Ask a Bookseller: an award-winning graphic novel, soon to be a series
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Jennifer Murvin of Pagination Bookshop in Springfield, Missouri loves the YA graphic novel "American Born Chinese" by prolific cartoonist Gene Luen Yang.
It was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award back in 2006, and just this week Disney released a first look at an 8-episode series based on the novel, starring Michelle Yeoh, among other big-name actors. The series will be available on Disney+ in 2023.
The novel has three plotlines that interconnect in creative ways. One is about a boy named Jin Wang, the son of Chinese immigrants, trying to navigate a largely white school in the suburbs of San Franscisco.
The second is about a boy named Danny whose life seems perfect, except for the presence of his obnoxious Chinese cousin who continues to insert himself into Danny's life; and the third is about the mythical Monkey King.
Murvin loves the magical realism of this book and says that every time she rereads it, she spots something new.
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