I loved this! A fantastic debut novel about the struggle between generations and learning to find and stand up for yourself.

Mei is the dutiful daughter—she's attending MIT, going to be a doctor, and going to be married to a Taiwanese boy her parents find. And aside from attending MIT, she wants none of it. Can she find her way alongside that of her over-bearing parents'? Or will she be forced to be a shell of herself for the rest of her life?

A fantastic, funny and emotional book that had me laughing, crying and cryaughing out loud, much to the consternation of my wife. I know absolutely nothing about Chinese or Taiwanese culture (but I went to college in Boston and know a lot of MIT grads....so....there's that), and this was a wonderful #ownvoices story about how one Taiwanese-American girl juggled life, school, love and family. It's fiction, but reads as deeply personal and ingrained in the author's own experiences, which makes the emotion so much deeper, the anxieties heavier and the stakes higher. And it's in Boston (okay, Cambridge but whatevs)!

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Even though this book is about the experiences of an Asian-American teen, and the pressure to maintain her cultural traditions, I totally related to this book. The story of Mei, and her epic clash with her parents wishes, is a universal one, of a young person breaking free of her childhood and finding her own way. This was a highly entertaining and, at times, heartbreaking book.

Blog post scheduled January 30
American Panda by Gloria Chao
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, 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 dating a nice Taiwanese girl, but she is infertile. Because she might not be able to bear his 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. Plus, Chao places Mei into hilarious and uncomfortable 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, 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. Despite some flaws, Mei shines through with all her imperfections. American Panda is a fun, lighthearted romp through a world most American teens haven’t experienced. I'm adding copies in all formats (print, eBook, eAudio book) to my library upon this title's release, and will book talk it widely with high school students.

American Panda is an 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? (Via Goodreads)

I received a finished review copy of American Panda from the publisher, Simon Pulse, in exchange for an honest review. Just as I expected to, I loved this debut novel.

It is much heavier in content than you’d expect with its delightful cover, but I still fell in love with it. American Panda is an incredibly important story from a Taiwanese-American woman about trying to find a balance in her life. Mei is torn between two cultures that she’s entirely enveloped in, her parents’ very high expectations of her and what she desperately loves to do.

It does need some content warnings for ableist language, unwillingness to wear glasses, fat-antagonism, being germophobic, discussion of STDs, yeast infections, peeing into a cup, cutting up cadavers, disowning, death of a family member, and mention of suicide. Please be careful with your mental health if you want to read this, dear readers.

I am very much a member of Team GET MEI SOME GLASSES, Y’ALL. Or at least some contacts, but I feel like glasses would be better for her issues with germs. She mentions throughout the book that she only recognizes people by their silhouettes until they’re very close to her.

I loved that Mei wanted to work with her parents to find a way to honor their culture, but also to honor their children for who they actually are, because that is so important for Mei, Xing and Esther and their futures. I loved that it wasn’t an immediate change, and Chao did a fantastic job of showing the struggles that they faced, while also letting Mei grow into herself the way she needed to.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a young adult college novel, to anyone wanting a novel that features an extremely relatable struggle for so many immigrants, to anyone wanting a lovely college story. Honestly, I’d highly recommend this to anyone, so long as the content notes above aren’t triggering for them.

You can pick up a copy on Amazon, Indiebound, Barnes and Noble or your local independent bookstore!

I loved this book! It was cute and meaningful. The humor was amazing and the characters were likable. I highly recommend it for fans of romance and humor!

This book was so much fun to read. The themes throughout the book were portrayed in the most realistic way, you feel like you're actually living it. Gloria Chao did a fantastic job in her writing when it came to describing just how Mei was feeling in each situation she was thrown into. There were times when I felt Mei's frustration, longing, and even embarrassment at times. There's even one instance in the book where I felt so much emotion I had to put it down for a few minutes.

Mei is this awkward teen who skips a grade and ends up in MIT at the age of 17, is afraid of germs, and tends to get up and leave without explanation to get out of embarrassing situations. I loved her awkward witty personality and Chao did an amazing job at showing Mei's insecurities along the way. Mei's inner struggle to please her parents while trying to come to terms with who she is can be seen clearly in Chao's writing.

