New YA: American Panda by Gloria Chao
American Panda by Gloria Chao
In bookstores February 6, 2018
Seventeen year old Mei is already a freshman at MIT, but her Taiwanese parents aren’t impressed. They won’t be satisfied until Mei graduates from medical school, becomes the “best doctor,” and marries an appropriate Taiwanese boy. Mei would rather be a dancer, and she’s far too much of a germaphobe to be a doctor. Darren, the boy Mei likes at MIT, is Japanese American, and therefore completely unacceptable. Mei’s parents have never asked what she wants to do, and Mei feels tremendous guilt for even thinking about anything outside of her parent’s far-reaching expectations. Mei’s mom is a textbook helicopter parent; constantly calling and hovering to keep the pressure on Mei (and offering advice, such as for Mei to pinch her nose to make it smaller, maybe even with a clothes pin.)
Mei’s older brother Xing has been cast out by their parents, despite the fact that he’s almost followed the plan. He’s finishing his medical residency and engaged to a nice Taiwanese girl, but she might have problems getting pregnant. Because she might not be able to bear Xing's children, Mei’s parents have banished any mention of Xing in the house.
Author Gloria Chao has written a hilarious and heartfelt character in Mei, and a frenetic, hovering Asian mother who eventually becomes a sympathetic character. While the average teen (hopefully) won’t relate to everything Mei is going through, they will see enough of their own family drama to relate to Mei’s plight. Most readers will likely encounter many of these cultural traditions and taboos for the first time, and it's a comfortable and at times quite funny introduction to this culture.
Chao places Mei into hilarious and awkward situations, and those alone are worth reading. The family drama seems a little extreme, and some set-ups seem a bit stereotyped (the hovering Asian mother or the incredibly strict Asian father, for instance). But Mei’s reactions to these help round out the story. She stays in touch with her banished brother, and eventually comes to see that her parents are just as trapped by their culture as she is by her parent’s expectations. Mei and her brother are balancing the desire to experience their own American culture with their family's Taiwanese culture, but more often they are the ones who seem like reasonable adults compared to the outrageous expectations of their parents.
Despite some flaws, Mei shines through with all her imperfections. American Panda is a fun but tender romp through a world most American teens haven’t experienced.
Chao places Mei into hilarious and awkward situations, and those alone are worth reading. The family drama seems a little extreme, and some set-ups seem a bit stereotyped (the hovering Asian mother or the incredibly strict Asian father, for instance). But Mei’s reactions to these help round out the story. She stays in touch with her banished brother, and eventually comes to see that her parents are just as trapped by their culture as she is by her parent’s expectations. Mei and her brother are balancing the desire to experience their own American culture with their family's Taiwanese culture, but more often they are the ones who seem like reasonable adults compared to the outrageous expectations of their parents.
Despite some flaws, Mei shines through with all her imperfections. American Panda is a fun but tender romp through a world most American teens haven’t experienced.
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