The Year of the Dog

BOOK REVIEW: The Year of the Dog

 

CITATION: 

Lin, Grace. The Year of the Dog. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007. ISBN: 0316060003

SUMMARY:

The Year of the Dog is about a girl named Pacy and her entire year (starting with the Chinese New Year). Pacy was excited for the year because she was born in the year of the dog and concluded that this would be her lucky year. In that year, she made a best friend, gained more pride about her Taiwanese American culture, and found out what she was good at.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The Year of the Dog tells the story of a Taiwanese American girl named Pacy (written in first-person) and her family, best friends, and overall life. This book shows the playfulness as well as the struggles of a girl who is making sense of many things. She cares that she looks different way (she and one other girl are the only Asian Americans in the school) and what others think about her, but she is not fully-consumed by those thoughts. Thankfully, she made a best friend named Melody who was also Taiwanese American. Their two families become great friends, and she goes through an incredible year showing ups and downs.

The setting of this story is in upstate New York in present day. Pacy is one of three children in a balanced family. She has a happy family that celebrates the Chinese holidays, and attempts to celebrate the American holidays as well. Pacy tells comical stories about what happens when her parents attempt to help them celebrate American holidays, which they do not understand. Stories about her parents and other extended family members are sprinkled throughout the book, enlightening the reader about the differences in the American and Chinese cultures. Those stories help paint a broad picture about how much things have changed in the lives of many Chinese and Taiwanese Americans over the past 50 years.

There are many cultural markers found in this book. Lin does an excellent job of explaining the way Chinese Americans and Taiwanese Americans interpret luck, and how they view celebrations, food, money, and success. Pacy describes the food in specific detail. She also explains people, describing their features, hair, and even smells. Pacy is exposed to some bullying from two Taiwanese Americans who called her a “Twinkie” because she was “Americanized,” and she also learned that luck doesn’t take you as far as hard work does.

With lots of aspects of the story that resonate with any young school-age girl, many children will be able to relate to Lin’s honest picture of Pacy. Most importantly, Pacy sets off to “find herself” in the year of the dog. And readers are in for a treat to learn how she reflected on this important year in her life.

REVIEWS AND AWARDS:

• 2006 Fall Publisher's Pick
• Starred Booklist Review
• 2006 ALA Children's Notable
• 2006 Asian Pacific American Librarian Association Honor

Publisher’s Weekly:

“Lin, best known for her picture books, here offers up a charming first novel, an autobiographical tale of an Asian-American girl's sweet and funny insights on family, identity and friendship. When her family celebrates Chinese New Year, ringing in the Year of the Dog, Pacy (Grace is her American name) wonders what the coming months will bring. Her relatives explain that the Year of the Dog is traditionally the year when people "find themselves," discovering their values and what they want to do with their lives. With big expectations and lots of questions, the narrator moves through the next 12 months trying to figure out what makes her unique and how she fits in with her family, friends and classmates. Pacy experiences some good luck along the way, too, winning a contest that will inspire her career (Lin's fans will recognize the prize submission, The Ugly Vegetables, as her debut children's book). Lin creates an endearing protagonist, realistically dealing with universal emotions and situations. The well-structured story, divided into 29 brief chapters, introduces traditional customs (e.g., Hong Bao are special red envelopes with money in them, given as New Year's presents), culture and cuisine, and includes several apropos "flashback" anecdotes, mainly from Pacy's mother. The book's inviting design suggests a journal, and features childlike spot illustrations and a typeface with a hand- lettered quality. Girls everywhere, but especially those in the Asian-American community, will find much to embrace here.”

Booklist:

“When Lin was a girl, she loved the Betsy books by Carolyn Hayward, a series about a quintessentially American girl whose days centered around friends and school. But Lin, a child of Taiwanese immigrants, didn't see herself in the pages. Now she has written the book she wished she had as a child. Told in a simple, direct voice, her story follows young Grace through the Year of the Dog, one that Grace hopes will prove lucky for her. And what a year it is! Grace meets a new friend, another Asian girl, and together they enter a science fair, share a crush on the same boy, and enjoy special aspects (food!) of their heritage. Grace even wins fourth place in a national book-writing contest and finds her true purpose in life. Lin, who is known for her picture books, dots the text with charming ink drawings, some priceless, such as one picturing Grace dressed as a munchkin. Most of the chapters are bolstered by anecdotes from Grace's parents, which connect Grace (and the reader) to her Taiwanese heritage. Lin does a remarkable job capturing the soul and the spirit of books like those of Hayward or Maud Hart Lovelace, reimagining them through the lens of her own story, and transforming their special qualities into something new for today's young readers.”

CONNECTIONS:

A fun idea to do with students after reading this book would be to host a Chinese New Year party, just as they were described in The Year of the Dog. Children could use details from the book to help them plan it accordingly, and they could also cook the food.