Oh Darren. He is so sweet and understanding you can't help but fall in love with him. He does his best to show Mei that life isn't based on plans, that sometimes you just have to live in the moment, and that there is nothing wrong with standing up for yourself and what you want. His support of Mei is #relationshipgoals for sure!

The family dynamics in this book are so fascinating. I don't know much about Chinese American culture but reading this will definitely open your eyes to the strict family dynamics you only hear about. Mama Lu is definitely a character and aunt Yilong is so intense you will find yourself staring at the pages like..."she's crazy". Each character is unique and adds so much to the different cultural aspects that you are completely captivated as the story continues along.

I can't wait to see what other books Gloria Chao releases in the future because this book is definitely top of the list of books I'll be recommending!

A charming debut filled with humor, warmth and heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon Pulse for the advance reader copy American Panda by Gloria Chao in exchange for an honest review. Gloria Chao has written an honest, heartbreaking book about perfect Taiwanese daughter, Mei, who at age seventeen, is a freshman at MIT with weekly visits for dinner by her overbearing, judgmental parents who have her future meticulously planned for her- become a doctor (she really hates germs) and wed a Taiwanese doctor (arranged marriage, of course!). I suffered along with her as she realizes she can’t be the perfect daughter and will she be cast off as daughter just like her brother was? With the help of her brother and Darren (the forbidden Japanese boy) and digging deep within herself, I relished Mei’s journey to happiness, a future in dance, new friends, and a future with dreams. Chao’s description of Mei’s Taiwan culture and beliefs, and food was authentic. The characters and plot were fully fleshed, I could not put this book down. Teens will laugh, empathize, and wrap their arms around Mei, her MIT experience, and being an insecure teen with family ties that hurt more than helped. I fell in love with Mei, highly recommended!

An 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.

Mei is seventeen and just entering her freshman year at MIT. She is on track to become a doctor and to marry the ideal Taiwanese mate, all according to the “plan” laid out for her by her parents.

The problem is Mei is a bit of a germaphobe, would prefer to be a dancer, and has zero interest in the boy her parents want her to marry. Mei has found herself pulled between wanting to pursue her own dreams and the knowledge of what it means to go against her parents.

Mei’s brother, Xing, was banished from the family for following his heart and, as Mei discovers her own hopes and happiness, she fears how close she is to repeating his path. Mei finds herself torn between the desire to make her parents proud or to find her own happiness.

American Panda is engaging, and funny, as well as heartbreaking. The characters are so vividly portrayed I could hear them as if they were speaking and standing in the room with me. Even though this reality is so far from anything I’ve known in my life I felt the pain and pressure that Mei—and girls just like her—must feel. What a delightful and engaging story!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the chance to read an ARC of American Panda.

American Panda is one of most anticipated releases on 2018! So can you imagine my excitement when I was approved for an eARC on NetGalley?

How do I write a review for a book that I connected with? What words can depict how I feel? Or is there a way for me to quote nearly every page of this book?! 😅 I bookmarked nearly all the pages because there was a passage on each page I felt like I could relate to or simply got a good chuckle out of it.

While I share similar conflicted feelings like the narrator, Mei, I cannot vouch for a lot of the scenarios in the book because I’m not Taiwanese. Truth be told, reading this book was a learning experience for me, whether that was the intention or not.

I do think there is a lot of cognitive dissonance (I think that’s the right idea) in regards Mei. She is Chinese-American. Her parents grew up in Taiwan, but she in America. One can only imagine the very conflicting emotions and situations she was often put in with parents who hold very strongly to their culture, beliefs, and religion. Mei, who ascribes to a handful of these as well, feels incredibly conflicted about these beliefs she’s grown up with. This comes to head as she attends her first year of college to become a doctor, not because she wants to be one, but because her parents want her to.

