American Panda
Ratings16
Average rating3.8
Here's the thing that speaks to me so much about American Panda. I'm not Taiwanese, and my home life was so different growing up. But I felt like I was Mei, and she was me. It's rare that I connect so deeply with a character, but there was something so heartfelt and earnest and raw in the voice of this book, that I feel like anyone will be able to find a piece of themselves. There is something about #ownvoices novels by marginalized authors that help me relate to the characters in special way. There is a richness there that I feel all the way in my bones.
This book has everything one could ask for in a contemporary YA novel. It's HILARIOUS. I'm talking scream laugh funny. There is also a sweet romance, and tidbits about MIT that are fascinating for this outsider. There are family dynamics, urban legends, and vivid settings. Plus, the book will make you hungry.
I can't say enough good things about American Panda. It's one of my favorites of 2018. Highly recommended.
There's a lot to like here–it's great to see a YA protagonist who graduates HS early and starts college (and the specific MIT details are a lot of fun), and to see specifically an Asian-American (specifically Taiwanese-American) girl talking about body image in a fat-positive-ish way (tho her mom is very fatphobic) is cool.
That said some of the character details seemed....half-hearted? Like a central conflict is that Mei's parents want her to be a doctor but she hates science and is germphobic. But her germphobia seems very...conditionally active. It does seem appropriate that she comes across as overall very immature since she is a young college first-year, but for an adult reader it was hard to get through. Her voice–and her mom's nagging voicemails–will probably be funnier/more relatable for some younger readers, who of course are the intended audience here anyway.
Although it's great that this is an #ownvoices book it still feels a little like this specific “tiger mom” culture clash has been done a lot. Still, for some readers I'm sure this will ring true, and it's great to have this to offer to teen readers.
Also ok, so her parents disowned her brother because he was dating a girl who was maybe infertile, and I get that they're nosy and there's a lot of gossip but also HOW DID THAT EVEN COME UP? It seemed like the parents heard about it on like their first date--since Mei never met Esther--and instantly disowned him, and then she wasn't even actually infertile but just had some kind of lady health problem?? Just seemed like maybe that whole situation needed a tiny more setup, especially given how much it loomed over the rest of the narrative?