American Born Chinese

I enjoyed the three, initially separate stories: Jin and his feelings about being Chinese-American and surrounded by white people; Danny, a blonde high school student who is content to be just like the other kids but whose social life is upended every year by his cousin Chin-Kee; and the Monkey King, whose struggle for acceptance from the other gods leads him to a greater purpose.

The stories intertwine in a way that I personally enjoyed. I had a lot of fun picking out western influences in a story that is heavily inspired by eastern ones. I was uncomfortable with the depictions of Chin-Kee, but that's the point of that character (if you can call an amalgam of negative and positive stereotypes a character).

The text reads a bit flat at some points. But it is a graphic novel, and the images are there to do some of the heavy lifting.

This is a great, middle grade/middle school graphic novel about identity.