Name: Katie's review of American Panda by Gloria Chao
Item: American Panda
Rating: 5
Author: Katie

Gloria Chao

“Weepingly funny.” —The Wall Street Journal “Delightful.” —Buzzfeed “Charmed my socks off.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland Four starred reviews for this incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate. At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies. With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese. But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels? From debut author Gloria Chao comes a hilarious, heartfelt tale of how, unlike the panda, life isn’t always so black and white.

American Panda

Katie

Sarah Sammis

American Panda by Gloria Chao is set in and around MIT and follows the first year of university for seventeen year old Taiwanese-American Mei. Her parents and extended family expect her to get good grades, avoid boys, marry a good Taiwanese doctor, and become a doctor herself. There's just one problem: she's squicked out by all her medical and biology classes.

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“Weepingly funny.” —The Wall Street Journal “Delightful.” —BuzzFeed “Charmed my socks off.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland Four starred reviews for this incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate. At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies. With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese. But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels? From debut author Gloria Chao comes a hilarious, heartfelt tale of how, unlike the panda, life isn’t always so black and white.

Luna Yin

It’s a really great story, it was a little hard to come in at the beginning, but thats probably because I don’t read much. The story is great, Gloria made Mei come to life and she did a fantastic job at making me wanting to find my inner Mei. I definitely recommend it

alexandra

this is the first book that made me feel like my asian-american-ness is seen. forever grateful. full review to come.

Kirsten Simkiss

This is really more like 3.5 stars for me, but the 3 star rating tips the average a little closer to that.

My personal opinion is that this is a book about catharsis. This is a book written by an Asian woman for Asian girls who are feeling the struggle of breaking from tradition. I feel like this is something a number of cultures can also relate to, and that is so very important. However, this book is heavy from beginning to end. The pressure that Mei's character feels from her family is oppressive and that comes across very well in this story. For the first half of the book, there is very little joy in the story because Mei is struggling so heavily with who she is, who she loves, and who she wants to be. This is a story about personal growth, and the only way to grow is to get past what's keeping you held down. But boy is it heavy.

I will also say that this book has a lot of content that would be triggering to people. Fat shaming, for one. Slut shaming. Racism. Emotional abuse. Family related trauma. I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. Like I said, it's pretty heavy in terms of subject matter.

But, like I said, this is probably an important book for people struggling with breaking from the wishes of their parents and/or their culture. That's a hard damn thing and, as this book would tell you, keep going so that you can live to be your most authentic self. 

This isn't a book I'm likely to read again, but it was worth reading.

雪 xue

Nicole Lambert

Not a huge fan of the cover. The storyline sounds promising though!

EDIT: I just finished reading this book, and what a whirlwind of emotions it was! I don't believe I have read anything like it before, and though I am not a huge contemporary reader (and as a writer myself, even less so, since I tend to focus my time on horror and the darker sides of life), nor am I Taiwanese-American (I'm white to the core), I was still moved by this book in ways that I have never been moved by a book before. This is one author that I will have to keep an eye on in the future, for despite being hesitant to pick up this book at first because of the cover alone, I will not hesitate to pick up Chao's other books in the future when they come out.

Casey W. 

For the first 100 pages or so, I was sure I didn't like it. But it turned around and I ended up really enjoying the characters and watching Mei's growth.

mikee ♡

I wasn't aware that this book will blew me away. The story really talks about life that it isn't just always black and white like a panda. The book emphasized family and personal choices which made me loved the book more ㅡ it's just, the author just did it very realistic. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year! Here's to more books from Gloria Chao! 🥰🤘

Samirah Arif

I can't comment on the representation, but everything else was good. there were some parts I was a little uncomfortable with and I was a little bored throughout a lot of it, but it was interesting. The writing style was entertaining and I found the story enjoyable.