The Shadow Hero

BOOK REVIEW: The Shadow Hero

CITATION: Yang, Luen Yang and Liew, Sonny. The Shadow Hero. New York: First Second, 2014. ISBN: 9781596436978

SUMMARY:

The Shadow Hero retells the story of the Green Turtle, an old superhero from a Chinese American comic writer. The Shadow Hero features Hank, a boy and his family living in a large Chinese community where organized crime was a problem. The boy’s dad owned a store, and his mom longed for adventure. Her goal was to make her son a super-hero. It sounded funny enough, until he came face to face with a thug, lost his father, and then discovered he had some special powers. He experienced great loss, but ultimately found courage and strength in doing what was right.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

This graphic novel, written by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew is an excellent and entertaining read with a teenage protagonist named Hank. A tortoise takes up residence as a man's shadow, and the man eventually ends up being Hank's dad. Retold from an old comic series, this story has a plot that moves quickly. The characters are complex and dynamic, and the way they respond to their situations will leave the readers curious how the story will turn out. Hank’s father is a hardworking grocery store owner in Chinatown, and his mother is a disappointed wife who works for a white family and is looking for adventure. Hank is satisfied with his future, which he believes is to take over the family business. He respects his father, but he is still subjected to rough language, drinking and gambling from the men (the uncles) in his neighborhood. Set in Chinatown in Incendio in the 1930s where organized crime is a problem, the themes of family commitment, hard work and courage can be seen in the way Hank responds to the challenges and requests of his family.

Yang’s style is comical in this story that has serious actions, such as death. He does not leave the reader wondering how we should interpret these characters, he gives them obvious attributes and weaknesses. For teenagers looking to embrace a new superhero, The Shadow Hero is a graphic novel not to be missed. Entertaining with a fast plot, this book introduces readers to a world found in Chinatown, a glimpse into a sliver of the Chinese American experience.

Cultural markers are found throughout this book in the way the characters are sketched by Sonny Liew. The setting, from the outside of building, cars, and Hank’s shop is authentic to Chinatown in the 1930s. The beginning of the story established information for the reader about the Chi’ing Dynasty’s collapse and the way the world had changed at that time. The pictures of the seaport illustrate how some Chinese people came to America. Then, the reality of what America really was disappointed Hank’s mother. This story shows one viewpoint of how some felt with their introduction to America.

Sonny Liew’s illustrations are excellent. Done in pen and paint, they show a lot of detail while including action in almost every pane. Adding to the story’s meaning, readers will spend many minutes looking at the pictures before they are ready to turn the page. There is so much to digest in every picture. Pages from the original Green Turtle comic book are include in the back of the book.

Giving the reader something to ponder, this graphic novel sets an extraordinary story about a superhero into the backdrop of Chinatown in the 1930s. With crime, unfulfilled dreams, and the collision of American culture and Chinese culture, this story is sure to leave the readers with deep thoughts about that place and the time period.

REVIEWS AND AWARDS:

Kirkus Review:

A golden-age comic superhero returns with a brand-new Asian-American origin story.

“In 1944, a Chinese-American cartoonist created the Green Turtle, a World War II superhero who may have had a Chinese secret identity. Seventy years later, Yang (Boxers & Saints, 2013) and Liew (Malinky Robot, 2011) have updated the Green Turtle with an openly Asian-American heritage. Growing up in Chinatown, Hank Chu dreams of becoming a grocer like his father. His mother makes other plans for his future, however, after she sees the local, white superhero in action. She sews Hank a costume, tries to help him acquire superpowers and even arranges for him to learn kung fu. Despite her efforts, Hank’s superhero debut is a disappointment—one with tragic consequences for his family after it makes them a target for a local gang. Yang’s funny and perceptive script offers clever riffs on familiar tropes and explores themes of identity, heroism and belonging. For example, Hank’s mother is a hilarious spin on the “tiger mother” stereotype, and in his costume, Hank is often mistaken for “one of those gwailo superheroes.” Liew’s playful illustrations, especially his characters’ cartoonishly exaggerated expressions, complement the story’s humor. The first issue of the original 1940s comic book is included in the backmatter.”

Publishers Weekly:

“Yang further establishes himself as one of YA’s leading voices on the Chinese-American experience by inventing a backstory for a forgotten comic-book character who was arguably the first Asian superhero. As explained in a postscript, the Green Turtle blinked into and quickly disappeared from publication during the 1940s superhero boom; he would likely be condemned to obscurity if not for rumors suggesting that creator Chu Hing masked the character’s ethnicity so that he could be read as a Chinese superhero (the face of the original Green Turtle is almost always obscured). Yang and Liew run with this theory and cast the Green Turtle as 19-year-old Hank Chu, a second-generation Chinese American who (at his mother’s urging) takes up crime fighting, aided by an ancient shadow spirit that gives him limited superpowers and provides some hilarious banter. Racism, romance, humor, and identity all play important roles in Yang and Liew’s evocation of Hank’s life in pre-WWII San Francisco as they create an origin story that blends classic comics conventions (at one point, Hank’s mother pushes him into a toxic spill in an attempt to give him superpowers) with a distinctly Chinese perspective.”

CONNECTIONS:

An excellent follow-up book to read after The Shadow Hero would be American Born Chinese, also written by Gene Luen Yang.