I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book — I don't read a ton of graphic novels (they've always interested me, and I read a decent amount of manga in middle school, but the medium isn't very Kindle-friendly as a whole and I do most of my reading on my Kindle nowadays) and the synopsis is intriguing though not especially descriptive. The plot is interesting throughout, and all the buildup comes to satisfying fruition at the climax when all three storylines converge and the "moral" (inasmuch as the narrative has one) emerges.

Some of the other reviews mention how clever the title is. For what it's worth, I've been referring to myself as "American Born Chinese" (or ABC) for about as long as I can remember, and definitely since before this book was published. Though it's not really an important issue; it might be regional or have grown in popularity relatively recently. Either way, to me it's a familiar turn of phrase ... which made it all the more disconcerting when I had trouble relating to this book. I know I'm extremely lucky to have grown up in a community with lots of fellow Asian-Americans, so I didn't feel out of place or singled out, and I went to Chinese school growing up so I know the language, culture, and stories. This version of Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) works well within the context of the larger story Yang is telling, but it's fundamentally different from the story I grew up with, and that threw me off quite a bit. Which is a complicated issue in and of itself, getting into retellings and storytelling culture and diversity of experience even within a demographic — I won't get into all that, except to say that this isn't the book's fault but it did impact my enjoyment of the story.

But! The art is terrific, and the narrative flow is fantastic. Objectively, this is a book that deserves all the awards and praise it has gotten. (It's just not quite right for me.)