Asian Americans

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

| Tasha

Emergency Contact by Mary Choi

Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi (9781534408968)

Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, eager to leave behind her uneventful high school years, her dull boyfriend and her over-the-top mother. Her roommate Jude takes her to a coffee place where her uncle works, and Penny finds a connection with Sam immediately. Their friendship steadily grows as they communicate exclusively through texts with one another. But Sam’s life is not a simple one. His ex-girlfriend has announced she is pregnant, he is sleeping in a small room above the coffee shop he works in, and he is trying to break is alcohol habit. As Penny and Sam continue to text one another, their connection grows more serious and soon they are sharing things that they have never told anyone else. But can their friendship survive meeting in real life again?

I fell completely head-over-heels for this teen romance. Penny is a character who is rather neurotic with her bags of supplies and her need for cleanliness. Yet she is also artistic and has a thought process that is just as unique and wonderful as she is. Choi doesn’t try to fix Penny and how idiosyncratic she is, which is a wonder and a relief. Sam too is incredibly written, grappling with so many things at once. One of my favorite scenes happens early in the book when Penny rescues Sam from a panic attack, which demonstrates the amount of anxiety both of these characters have and how they live and love with it.

As the background of both characters is revealed to the reader, their reactions begin to make more and more sense. It’s as if the reader too is meeting a stranger, building a relationship and falling for both of these characters at the same time. A large part of both of the characters are their mothers from Penny’s sexy Asian mother who acts far younger than she is and is constantly getting into trouble to Sam’s mother who ran up credit card debt in Sam’s name, they are influential and painful for both characters.

Beautifully written, awkward in the best way and entirely empowering and accepting, this novel is a warm hug for readers struggling with anxiety. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

American Panda by Gloria Chao

| Tasha

American Panda by Gloria Chao

American Panda by Gloria Chao (9781481499101)

Mei is a freshman at MIT. Her Taiwanese-American parents have decided that she will become a doctor, though Mei tends to be a bit freaked out by germs. They also want her only to marry a Taiwanese boy selected by them. As Mei chafes under their expectations and excessive attention, she starts to date a Japanese-American boy at MIT. But her brother was kicked out of the family for dating a girl her parents didn’t approve of, so she has to keep him secret. She is also keeping her love for dancing and her dream of owning a dance studio from her parents. And when she starts to see her brother again, she also can’t tell them that. As Mei’s lies and secrets grow larger, it becomes inevitable that they will topple over and the truth will come out. But what does that mean for her relationship with her parents and extended family, going to MIT and her own dreams?

Chao has created a book that she needed as a teenager, one that reflects the deep-seated expectations of a family. At times, the reactions and actions of the family are horrifying, including the put downs of Mei, the disowning of children, and the expectation that the parents’ opinions are all that matter in every scenario. And still, readers will see the love shine through since Chao allows spaces to form that give Mei and her family hope for reconciliation in the future.

The book is masterfully written allowing readers to see culture as both a foundation but also as a constricting world at times. She imbues the entire novel with humor, since Mei is funny and smart, seeing the world through her own unique lens. The messages from Mei’s mother pop up between chapters, offering their own moments of laughter. The steady growth of connection between Mei and her mother is one of the most vital parts of the book, as Mei’s discovery of her own voice allows her mother to step forward too.

A book that belongs in all public libraries, this novel will speak universally to all teenagers looking to make their own paths. Appropriate for ages 13-16.

(Reviewed from copy provided by Simon Pulse.)

 

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

| Tasha

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee, illustrated by Man One (9780983661597, Amazon)

Roy Choi was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was two years old. His family owned restaurants and he grew up loving his mother’s cooking. When his family got successful, they moved into the suburbs where Roy didn’t fit in. He eventually found his way to being a chef and worked in prestigious kitchens until he lost his job. When a friend had the idea to open a food truck that served tacos, Roy agreed. Soon his food truck was a huge success. Still, Roy wanted to do more. He decided to open fast food restaurants in neighborhoods that needed them. Roy stayed in the neighborhoods where he felt most at home and where he was needed, and that’s exactly where you will find the very successful chef today.

This is the third book about chefs and food people by Martin. As with the previous two books, she captures the essence of this person with skill. Her prose is shown as poetry on the page and often reads that way too. Her take on things so succinct and focused, she uses only the necessary words to tell the story. Her collaborator, Lee dances poems on the page that have the feel of modern lyrics.

The illustrations are entirely unique. Done with backgrounds of spray-paint on large canvases that were then photographed, there is a wild energy to them. The play of music and food on the page is apparent, the graffiti inspired art ties to the urban setting and the poorer neighborhoods.

Strong and successful, this picture book captures a modern master of food. Appropriate for ages 6-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

| Tasha

the-sun-is-also-a-star-by-nicola-yoon

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (InfoSoup)

A finalist for the National Book Award, this book for teens is exceptional. It is the story of two teens, Daniel and Natasha who meet one another through a series of events. Daniel, a poet, firmly believes in love at first sight and destiny bringing them together. Natasha though does not, believing in science and what is provable. The day is a big day for both of them. Natasha’s family is being deported back to Jamaica that night unless she can figure out a way to stop it. Daniel is being interviewed for Yale, a school and a career path that his Korean parents have chosen for him. When the two meet, the chemistry is palpable, but the timing is horrible. Daniel decides that he can prove to Natasha that love is real and measurable, but can he do it in time with their deadlines working against them both?

