Easily the best graphic novel I’ve read in a very long time. Gene Luen Yang’s tale of a young boy who moves from San Francisco’s Chinatown to the suburbs is nothing short of a masterpiece in the medium.
It weaves between three strands: the story of Jin Wang (mentioned above), the tale of the Monkey King, and a fake sitcom about a character named Chin-kee, who embodies the many hurtful stereotypes Chinese Americans are subjected to.
Yang’s novel offers heartfelt messages about racism, faith, identity, and the pain of being rejected as the other, and thus trying to change oneself to match the dominant paradigm and blend in.
Moving and engaging from beginning to end, Yang tells a story as beautiful as it is important. There should be more books like this one.
