Sunny Rolls the Dice

 From my school's Fall book fair.

Title: Sunny Rolls the Dice
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 2019
Writer: Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm
Artist: Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm
Colorist: Lark Pien
Letterer: Fawn Lau
Editor: David Levithan

This is the third book in Jennifer and Matthew Holm's Sunny series about a girl growing up in the Pennsylvania suburbs in the late 1970s. Of course, the thing that attracted me to this book was the main character's introduction to Dungeons and Dragons, right out of the classic blue boxed set.

The nostalgia runs thick here, in all of the best ways. The D&D scenes are loads of fun, and really capture the feeling I remember as a sixth-grader trying to figure out this new kind of game.

The rest of the plot is pretty standard middle school slice-of-life fare, as Sunny tries to figure her way through peer pressure and the standards of "groovy" (complete with a handy "groovy-meter", which Sunny is distressed to find is usually in the red). As Sunny's friends begin to pursue teenage interests, Sunny has to make some choices about what path she wants to follow.

She is hoping that path won't end with her walking into a gelatinous cube.

Rating: 7/10

Saints

Bought at Garden Books, Shanghai, China.

Title: Saints
Date: 2013
Publisher: First Second Books
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Art: Gene Luen Yang
Colorist: Lark Pien

Saints is the companion piece to Gene Luen Yang's Boxers (reviewed here), telling the story of the China's Boxer Rebellion, this time from the point of view of a Christian woman whose visions of Joan of Arc lead her into the conflict. The main character in this story appears briefly, but significantly, at two points in Boxers, and Saints brings her story to life.

Vibiana was called "Four Girl" growing up in a household that considered her to be cursed with bad fortune. She finds her refuge and her new name among the Chinese Christian community, and she struggles to understand the visions she has received even as the world around her descends into war.

While the ultimate direction of this volume is as violent and tragic as Boxers was, the beginning has a more witty and sarcastic tone, even as it deals with serious issues of abuse and family.

There is less sweeping story here, but it is more focused and personal.

It does significantly alter the resolution of Boxers, but it does it in a way that I thought added to the story rather than negating aspects of it.

The use of Joan of Arc comes off as odd choice in some ways, and the author has do dance a bit around the issue that she had not actually been canonized at the time the story was set. That being said, the character of Joan is handled well, and the artwork on her scenes is especially good.

This did a nice job of expanding the world of Boxers and deepening the story.

Rating 8.5/10

Boxers

 Bought at Garden Books, Shanghai, China.

Title: Boxers
Date: 2013
Publisher: First Second Books
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Art: Gene Luen Yang
Colorist: Lark Pien

Tragic and intense story of China's Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Little Bao witnesses the injustices of the foreigners who have been bullying the common folk of China, and he begins the practice of Kung Fu, as the conflicts escalate. Soon, Bao is being led into a crusade against the invaders by the Opera Gods, who inspire Bao and the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist. As the violence of the conflict escalates, Bao finds himself caught up in a conflict that he no longer has the power to control.

The working of Chinese mythology into the story provided some beautiful visual elements, but the story and the art do not shy away from the horrors of the conflict, and the mythical elements do not overshadow the human drama of the story.

I look forward to reading the companion volume, Saints, which tells the story from the other side of the conflict.

Rating: 9/10

American Born Chinese

Title: American Born Chinese
Date: 2006
Publisher: Squarefish Books
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Art: Gene Luen Yang
Colorist: Lark Pien

This 235 page graphic novel weaves three stories, two about American students (one in middle school and one in high school), and one about the mythical Monkey King.

Jin Wang begins the year as the only Chinese-American student at his middle school. When a new student arrives from Taiwan, Jin is hesitant to befriend him in the face of a constant stream of casual racism.

Meanwhile, all-American high school boy Danny is getting along fine until his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee arrives for his annual visit, and proceeds to act the part of every obnoxious Asian stereotype.

While much of this graphic novel is a well-written story about teenagers trying to find a place in a culture full of prejudice, it's the ending that really makes American Born Chinese effective. How these two stories are connected, and how they connect to the myth of the Monkey King is unexpected and original, and it leads into a powerful and clever ending.

I read it in one sitting. The Chin-Kee character is (intentionally) cringe-worthy, but the other characters are realistic and fun. The Monkey King segments are enjoyable parables that add some fantasy action to the early portions of the story before their purpose is revealed.

Rating: 8.5/10