ABCBookReview

Nathan Gitter										        Gitter 1 English 8-4 11- 4 -08 “Trans-fo-ma” Jin, the protagonist in American Born Chinese, wants to grow up to be a Transformer- a robot in disguise. The herbalist’s wife, who is slightly bizarre, believes that Jin can grow up to be a Transformer, but his mother disagrees. American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Yang that includes drama, mythology, and action. This book of sequential art is divided into three separate parts. The Monkey King’s story is the first part of the three. The second part is about an Asian-American boy named Jin who faces racism at his school. The last part of the book is about a kid named Danny who has a cousin Chin-kee that comes to visit. The common theme of all three parts is the concept of racism, but each story shows racism in a different form. Jin feels racism from Greg, a kid who doesn’t want him to go out with a girl because “she has to start paying attention to who she hangs out with.” The Monkey King feels racism because he is a monkey, not a human like every other god. Lastly, Danny feels the racism that his cousin Chin-kee is facing. Some kids were pulling their eyes back to imitate Chin-kee, and Danny took this racism very harshly. Gene Yang most likely wrote this graphic novel to show how common racism is and how hurtful it can be. American Born Chinese is an exceptional book for many reasons. First of all, the book moves quickly and always remains interesting. Since there are three stories in one, you should be able to find at least one that you really like. Second, since American Born Chinese is a graphic novel, it is able to show emotions and events better than words can describe. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” definately applies to this book. Lastly, this book made me think about racism. The character Chin-kee has every Asian stereotype, and I realized how common these stereotypes are in society. American Born Chinese is a great book that should be read by everyone, even if you haven’t read graphic novels before. If you like American Born Chinese, other graphic novels by Gene Yang, such as Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks or Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order, would also interest you. As you read American Born Chinese, you will realize that Jin is actually “more than meets the eye.”