American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. I discovered the novel while compiling my annotated bibliography before the start of the project, and this resource was an especially exciting find because of my own experiences as a Chinese-American.
ABC has three plots - and the novel cycles between chapters of each plot. The first plot is a brief retelling of the classic Monkey King legend that almost all Chinese know: the story of a monkey, ruler of his mountain of monkeys, who wants to become a god, and ends up helping a monk deliver scrolls to India (the fable itself is called "Journey to the West").
The second plot revolves around a Chinese boy named Jin Wang, who attends a school in California. He is stereotyped by his classmates as a classic dog-eating, buck-toothed Chinese kid. He then meets a Taiwanese boy named Wei Chun who becomes his best friend, and later falls in love with a white girl named Amelia.
The third plot is about an American high school student named Danny. Although he is white, he seems to have trouble with his cousin - a hilariously exaggerated Chinese stereotype named Chin-Kee, complete with buck teeth, braided hair, and a generous reserve of spittle.
Though I can't reveal more about the plot, I admire how well-devised it is. I would definitely recommend it to anyone for a read - it's quick and simple, and I know that any fellow Asian-American will have an easy time relating to it.
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