I can see why this book is getting all of the attention and praise that it is. It’s an amazing read, filled with possibility and the sense that the universe may just be on our side sometimes. It’s filled with romance and chemistry. The prose has a lightness that is exceptional, creating space for these two amazing characters to meet, breathe, and tumble head over heels in love with one another.

Meanwhile, it is also a story of New York City. It’s a story of immigration and illegal immigrants, of losing a culture and then losing the dream of America as well. It’s a story of overt racism and the new generation of teens who see beyond that and into hearts. It’s a story of profound loss, of parental betrayal, of hope that manages to rise again and again.

A book perfect for today, this teen novel is a voice of hope despite our challenges and loving through it all. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Double Happiness by Nancy Tupper Ling

| Tasha

Double Happiness by Nancy Tupper Ling

Double Happiness by Nancy Tupper Ling, illustrated by Alina Chau

Told in individual poems, this is the story of a brother and sister who must move away from San Francisco and the extended family they have there, including their beloved Nai Nai. Before they leave, their grandmother gives them empty boxes to fill with reminders of where they have been. For Jake there is a penny, gum rolled into a snake shape, and a blue-green marble. For Gracie, there is a panda from home, a eucalyptus leaf, and one final elusive element from home. The children have adventures in the airport, make the transition to a new home with wintry weather, and throughout their connection with their family and their heritage stays strong.

Ling writes poems that shine with warmth. She captures what it feels like to be a beloved child in an extended family and the angst of leaving that place for another. Wrapped throughout the poems are references to China and Chinese-American culture that makes this book a real joy for its diversity that stays so strong throughout. The poems are individual but work together into a picture book that offers a way to cope with a move and to capture the changes and experiences along the way.

Chau’s illustrations are bright and friendly. The children are small on the page compared to the adults, and their size changes with the emotions they are feeling. Both are bright rays of colors on the page with their banana yellow and plum outfits. The illustrations too swirl with Chinese characters as well as symbols like the phoenix and dragons.

This book speaks to the emotions of moving through lovely poetry but also a concrete way to focus on the positive in the change. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang

| Tasha

shadow hero

The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang, art by Sonny Liew

Released July 15, 2014.

The Green Turtle first appeared in comics in the 1940s, the Golden Age of Comics, for a short run.  He was the first Asian-American super hero.  Now he has been given a back story by acclaimed graphic novelist, Gene Luen Yang.  Hank was the son of a Chinese immigrants.  His father was a grocer, who also carried within him a turtle spirit unbeknownst to his wife and son.   His mother was a cleaner of rich people’s homes.  Hank was a normal kid who grew into a normal young adult, until his mother though being a super hero would be the best career path for Hank.  She sewed him a costume, tried to get him special powers through a variety of techniques, and then had him train in fighting with someone.  But it took Hank awhile to find his super hero mojo, perhaps it was finding a man who rules China Town with an iron and greedy fist or perhaps it was vengeance.  Whichever it was, Hank grew to become the Green Turtle.

This is one graphic novel that does not take itself too seriously, making for great reading.  Fans of comic books will love the irreverent humor here that plays up the stereotypical origin stories of most super heroes.  That is matched with a clear respect for immigrants, the difficult choices they have to make, and the desperate need at times for a hero to save them.  It makes for a book that dances the line between drama and humor skillfully and to great effect.

Liew’s art has a freshness that both hearkens back to old comics but also forges ahead with a modern vibe.  The colors are used carefully, often more muted and subtle and then popping into bright colors when important events happen.  It’s very cleverly done.

An amazing and complex superhero arrives in this graphic novel that both pays homage and reinvents the first Asian-American super hero.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital copy received from NetGalley and First Second.

Review: Girl in Reverse by Barbara Stuber

| Tasha

girl in reverse

Girl in Reverse by Barbara Stuber

Lily can just barely remember her “Gone Mom” as she calls her birth mother.  She was adopted by her family when she was three years old.  All she knows is that her mother gave her up for adoption and then disappeared and has never been heard from since then.  With the Korean War brewing, Lily is the target of many “commie” jokes because of her Asian heritage.  Her parents don’t take the targeting seriously, encouraging her to ignore it.  When her little brother finds a box from Lily’s Gone Mom hidden in their attic, Lily suddenly has clues to follow about her mother.  She heads back to the orphanage that she was adopted from and finds one of the nuns who cared for her while she was there.  The nun has one last item from Lily’s mother that she has kept safe for years, which she gives to Lily, a fragile glass slipper.  As Lily and her brother begin to piece together Lily’s past, her present continues to interfere with the racial jokes getting more overt and a boy at school showing real interest in Lily as something more than a friend.  Lily must balance finding out about her past with her dreams for the future and learning to live with parents who lied to her about what had happened.

Stuber very successfully combines historical fiction with diversity in this novel.  Set in the 1950s, Lily struggles with how to react as racism becomes the norm during her school day.  Lily finds support with a janitor at the school while she is serving detention for leaving school grounds after being bullied.  He is a warm and wonderful African-American character who can speak and put words to what Lily is going through. 

The characters in the book are all robustly written and fully explored.  Even Lily’s dysfunctional parents have depth to them, reasons for their deceit, and the ability to learn and change.   Stuber’s prose is lovely, walking us through emotions and moments in a beautiful way.  Here is how she describes Lily’s mother on Page 208:

My father may wear the pants in the family, but Mother wears the perfume – her mood reigns, soaks everything, rules the day, the night, and everything in between.  But at this moment I cannot sniff her mood.

Beautifully written with complex characters, this middle school book takes us into history on a personal level.  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Margaret K. McElderry Books.