American Panda (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781481499101)

"Weepingly funny." --The Wall Street Journal
"Delightful." --Buzzfeed
"Charmed my socks off." --David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland

Four starred reviews for this incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate.

At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth--that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?

From debut author Gloria Chao comes a hilarious, heartfelt tale of how, unlike the panda, life isn't always so black and white.

Author: Gloria Chao
ISBN-10: 1481499106
ISBN-13: 9781481499101
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 02/06/2018
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 1.20d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.6
Point Value: 11
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 195159 / American Panda


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 11/01/2017 pg. 64
Publishers Weekly 11/20/2017
Voice of Youth Advocates 12/01/2017 - Recommended - Hard To Beat
Kirkus Reviews 12/15/2017
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2018
School Library Journal 02/01/2018 pg. 98
Shelf Awareness 02/09/2018
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2019 - Recommended, Satisfactory