American Panda
Ratings11
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings11
Average rating3.9
“Weepingly funny.” —The Wall Street Journal “Delightful.” —Buzzfeed “Charmed my socks off.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland Four starred reviews for this incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate. At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies. With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese. But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels? From debut author Gloria Chao comes a hilarious, heartfelt tale of how, unlike the panda, life isn’t always so black and white.
Reviews with the most likes.
Here's the thing that speaks to me so much about American Panda. I'm not Taiwanese, and my home life was so different growing up. But I felt like I was Mei, and she was me. It's rare that I connect so deeply with a character, but there was something so heartfelt and earnest and raw in the voice of this book, that I feel like anyone will be able to find a piece of themselves. There is something about #ownvoices novels by marginalized authors that help me relate to the characters in special way. There is a richness there that I feel all the way in my bones.
This book has everything one could ask for in a contemporary YA novel. It's HILARIOUS. I'm talking scream laugh funny. There is also a sweet romance, and tidbits about MIT that are fascinating for this outsider. There are family dynamics, urban legends, and vivid settings. Plus, the book will make you hungry.
I can't say enough good things about American Panda. It's one of my favorites of 2018. Highly recommended.
There's a lot to like here–it's great to see a YA protagonist who graduates HS early and starts college (and the specific MIT details are a lot of fun), and to see specifically an Asian-American (specifically Taiwanese-American) girl talking about body image in a fat-positive-ish way (tho her mom is very fatphobic) is cool.
That said some of the character details seemed....half-hearted? Like a central conflict is that Mei's parents want her to be a doctor but she hates science and is germphobic. But her germphobia seems very...conditionally active. It does seem appropriate that she comes across as overall very immature since she is a young college first-year, but for an adult reader it was hard to get through. Her voice–and her mom's nagging voicemails–will probably be funnier/more relatable for some younger readers, who of course are the intended audience here anyway.
Although it's great that this is an #ownvoices book it still feels a little like this specific “tiger mom” culture clash has been done a lot. Still, for some readers I'm sure this will ring true, and it's great to have this to offer to teen readers.
Also ok, so her parents disowned her brother because he was dating a girl who was maybe infertile, and I get that they're nosy and there's a lot of gossip but also HOW DID THAT EVEN COME UP? It seemed like the parents heard about it on like their first date--since Mei never met Esther--and instantly disowned him, and then she wasn't even actually infertile but just had some kind of lady health problem?? Just seemed like maybe that whole situation needed a tiny more setup, especially given how much it loomed over the rest of the narrative?
