American Born Chinese

The first time I ever heard of this book, it was on the back of the Boxers and Saints covers. (Boxers and Saints are a two-book series by Gene Luen Yang. You'll hear more of that series in future Nerd Alert posts. He also wrote this very book I'm writing about). The second time I heard of American Born Chinese was the reason I decided to read it. My cousin Sophia (who lives in HONG KONG by the way) recommended it for me by email. To tell the truth, it sounded a little slow to me. The whole "monkey king" thing just didn't seem that interesting. But since she was my cousin, and she liked graphic novels too, I decided to read it. That was one of the best decisions of my life. Those of you who don't know, Gene Luen Yang is a genius. I mean, I already knew that from Boxers and Saints, but American Born Chinese confirmed the fact that he is a genius. See, in American Born Chinese, she writes two stories which become metaphors for the other. One is a regular Chinese folk tale; the other is a story of a Chinese boy named Jin in America who is disrespected by his classmates and teachers. But that's not all. The monkey story tangles with his, and new people come and go, and something happens to him. As the story goes on, you understand it more and more. But when you read it the second time, you really get it. It's hard to explain. I would, along with Boxers and Saints, put it on my Top Twenty Graphic Novels List.

Awards: National Book Award finalist and Best Book Award from the Chinese-American Library Association
Ages: 12+
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                                                              American Born Chinese

The Giver

Okay, The Giver isn't exactly a book you can write about. "There are some books that are yours, that telling people about them seems like betrayal," said Hazel Grace Lancaster from The Fault in Our Stars. The Giver is one of those. This is one book that you will not be able to stop reading or stop thinking about for days. Months. Years. But not about metaphors and other fancy reading terms. This book is for people who like to ask questions, but don't want to know the answers. I can't really explain what that means. I can't explain the plot of this book without giving too much away, either. But what I will say is that it's about a boy named Jonas who lives in a place called The Community. He has a sister, Lily, a best friend, Asher, and a set of parents. The ceremony of twelve is coming. (I'm trying to sound ominous here). Choices will be made. A heavy book, but a clever one.

Awards: Gold Newberry Medal
Ages: 12+
 
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                                                                  The Giver

Aphrodite

I'm a nerd. I wholeheartedly admit it, and have many times, and will admit it many more times. However, though my readers know how nerdy I am, what I am about to type on this post crosses the extreme nerdiness line. Brace yourselves. Here it is: when this book arrived at my house yesterday, I literally jumped up and down and shrieked like a baby for an hour, I was so excited. Ask my parents. At dinner, instead of the routine, "Yeah, my day was fine," there was me saying, "I just can't believe it. This is crazy. This is awesome. No, awesomely crazy," until I actually sat down and read the stinking book as my sister kept suggesting as frequently as my "I just can't believe it." But if you've read this book, or any George O'Connor book at all, you'd understand my disbelief. The illustrations, the way he tells the story...this is the way modern-day greek myths should be portrayed.
              Anyway, back to the actual book. Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love, is underestimated in all the other books. In a disguised, polite way they're describing Aphrodite as being insignificant. Not so in this graphic novel. In this book, Aphrodite is one of the most powerful goddesses on Olympus, not some silly, gorgeous, airhead girl (don't get me wrong, she's still the most gorgeous woman in the universe. In Aphrodite that's not all there is too her). For pete's sake, she's the goddess of love; is there any more powerful force in the universe?

Ages: 10+
           
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                                                       Aphrodite