Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese. New York & London: First Second Books, 2006.
Annotation: "It's easy to become anything you wish, so long as you're willing to forfeit your soul." Young Jin, whose parents are recent Chinese immigrants to America, faces an identity crisis and struggles to find himself.
Justification for Nomination: Gene Yang has crafted a brilliant book showcasing the struggle of a young Chinese-American to fit into a society where he feels out of place and alienated. Yang takes the reader into the world of Chinese culture and lore by introducing into the book the tale of the Monkey King, who, like Jin, desires to escape his true identity. Yang's excellent illustrations immediately draw the reader's attention and the intertwined stories of the main characters are certain to strike the nerve of many young adults who have a desire to escape an undesirable life.
The dialogue used in the story is completely believable and Yang's introduction of some of the aspects of Chinese lore and the Chinese-American experience opens a door to a world outside of the typical. In Jin, who badly wants to be like all of his American schoolmates and has to decide whether he's willing to forfeit his soul to do it, Yang has deftly created a character that many young adults will identify with.
Genre: Graphic Novel, Printz Award Winner