There are so many instances throughout this book where Mei makes a lot of excuses for her parents’ behavior, especially when it deals with particular superstitious beliefs and rituals (like how having a big nose, though not considered pretty in the culture, means you’ll make a lot of money). Mei has learned to deal with this her entire life, the teasing and the her internal struggle to reconcile to her two parts: Chinese and American–an American panda.

What I truly found disconcerting was Mei’s parents’ complete disownment of her elder brother, Xing, simply because he started dating a woman his parents didn’t approve of. Mei has had to deal with her lack of brother by herself, unable even to voice how she feels about pretty much anything to her parents and other members of her family because she is 1) a girl and 2) young. It becomes quite frustrating at times, and we can really see how heavily not only this, but Mei’s parents’ desire to mold their daughter in someone she can’t be weighs heavily on her.

It’s safe to say that I liked pretty much everyone that isn’t Mei’s family, haha. Well, I liked her brother but that’s because he broke away from the family and forged his own path. I really liked Darren, too, and liked seeing how his and Mei’s relationship develops over the course of the book. Each new character introduced plays a role in how Mei sees herself, I think, and each are important in their own way. I did find certain situations very odd, though. Mei has to hide a lot from her parents and it’s really sad to see. She also reflects a great deal on the past and how she did once feel close with her family members, but how it has also quickly deteriorated as the years went by.

One of the worst moments for me was toward the last few chapters of the book when Mei and her mother are talking about her mother’s relationship with her father. I won’t say anything for spoiler’s sake, but her mother has really taken a lot, mostly emotionally and verbally, and I think the reason she is so hard on Mei is she feels like Mei can do and be better. And I think a lot of that stems from why some Asian parents can appear to be so hard on their children because they just want better for them (maybe that’s only my parents? Okay.)

See below for the review that I posted on my blog.

*To be posted 1/25/2018*


Hi! I requested this book because I saw a recommendation via one of my favorite authors, Kerri Maniscalco: and I'm glad I did!



Title: American Panda

Author: Gloria Chao

Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5 stars

Pub date: February 6th, 2018



Summary

This book follows Mei, who is a Taiwanese-American teen who travels into the world of college at MIT. She deals with forms of anxiety/OCD and the trials and tribulations of her own love life as well as her family struggles. These all form together to make a lovely contemporary that is an #ownvoices novel which moved me from tears to laughter.

Likes

I found this book to be incredibly similar to When Dimple Met Rishi, in relation to the diversity and how the family was presented in relation to culture. I really loved how connected I felt and how much I learned about the culture through the story. I also liked how there were translations and little voicemails before each chapter that led into what the chapter would be about. Mei is a believable character and she is incredibly smart, truly astounding as she skipped a grade. The love story in this book relates back to her brother and how he was estranged because of his choice of wife, and it shows how important family is. I loved Mei's love story and how it played into the story, much like Dimple in that sense as well. The focus on her fear of germs was also interesting to me and I am very into mental health issues in young adult literature and the journey was portrayed well.

Dislikes

I can't cite any specific dislikes but it wasn't a 5-star read for me. I thought it was written well and I enjoyed the read. Like my previous review, I think that it was a short book and it was quite easy to read. It was a feel-good novel as well which is something I needed after the stress in my life lately!

Recommendation

I would suggest this to #ownvoices readers as well as those who enjoyed Dimple because it's very similar!


Happy reading! ~ Taylor

I was blown away by this powerful debut from Gloria Chao. I expected the moments of humor and romance in Mei's story (and they're everything you could want in terms of awkward swoon!), but what caught me off guard in the best possible way was the seriousness and deeply-felt intensity of Mei's struggle between cultures (the Taiwanese culture of her heritage and parents; the American culture of her childhood experience; and the unique university culture of MIT). AMERICAN PANDA will disarm you, make you laugh and probably pee a little, and then make you ache from head to toe as you root for Mei to find her path.

First, thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC!

This was a really cute book that ended up being much more full of Issues than I expected. I loved the look into Chinese-American culture and how family dynamics can play a major role. I learned a lot about familial expectations and traditions. I appreciated that it's clearly an own voices book, and about something that means so much to the author.