Yanelle Ruby

On a reread, this was just as delightful as the first time I read it about two years ago. This coming-of-age story of a Chinese-American teenager struggling to balance her desire to make her parents happy while also making herself happy is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, with a decent dash of romance in there to boot! I will eternally be impressed that this was a debut, and I fully intend to keep reading Gloria Chao's books.

laura

I really did enjoy this book I really liked how this book really give me insight to a totally different culture and found it really eye opening. Mei is a character that grew on me but she def could be a harder characters. I liked the romance but did not love it. I really did like the self discovery part of this novel and dealing with finding your dream path and dealing with parent objections. I also like how the phone calls really framed this novel and was a nice sturcuring element. I hope to read more books by this author in the future.

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[family disownment, child abuse & neglect, death of a grandmother/mother, body shaming, grief & loss depiction, medical treatment, sexism & misogyny, verbal abuse, phobias (specifically germophobia) (hide spoiler)]

Please note I do not identify as Taiwanese-American, or any other Asian ethnicity and therefore can not accurately comment on the diverse representation in this book. If you have written an own voices review, or know of someone who has, please let me know as I would love to promote and share.


American Panda is an own-voices contemporary about a Taiwanese-American teen struggling with the clash between her family's ideals and expectations and forming a life for herself. It's also a really solid story with important themes and really great writing. 

There are so many things that are just done super well in this book. At first glance there may appear to be a lot of things going on: 
-there is Mei who is a new MIT student
-dealing with her germophobia whilst studying towards a medical degree
-she has a passion for dance
-there is the relationship with her brother
-the relationship with her parents
-and the growing relationship with Darren, who is definitely not Taiwanese

But despite the many facets of this book, it doesn't read heavy or complex. Instead it reads genuine and fluid, touching on many of the pieces that impacts on a young adult in Mei's position. I can not help but applaud a writer who can involve so many important rich aspects into a clean, crisp, fluid storyline. 


  
    “And right now I had no idea where I ended and my parents began.” 
  


As far as YA contemporaries go, this book came out with a perfect blend of fluffy, easy to read content and exploring the important idea of making your way in a Western society with strict, traditional parents. 

The gorgeous part of Chao's exploration of this theme is that it is not written to blame any culture or person involved. Rather, it's a discussion of how such a combination can become harmful for those involved. 

The character development in this story, as well, is phenomenal. In particular, the development of Mei's mother broke me and melted me all at once. I also think it is so so important to experience that even older generations have an opportunity of growth.


  
    “And for the record, I'm also not related to every other Chu out there.”
She sipped her water as we laughed. I thought of how in high school, everyone had assumed Ping Lu was my cousin, but no one assumed Ally Jones and Mike Jones were related.” 
  


At times this book very much felt like something I have read before and felt predictable. But that not take away from how much it has to offer and the strong (and very witty) voice of Mei. 

As this book features diversity that I do not identify with, I want to quickly direct you to some own voice reviewers because they can speak to this story much more than I can: CW (Read Think Ponder), Jeann (Happy Indulgence), Chloe Yeung, & Shenwei.


blog •  trigger warning database • more links

Happy reading! ❤

Becca Futrell

honestly, more like a 3.5. but it was truly a cute and fun read!

Erin 

3.5 stars. This was completely adorable, and I don’t mean that in a condescending, cutesy way either. Okay, maybe kinda cutesy. First though, I want to stress that I am a person commenting on a story that is not my own heritage, and that everything I say should generally be taken with a grain of salt because I am in no way qualified to having any real opinion about experiences that are not my own. I in no way mean to delegitimize them. On that note though, one of the things I think this book does best most of all is comment on the relationships and struggles one has with their family, whom they generally love, but also find themselves in conflict with their values and beliefs. Underlying all the traditions that Mei is forced to uphold under the gaze of her overbearing, traditional parents, I think she really does love them, and honors and appreciates the sacrifices they have made to help her get where she is in her life today. That being said, the most tragic part of the story is that with her parents being so headstrong and overbearing and Mei being shy and reclusive in the beginning, it becomes almost impossible to imagine that any happy ending can happen at all without some sort of heartbreaking moment from either party. Throughout the novel, Mei struggles immensely with keeping her secrets from her parents, and it feels like she is literally being eaten inside with the guilt that she is throwing away everything her parents have sacrificed. The very fact that she does have this guilt is proof, I think, that she does truly love them and where they came from. That being said, as someone on the outside of this kind of family relationship, sometimes it did feel a bit forced and overly dramatic, almost bordering on stereotypical, but I am fully prepared to accept that is because I have no personal experience with immigrant/Taiwanese parentage whatsoever. 

