American Born Chinese

What American Born Chinese is about

Jin Wang, Danny and the Monkey King seem to have nothing to do with one another, and that is the surprise of this graphic novel. It braids together three stories. One retells the Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, who is deeply unhappy being a monkey and keeps trying to become something else. Another follows Jin, the child of Chinese immigrants, who moves from San Francisco's Chinatown to a suburb where hardly any classmates are Asian. He makes a friend in Wei-Chen Sun, dates Amelia Harris, and finds that fitting in comes at a cost. The third centers on Danny, a 16-year-old whose cousin Chin-Kee arrives as a walking racist stereotype and mortifies him. Humorous and thoughtful by turns, it explores racial identity, assimilation and self-acceptance, and asks what it means to be comfortable in your own skin.

Questions about American Born Chinese

When was American Born Chinese published?

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang was first published in 2006.

Was American Born Chinese one of the best books of 2006?

American Born Chinese is #22 on BookWard's Best Books of 2006, out of 46 2006 books that cleared our data bar. 228 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (23 ratings).

Why is American Born Chinese on the Best Books of 2006 list?

228 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4 out of 5 (23 ratings).

More of the best books of 2006

• The Sea of Monsters Rick Riordan, #1
• The Book Thief Markus Zusak, #2
• Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, #3
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne, #4
• The Secret Rhonda Byrne, #5
• Mindset Carol S. Dweck, #6

See the full Best Books of 2006, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.