Reality Check

In 2006, Chinese-American cartoonist Gene Luen Yang depicted what it was like to grow up as part of an ethnic minority in the U.S. with such arresting candor that his American Born Chinese became the first graphic publication named as a finalist for the National Book Award. Loosely based on the author's own experiences, the book's three short stories touched on a gamut of themes, from language and acceptance to stereotyping and assimilation, and the frank, accessible manner in which they did so inspired translations of American Born Chinese in more than 10...

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