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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated American Panda in Books

Jan 23, 2020  
American Panda
American Panda
Gloria Chao | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
<h2><em><strong>American Panda</strong></em><strong> is one of the books I needed my entire life.</strong></h2>
Gloria Chao's debut novel is about Mei, a Chinese-American teen who has no desire to be the doctor her parents want and a crush on a boy who wouldn't get a parental stamp of approval. Her older brother, Xing, is disowned by the family for falling in love with the wrong person, and a few meetups with him to reconnect makes her question the traditions she grew up with.

<h3><strong>I related to Mei so, so much.</strong></h3>
95% of the time growing up and now I feel like I'm alone in my experiences - <em><strong>American Panda</strong></em><strong> reminded me that I'm not alone. At all.</strong> There are other people like me who go through relatively similar experiences! &#x1f62d;&#x1f62d;&#x1f62d; (Honestly, I want to cry happy tears the entire time reading.)

And while my experiences aren't the same as Mei, it hit close to my heart with her struggles to choose between fulfilling her parents' dreams and what her heart wants. This is something I continue to struggle with, along with balancing two different cultures.

<h3><strong>Cute, adorable, hilarious.</strong></h3>
On top of relating to virtually every page, paragraph and line in the novel, there's a cute and adorable romance! I loved reading the moments between Darren and Mei.

But while <em>American Panda</em> is all three of those traits, it can also be really heavy and emotional later on as Mei is having an internal struggle with herself, and eventually external with her family members. <strong>If you are expecting a fluffy contemporary read when going into this novel, you will find yourself a little disappointed.</strong>

<h3><strong>But sometimes it wasn't funny.</strong></h3>
There were a few moments in the book where I felt the novel was not funny - most of that occurred near the end. While I understand the approach was meant to be comedic, I felt like it played into the Asian stereotypes a little too much. It also felt like Chao was trying too hard (and maybe that was intentional?) with some of those scenes. At the same time though, most of the stereotypes I feel were handled well by Chao. Again, I'm only one Chinese-American - my experiences compared to another will be different.

<h2><strong>Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed <em>American Panda</em> and how it deals with the struggles of Chinese-American teens growing up.</strong></h2>
While this specifically deals with one Chinese-American experience (and as noted by the author, Mei's experience is taken from many backgrounds and fictionalized), I think a lot of teens will relate to the book in other ways.

<a href="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/american-panda-by-gloria-chao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
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Matt Dentler recommended Shadows (1959) in Movies (curated)

 
Shadows (1959)
Shadows (1959)
1959 | Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"In fact, the whole John Cassavetes: Five Films set. This is the starter kit for anyone who wonders about the roots of the American independent film movement. Seeing Cassavetes’s debut, the politically charged love story Shadows, is like watching the birth of a giant. Meanwhile, Faces and A Woman Under the Influence are searing portraits of the blinding pain true love can bring when a marriage ends up tearing a family apart. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Opening Night, on the other hand, are noirish sagas of death and business. Plus, Charles Kiselyak’s moving documentary A Constant Forge offers up the proper historical and cultural perspective on one of American cinema’s true visionaries."

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