American Born Chinese (Graphic Novel Challenge #3)

This graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang begins with a tale about a money king who wanted to be a god but because of his monkey-ness he was cast out of heaven and was none too pleased about it.

Then the novel shifts to tell the story of Jin Wang. Jin Wang was born to parents who met eachother after moving from China to America. When he was nine years old, Jin's parents moved from Chinatown to an overwhelmingly white suburb. He encounters the offhanded cruelty of his classmates but becomes fast friends with a new boy from Taiwan named Wei-Chen.

A third storyline begins with a boy named Danny who's unbelievably stereotyped Chinese cousin Chin-Kee (complete with buck teeth, yellow skin, eyes permanently squinted shut, and botched English) comes around as he has once a year and proceeds to mess up Danny's life.

For the rest of the book, the novel switches between the Monkey King's story, Jin Wang's story, and Danny's story. It explores identity and acceptance and the innate desire of wanting to fit in.