American Born Chinese (Book Talk 2)

                                                                    This graphic novel STOMPS on stereotypes about Asian culture!

Three stories start and ultimately converge in this award winning, Young adult Graphic Novel. First is the story of the Monkey King and his struggle to become an accepted deity. Next, Jin Wang must deal with stereotypes and pressures of being a Chinese American. He starts trying to become more and more white to fit in with his peers. Lastly is the story of Danny, a average white american whose Chinese cousin comes to visit every year. His cousin, Chim Kee, embodies all the stereotypes of being a F.O.B. (Fresh off the Boat) proudly. He is super smart, has a thick accent, and eats "clispy flied cat gizzards wiff noodle" for lunch. At the end of the story, we find that Jin Wang was transformed into Danny because of his yearning to become white. His cousin, Chim Kee, is the Monkey King sent back to show Jin Wang the error of his ways. Both, Danny and the Monkey King must learn to accept themselves for who they are. This is the ultimate theme within the story and it is an hilarious journey. No wonder this novel is the Winner of the Printz award and finalist for the National Book Association.

Original Sketch for Chim Kee

This novel would be an interesting starting point for high school students to discuss negative stereotypes of any race. Knowledge is key. It is important for students to call out these stereotypes for the inaccurate portraits of culture that they portray. I believe that each culture should be valued for its wonderful contribution to society.

Included are two of my favorite pages from the novel. Enjoy! (I know I did)

Hard Love (Book Talk 1)

I couldn't/wouldn't put this novel down!

Hard Love is definitely a valuable addition to teen contemporary realistic fiction. It's main character, John "Gio" Guzman is an average 16 year old struggling to find his own identity. His parents were divorced over 5 years ago and he's still adjusting to cope with their shattered marriage. Even though the divorce happened years ago, his mother refuses to touch him. His father leads a posh lifestyle in the city and shows no interest in his life.

Gio creates his own Zine, which is a homemade magazine of literature. He then meets Marisol, a fiery, Puerto Rican, and lesbian fellow zine writer. He falls in love but just like his relationship with his parents, it's hard love.

I won't ruin the ending for you. There is definitely more than one reason you should pick up this award winning young adult novel. Read it and let me know what you think.

This book made me look into the distant relationship I have with my own mother. We don't talk often and when we do it's painfully difficult. Because of this novel, I've started to communicate through email to stay in touch. In the novel, Marisol brought this idea up to Gio and it helped him. I find it easier since I can think critically about what I want to say. In person, I think we say too many things we don't mean. Writing means I can edit to get my point across.

Interested? Then check out this cool video I found.