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Three stories combine to create a fantastic and realistic look at life from the perspective of an American boy, a Chinese boy, and a monkey. Jin Wang is a Chinese-American who moves into a new neighborhood and finds prejudice against him because of who he is. When another new boy from Taiwan moves in, Jin finds himself dealing the same prejudice to him, but eventually finds a friend. Chin-Kee comes to visit his American cousin, Danny, every year. He goes to school with him, attends his classes, and seemingly ruins Danny’s life. The Monkey King embarks on a power-seeking journey but ends up discovering something more valuable than even the greatest power. These three characters connect and come together in a surprise ending that leaves the reader astonished and wanting more.

This was the first graphic novel I ever read. And I loved it! I was literally laughing out loud when I was reading, which probably scared some of the people sitting close to me. The artwork was amazing and I loved the references to popular culture, such as Transformers. Even though this graphic novel was full of great humor, it also had a deeper message that I really appreciated. I think that many people would relate to several of the characters in this novel, and maybe even discover more about themselves along the way. The reading was quick, but as mentioned in my description above, I was left wanting more. My first experience with a graphic novel was epic and I will definitely be picking up many more in the future. Before giving this novel to a student, I would discuss prejudices with him/her and make sure that he/she understands that this novel is not promoting those prejudices, but rather, helping to do away with them, as well as make the reader aware of how ridiculous they can be.

This sounds great! Thanks for reviewing it.

This book has an essence on culture of different people of different nation and it's just good read although i'm amazed there still something i'm looking for in the story.
i might suggest to make a continuation for the book . g

I remember this book. I think the twist of the three stories coming together was somewhat clever, but it did still feel disconcerting jumping between stories of school age kids and stories like a godly monkey king. Overall, I found it more enjoyable as I'm an Asian American who can relate somewhat to the characters, but I dont know if I'd recommend it to many people over other stories.

I read this last summer and I was surprised to realize this was the first time I was reading a comic about Asian-focused racism. With the subject matter hitting too close to home, I was pretty emotional while emphasizing with the protag. I highly recommend this, and it's an easy read.

I loved reading American Born Chinese. The style of the art and writing was very compelling and different. If I had seen this on my own, I don't think that I would have read myself, so I'm glad that it was one of the required books for my classes in college.