Lyga – The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl

Lyga, Barry. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Lyga takes the classic story of nerdy-kid-bullied-at-school & gives it a fresh, modern take. Fifteen-year-old Fanboy is comic book fanatic. He’s been working on a comic for practically his entire life & intends to give it to one of his heroes at the upcoming comic book convention. He forms a tentative friendship with Goth Girl through their mutual outcastishness. Fanboy keeps a list of his tormentors & daydreams of school shootings. Goth Girl is bold & foul-mouthed, but helps teach Fanboy how to stick up for himself.

I enjoyed Fanboy & Goth Girl, but not as much as I thought I would. Fanboy seems authentic enough – I like that he carries a bullet around with him at school & that Lyga wasn’t shy about his Columbine-style machine gun frenzy fantasies. His torment was realistic & painful, too. Goth Girl was also a pretty good character – even if she was a little over-dramatized. I appreciated that much of her was kept a secret; any good Goth Girl should have a few secrets. However, a lot of the interactions & resolutions seemed a bit too scripted; too pat. In addition, Fanboy & Goth Girl seemed just a bit too lonely; it seems like there should have been a bigger cadre of outcasts in their school. They still could have found one another, I just think that Lyga made them seem too much like outcasts without them really being all that extreme.

A Booklist Review describes Fanboy & Goth Girl as a “darkly comic, realistic, contemporary story of bullying and a teen’s private escape in artistic pursuits.”[1] It goes on to applaud Lyga for his “fresh, urgent perspective”[2] on the age-old tale of teens coping with bullying – which I would definitely agree with as the highlight of the book. However, a Publisher’s Weekly review echoes my dissatisfaction with the all-too-easy textbook resolutions, “such as the narrator suddenly making peace with the step-fascist” (Fanboy’s stepfather).[3]

All in all, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl was a good read. It would be a great book to recommend to comic book fans, goth fans, geeklit fans (is geeklit a word? – if they enjoyed Geektastic I’m declaring them, & myself, a geeklit fan), or any teen who wants a good read on bullying. It would also serve as a good booktalk in conjunction with a comic book library program.

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[1] “The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl,” Booklist Reviews. September 2006, no. 1. as found in Baker & Taylor’s Title Source 3. http://ts3b.informata.com/TS3/record.jsp?rn=5&ps=5&fr=0&anc=5&bs=1&fb=0&n=E%3A\webapp\ts3\main\users\ls000149.rec&FirstRec=Y (accessed 3/8/2010).

[2] ibid.

[3] “The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl,” Publisher’s Weekly Reviews. October 2006, no. 4. as found in Baker & Taylor’s Title Source 3. http://ts3b.informata.com/TS3/record.jsp?rn=5&ps=5&fr=0&anc=5&bs=1&fb=0&n=E%3A\webapp\ts3\main\users\ls000149.rec&FirstRec=Y (accessed 3/8/2010).

Yang – American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. New York; First Second, 2006.

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel which won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in Young Adult literature. The graphic novels weaves together 3 separate tales – all of which come together in the end. The first story is that of the legendary Monkey King; the god of the monkeys who’s obsessed with getting the respect of the other gods. The second story is of Jin Wang, a young Chinese-American boy trying to fit in at school. The third story is of Danny, a seemingly average American teen who is haunted by his over-the-top Chinese stereotype cousin Chin-Kee.

Though I’ve read a lot of graphic novels, I had never gotten around to this one – so I had to choose it as my Printz book! I had expected big things from it, but I was still pleasantly surprised at just how good the story was. I should have seen it coming, but the way the three stories came together still took my by surprise. Yang’s illustrations are great; with a solid, clear & whimsical look to them. Their childish, amusing design helped kept the reader rooted in Jin’s young perception of things – implying that he still saw the world in much the same way as a teen as when he had been in 3^rd grade. They also help ease the transition of the Monkey King into the ‘real world;’ the already cartoony nature of the frames let him fit right in without seeming out of place. I’m not quite sure that I ‘get’ the integration of the Birth of Christ with the Monkey King’s story, though. Perhaps it’s intended as a parallel of Jin’s journey & integration into Western Culture? I don’t know, but I still loved the book.

Ned Vizzini wrote a thoughtful & interesting review of American Born Chinese for the New York Times last October.[1] He point out that “Asians are widely perceived to have it easier than other minorities in the United States,” but that Yang does an admirable job of breaking down those perceptions with his honest depiction of Jin Wang’s childhood. Vizzini points out the many references to negative Asian stereotypes in American pop culture, such as Chin-Kee’s William Hung impression while singing “She Bangs.” On the other hand, a Library Journal review concludes a brief description of the work with, “some potty humor; recommended for teen and adult collections.”[2]

American Born Chinese is obviously a must-have for any public or school library. It should have a place of honor in any graphic novel collection, display, or program. In addition, it serves as powerful material in any discussion of stereotypes & race issues, or on contemporary Asian-American culture. It would also make a great addition to a Chinese New Year (today!) book display for teens or adults.

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[1] Vizzini, Ned. “American Born Chinese.” New York Times Full Text Review. 27 October 2009. as found in Bowker’s Books in Print through the University of North Texas’ electronic Library. http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2612/merge_shared/details/RecordDetails.asp?item_uid=72028277&viewItemIndex=0&navPage=1&FullText=&BipAlertQueryString=&BipAlertDisplayQText= (accessed 14 February 2010).

[2] “American Born Chinese.” Library Journal. 15 March, 2007. as found in Bowker’s Books in Print through the University of North Texas’ electronic Library. http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2612/merge_shared/details/RecordDetails.asp?item_uid=72028277&viewItemIndex=0&navPage=1&FullText=&BipAlertQueryString=&BipAlertDisplayQText= (accessed 14 February 2010).