Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Dongguan City, Guangdon Province, South China Printing Co. Ltd.; 2010.Summary
The Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain was a deity in his own right. He had been born of a rock, purged the Flower-Fruit Mountain of the Tiger-Spirit, and mastered thousands of of minor disciplines as well as the four major heavenly disciplines. Despite all this, he still wasn’t invited to the dinner party of the gods. Jealous and angry, the Monkey King mastered even more disciplines in hopes of gaining a place among the gods, but the gods merely asked him to recognize his place as a lowly monkey. After refusing to accept this, Tze-Yo-Tzuh, creator of all existence, trapped the Monkey King under a large pile of rocks. Because of the Monkey King’s pride, he would not return to his normal monkey shape which would allow him to simply wiggle out from beneath the rocks.
Meanwhile, Jin, a first generation Chinese-American, is struggling to fit in at school. There are only two other Asians at school, and they are all bullied. Jin falls in love with a white girl from school, but her white friend asks Jin not to talk to her anymore because he is Chinese. Angry and depressed, Jin wishes to be different. Selling his soul, Jin becomes a white boy with curly blond hair and names himself Danny.
Danny’s cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit for a while and even attends American high school with Danny. Chin-Kee has a heavy accent, wears traditional Chinese clothing, and says things the white students deem offensive. Deeply ashamed and embarrassed of his cousin, Danny feels that his life is over.
Back under the pile of rocks, The Monkey King is convinced by a holy man to return to his original form. He does and escapes from his rock prison. He is then confronted by the most powerful gods and given a mission.
Back at the American high school, Danny attacks his cousin in a fit of rage. Danny knocks off Chin-Kee’s head, and we discover Chin-Kee is the Monkey King. He makes Danny reveal his true form then explains he came to serve as Jin’s conscience, as a signpost to his soul. The Monkey King is also the father of Jin’s best friend who has forsaken his true form, just as Jin did. Jin then confronts his best friend and over time the two begin to embrace their Chinese heritage.
Impressions
This is the best graphic novel I have ever read. It’s so much more than just a superficial story with a lot of illustrations. This novel is meant to teach, not just to entertain. The feelings Jin and the Monkey King struggle with- not having anyone be able to see your own self-worth, wishing you were someone or something else, hiding your own identity at the expense of your conscience- are common among everyone, teens especially. Yang alternates between the story of the Monkey King and Jin/Danny until the very end in a fun, poignant ending. This book is so honest and open, and the illustrations are bright and colorful as well as effective at conveying both humor and emotion.
Reviews
Greg McElhatton. American Born Chinese. Read About Comics. Retrieved November 12, 2010 from http://www.readaboutcomics.com/.
"Yang’s American Born Chinese is one of the stronger examples of multiple, intertwined narratives that I can remember. Each of the three threads—the Monkey King, Jin, and Danny—stands on its own initially as its own, independent story. It’s not until we get to the end of the book that one sees how the plots of the three are connected, doing so in a fairly delightful manner. None of the stories feel like they’re getting short shrift from the others, and that balance between the narratives helps keep the reader interested in all three. At the same time, it’s clear from the beginning that the three stories are connected when it comes to the themes of identity and acceptance. All of our main characters are desperate to shed something connected to themselves—the Monkey King’s species, Jin’s Chinese heritage, and Danny’s cousin—for the sake of how other people perceive them. Yang neatly sidesteps the chance for this to become a story that preaches or speaks condescendingly to the reader, though. The basic theme is stated quickly and then left in the background for the reader to think about; while the basic idea permeates the book, one never feels like Yang is hitting you over the head with the ideas."
Cornog, Martha. Library Journal, 3/15/2007, Vol. 132 Issue 5, p54. Retreived November 12, 2010, from Academic Search Premier database.
"A National Book Award finalist and ALA's Printz Award winner, this fable stars the mythological Monkey King, realistic youngster Jin Wang of Taiwanese parentage, and TV sitcom teen Danny. All three are dogged by an unwanted identity and humiliated by others' prejudice. The Monkey King trains to be a god but is unceremoniously bounced out of heaven and urged by "he who is" (the great god) to be what he is: a monkey. Jin tries to be accepted and romance a fellow student but gets picked on by classmates. Danny does well with friends until Chinese cousin Chin-Kee, a bitingly funny bundle of racist stereotypes, makes his annual visit and behaves so offensively that Danny must change schools. Finally, the three stories suddenly merge, to center on Jin coming to terms with his minority experience and moving beyond his own fear and hostility. Coalescence comes almost too quickly, but the trivision approach and treatment are unique and moving. The art is simple, colorful, and both attractive and effective. Some potty humor; recommended for teen and adult collections."
Suggestions for Library Use
In a library with some kind of teen reading program, this book would make be an excellent featured novel. Teens could read it, discuss how it feels to be different, if there are truly are benefits of just being yourself, etc.
This book is fun, easy, and fast to read and as such would appeal to a lot of teens. For use in a school, or a library that works very closely with homeschoolers, it would be fun to read this book as part of the English curriculum to study more unique forms of literature. Teens could then write and illustrate their own short graphic novels, write their own stories of instances when they were singled out for somehow being different, etc. They could even partner together as most graphic novelists have color experts that help with illustrations.
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