All that said, the book was just OK for me. Mei's voice felt weak at times and the plot felt rushed. The ending was abrupt and I would have liked more closure (although I'm so not a 'let's tie it up in a big red bow' kind of reader).

"Honesty is sometimes misconstrued as rudeness, which is probably why it's so rare."

If you've ever struggled to live up to the expectations of others, while still being true to who you are, American Panda is the perfect book for you. And honestly, who couldn't relate to that? It's hard to be honest in the best of times, especially when it's personal; and being honest about who we are is probably one of the biggest trials we each face as grow up. 

17-year-old Mei is a young college freshman at MIT struggling with the weight of her parents' plans for her life. Because, yes, they've already mapped it all out for her (it's been set in stone since the day she was born) - there's MIT and then Medical School and then life as a doctor/housewife married to a "good" Chinese boy who is probably also a doctor.

The problem is, Mei is a total germaphobe who is in no way cut out for the medical profession. What she really loves is numbers and dance, but neither of those things is as secure as being a doctor, so her parents won't even consider them as possible majors for her.

I love Mei's voice. It's so authentic and awkward - she's is absolutely a mess, which I feel anyone would be if placed in her situation. She's clearly been sheltered her entire life, and now that she's got a taste of freedom at MIT things are starting to change so quickly that she practically doesn't have time to catch up to the spinning gears in her head telling her that maybe traditions aren't all meant to be followed.

This book has some very painful moments. It was heartbreaking to watch Mei's family act like total jerks to Mei's brother Xing, all because he dated a woman that "wasn't good enough" for their tastes, and some of the traditions they try to foster on their children seem utterly barbaric by today's standards.

One thing I really appreciated though is that Mei does a great job of introducing us to Taiwanese culture, superstitions and traditions with a gentle hand. Yes, some of those cultural elements seem strange or even barbaric to us in modern day America, but she never trashes the culture for it. Instead, it's with an inside look that we come to understand why her family acts they way they do (even when it's utterly devestating to witness) and while we may not agree with it or even like it, it's something we can at least understand and maybe even empathize with it. Traditions can be very weighty, after all.

"I don't know why he can't just give a little."

"Cognitive dissonance perhaps?" I suggested.

My mom raised an eyebrow in question.

"B ba sacrificed so much beceause of these traditions, and if he gives a little, it would mean his hardships were unnecessary," I explained. "So in a way, he can't give in because he can't accept that he suffered for no reason." 

Mei's journey to discover herself admist those traditions is delicate and fragile anf frought with hardships, but it's also full of humor. I learned so much about Taiwanese culture, which was awesome, and now I want to go out and try pork rice and oyster cakes and especially Taiwanese Shaved Ice. So I need to find a place in my area that sells those things ASAP.

Overally, this is a poignant story of family, tradition, and forging your own path through the webs that tie us all together.

Review: 4/5 stars

Although cute, a bit too mature for my middle school library.

“‘Sometimes I’m so proud to be Chinese, and other times I resent it so much. The obligations. Duty to family. Xiàoshùn.’”

And with that line, American Panda understood me in a way no book has before.

I’m making all my Chinese-American friends (both who read and who don’t) to preorder this book because it is exceptional. Although we only see the experience of a Chinese-American through the lense of one teenage girl, I believe there is something - whether it is stinky tofu, matchmaking, or dreams of being a doctor - that a Chinese-American teen can relate to in Mei’s story. American Panda is superbly written, with hilarious dialogue and equally witty inner monologues of Mei, a seventeen-year old who is college-bound to MIT. She’s intelligent and checks off all the boxes for Obedient Chinese Teen ™. She’s on the premed track and meets her parents once a week (if not more) at Chow Chow, a restaurant they frequently eat at. She’s shy. She’s the child that her parents are piling their dreams on after they disowned her brother. But at this turn of her life, Mei is experiencing an internal conflict that continues to grow as she meets new people and experiences new things in college.

I loved Mei from the very first page. She’s not exactly a size 0 (size 8 - same as me!) and her body size is remarked upon when she’s at Chow Chow by her mother. As well as her large nose. And futures of being a doctor. And matchmaking prospects. Her mother is seen as chastising her because of the way she looks and acts throughout their meetings, which hits really close to home. Although my parents are not as strict as Mei’s, my mom and dad treasure traditional values like them, and that has made growing up in America quite hard at times.

