic novels under the name of “Humble Comics.” In addition, he is a proponent of using graphic novels in education. Here’s the link to Comics in Education. It’s given me some thoughts of teaching ESL 2 next year. Wouldn’t it be great to get students engaged in reading, regardless of the kind of reading?

I love all my cultural books. However, I am still waiting to find a fiction book or graphic novel of an Asian girl who kicks ass. Anyone have suggestions?