One thing I definitely want to comment on is Mei and her relationship with Xing and Xing’s disownment. We know from the summary that he is going to be part of huge moment of transition for Mei. My thing with Xing though, is that he remains shrouded in mystery for a good chunk of the novel and we aren’t given much explanation until he and Mei meet up later on. We know that he was disowned because of the girl he was dating, but that’s about it and I really felt like I was straining for more information to clarify the situation. When he becomes part of Mei’s life again, it becomes a lot clearer and less unnatural and artificial. I feel it would have made for an easier reading experience if there was more of a buildup to their final meeting. The scene where he appears at Chow Chow and there is a big fight between him and his family was a lot of information to take in at once and felt overwhelming, especially because it read as if we knew a lot of information, though we didn’t.

The relationship between Mei and Darren was pretty cute, even if at times it felt rather awkward. As embarrassing as this would be for Mei, I was kind of hoping that the guy who barged in on her checking her rash was going to be Darren. It would be totally awkward and embarrassing for sure (I know I would die on the floor for sure) but it could have been a funny icebreaker for their relationship. It’s interesting to note the differences between Mei and Darren’s upbringing. One is the child of immigrants and thus closer in proximity to the corresponding traditions, and the other is from a family that has been American for generations. I was a little surprised by how mean Darren was with his comment about Mei being brainwashed, though. Their relationship was really starting to build a foundation at that point, and I felt it was clear that Mei was struggling with her parents’ traditions. It was cruel and frankly, unnecessary. I really hurt for Mei after that comment, and I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be the end of them or not. Thankfully, it wasn’t, and we got lots of hot chocolately goodness after he apologised and they made up. Also, because Mei didn’t seem to have many friends, I was glad she had someone her own age that she could rely upon. (As a side note though, what is up with the Lady Peanut/Pecan/Almond nicknames? Is that another MIT thing? Because I feel like I completely missed where that came from (I mean, all the MIT lingo completely went over my head, so it’s not entirely unexpected).)

I really liked the structure of the novel though. I thought the voicemails from Mei’s family were an interesting addition, even if they were just a comedic effect. The little notes about having no chapter four or chapter thirteen were quirky additions that took no effort at all but added to the cultural aspect of the book. As much as I didn’t understand a single Mandarin word, I also really liked the emphasis on them as well. I super appreciated the Author’s Note at the beginning, where she explains the Romanization of the words and how to pronounce certain letters based upon their accents. Even if I was hopeless at translating, I thought it was a nice consideration to the readers. 

I think a lot of my comments and thoughts about this book stem from the fact that I haven’t experienced anything that Mei has by myself. I haven’t been pressured to study a subject I cannot stand, and I haven’t been threatened with expulsion from my family and only support system if I didn’t follow the rules. But for the record, as I previously said, I do think the author did a great job at exploring the relationships Mei had and her own internal struggles with it all in a clash of her own culture and that of her parents. I did feel like I got to know Mei the best, and even if the rest of the characters felt a bit one-sided at times, they provided a good balance for Mei. The only character that was just plain awkward for me was Dr. Chang, from the moment she was introduced to her near repulsion at just being a doctor in general (if I were her patient, I’m not sure I would feel entirely confident that my health was in her hands). Also, as a final note, I loved the emphasis that was placed on Mei’s love of dance, and I especially loved that it was Chinese dance in particular. Another reason why I feel that she truly does love her heritage, if not always the traditions and superstitions. I wish it had been in the summary though, because throughout the book it often felt like a side note and I didn’t figure out how much attention I was supposed to pay it until halfway through the book. Anyway, overall I did really like it and I’m super glad I got to read it. I am totally here for diverse reads and main characters and am thrilled that books like this are being written and published.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katie &
American Panda by Gloria Chao

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