American Panda Book Review
Hey y'all, Happy Sunday! Today I'm going to be reviewing American Panda by Gloria Chao! This book was so adorable, funny, real, and culturally informative. Let's get into it :)
American Panda is about a girl named Mei who is Chinese American, living in Boston and going to school at MIT at the young age of 17! Mei's parents immigrated from China and are very traditional in their cultural values and expectations. Mei struggles to find herself and BE herself all while trying to fit into her parent's wishes. Mei has an older brother named Xing, who has been disowned from the family. For what reason you might ask? OH, because his fiance has fertility issues, which is unacceptable to Xing's parents. You follow Mei's journey into being herself, standing up for herself, and reconnecting with Xing. I won't give anymore away because I really want y'all to read this!
I absolutely loved Mei and her quirks and humor. She presumably has OCD, which is great representation and it's written very well. She doesn't fit into stereotypes yet she also represents important aspects of her culture, both of which I liked and appreciated. As she finds her way in life and gains confidence, you can't help but cheer her on and root for her! I'll be honest, in the beginning I absolutely detested Mei's mother, but as I read more, I learned more and understood where her mom (and the rest of her family) was coming from. It was a fantastic learning experience.
I highly recommend this book and give it 4.5/5 stars. You'll laugh and maybe cry and cheer for one of the best characters I've seen written in a long time.
Hope you enjoyed! I'll be back tomorrow with my thoughts on Game of Thrones :)
Alette
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