American Born Chinese [Gene Luen Yang]

Yang, Luen Gene. American Born Chinese.
First Second Books, 2006.
YA. Graphic Novel. Fantasy. Printz.

One bright and starry night, the gods, the goddesses, the demons, and the spirits gather in heaven for a dinner party.

Summary
Three separate stories are woven together in this graphic novel. Il Jin is a Chinese American boy who is unpopular. He makes his first friend, Wei-Chen, when they bond of transformer toys. As they grow Il Jin desire to be popular grows, especially when he starts to have feelings for a pretty girl.

The second story is the Chinese fable of the Monkey King who wants to be accepted among the gods. Despite how powerful he is the gods turn him away because he is a monkey. The Monkey King grows and angry and does everything in his power to become human like.

The third story is about Danny, an all-American high school male, interested in girls and sports, except that every year his Chinese cousin comes to visit and torments Danny with his foolish and embarrassing ways.

Reaction
The three stories eventually come together in a surprise twist ending- which let me tell you- was awesome. I loved the interconnectedness of all the stories. It's a story about accepting yourself as you are, a coming of age story told in pictures. There's a reason this book as won all sorts of awards.