“‘You need to be careful, Mei. No man wants a panda - lazy, round, and silly. All yuan gun gun.’
‘Pandas are cute.’
‘Do you think the concubines won the emperor’s attention by being cute?’”

To Mei’s mom, her future is as a doctor and with a Taiwanese doctor husband. But Mei has other things in mind. For one, she’s a germaphobe and really, really dislikes biology and anything related to it. (She even tries shadowing students and physicians to no avail.) She also has a passion for dancing, which is a total no-no from her family. American Panda really resonated with me because it breathes life into the stereotypes that Asians (South, Southeast, and East Asians especially) are known for. Yes, there’s a main character that studies really hard and is shy/introverted and follows her traditional parents. But she’s more than that - as we are all more than our stereotypes. Her values come from her family, and her family’s values come from a culture from a land they left but whose ideologies they carry in their hearts.

“‘You can’t end up like me, Mei. You heard them last night. No respect for me. As a doctor, your husband and in-laws will be better to you. They have to,’ she said, more to convince herself than me, it seemed.”

I think the biggest surprise in this book was Mei’s mother’s character development. Originally I thought she was there for comedic and plot purposes, but her character turns quite three-dimensional as we continue reading. There is also a large focus in Mei’s life on politics - that is, familial and community politics. Readers witness the humble bragging of matchmaking mothers and how much families will sacrifice in order to get the desired offspring they want. There’s an exploration of different levels of “strictness” in different Chinese households (no two are the same), as well as how that affects the way their children grow up and live. And while Mei is balancing potential relationships (friend and romantic-wise), as well as the family politics going on, the majority of the book is about her growth and experiences as a teen in college. And that’s what I loved about it.

Mei is an amazing character. I see small bits of myself in parts of her, even though we’re quite different. She finds herself struggling between the strict upbringing of her parents and the freedom that the future has to offer. This is further exemplified in her growing crush on a Japanese classmate, Darren, and her shaky relationship with her disowned older brother - all a testament to how her parents have “failed” to mold her into an Obedient Chinese Teen ™. But with the help of family and friends, she finds her footing and shines like the outstanding panda she is.

“We looked into each other’s eyes, no longer in the awkward way of stolen first glances, but in the I-truly-see-you kind of way. The chemistry between us was so strong I could practically see the forces - ionic, covalent, even van der Waals.”

While the book isn’t focused on Mei being at college, the little glimpses we get of MIT are wonderful. We learn about traditions and places through Mei, as well as hilarious situations that - of course - only a freshman could get into. These scenes were wonderful, and make me thirsty for more YA set in colleges.

I’m so excited for American Panda to be published, and for Chinese-American teens to see themselves in. (And if not themselves, then a bit of their culture.) It takes well-known Chinese stereotypes and transforms them into realistic characters and situations that offer a glimpse into a Chinese teen’s life. And while it’s not representative of all Chinese teens, I do so hope that we can see more Chinese-American characters on the cover of contemporary YA.

Trigger Warning: body shaming (tiger mom style), suicide (small mention)

So this is only the 2nd Taiwanese American people protagonist in YA ever, so I had a lot of hopes pinned on this book, and it honestly delivered fantastically. This book is the perfect combination of humor and heart and resonated strongly with me as someone who ended up not liking my college major. The cultural references were similar to my own life and had me yelling. 😂

4.5 Stars!!

What an amazing YA contemporary. As a reader, I could tell that Gloria Chao poured her heart and soul into this book, and it was further proven by her heartfelt author's note. While I am not Chinese-American, I did not have a disconnect with Mei AT all. One of the important themes throughout the book was how Mei was just a normal teenager, and trying to be yourself while straddling two different cultures. Chao wrote Mei so well, and I completely resonated with the character and her growth. After I reflect, I just might bump up my rating, because this was honestly so wonderful and refreshing. What a great book to round up 2017. :D