Memoirs often capture memories frozen in time, yet over the years, these memories can become reshaped, remixed, and even distorted. After all, facts become scattered but the truth behind the experiences endures. In her introspective memoir Until We Meet Again, Lily Kim Qian wrestles with deeply ingrained truths as she recounts her earliest memories leading to the estranged relationship between her parents, setting her on a path to discovery and inner healing.
The story begins in a jumbled dream-like state as Lily, a daughter of Chinese Canadian immigrant parents, sorts through a mixture of forgotten and remembered childhood memories—baby pictures, birthday parties, walks on a frozen lake, sizzling fried eggs made by her PoPo—which abruptly shifts to a darkened room where she watches her mother in a deep slumber. The scene later segues into a two-page spread where a tidal wave sweeps into a bedroom, signifying violent verbal battles between her parents that rage like a relentless tsunami. Narrated in vignettes, each story illustrates a moment in time, highlighting intimate details as she grapples with the gradual decline of her mother spiraling into the throes of mental illness. Segmented into chapters labeled after family members and locales spanning from Toronto to Shanghai, the plot runs the gamut of turbulent family dynamics converging through time and place as Lily constructs shattered fragments of her childhood to forge a new identity. From affectionate moments of her mother giving her a bath and dining over a meal of fried rice to outbursts of anger erupting between her warring parents, she navigates the ebbs and flows of fractured relationships in search of meaning and stability.
Bold and vivid line streaks infused with flecks of color paint the emotional landscape of each story. A variety of layouts—dynamic double-page spreads, a collage of photos, full-page scenes of places and characters—showcases a compelling assortment of visual compositions and storytelling prowess. Most striking is how the artwork translates metaphors into concrete images, which ranges from Lily somersaulting through recursive panels to illustrate her constant displacement from one home to another to a tangled ball of yarn symbolizing the mass confusion in the triangular relationship with her parents.
A memoir that reveals episodes of inherited trauma encompassed by the stigma of mental illness in Asian cultures, this story unearths poignant experiences dredged up from private memories. Much like how the brain functions when bombarded by a barrage of memories, Lily’s stories, or rather her recollection of them, unravels through a kaleidoscopic series of fractured moments that form a complex mosaic. Until We Meet Again adds a deeply intimate voice to young adult collections, exploring the complex emotional landscape of dysfunctional family dynamics in a beautifully rendered visual memoir from an Asian Canadian perspective.
Until We Meet Again By Lily Kim Qian Macmillan First Second, 2026 ISBN: 9781250884237
Company Age Rating: 14-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Canadian-American, Chinese, Depression Character Representation: Canadian-American, Chinese, Depression
When we are young the world can seem magical and full of untold possibilities. It’s when we get older and more perceptive, if not wiser, that the magic can fade and reality becomes more apparent. This transition from childhood to adulthood is a rite of passage for all of us and a time that can define who we become as people.
Comet Clubis set in present day China, and follows the lives of Li Yu and his friend Yang Kuaikuai as they find themselves on that same precipice between childhood and adolescence. As their time in middle school nears an end they are at a crossroads. Li Yu, the troublemaker of the two, is stuck in the pair’s small mountain town while Yang Kuaikuai, the more studious one, is trying to decide if he will stay in town with his father or move to the ‘big city’ with his mother, who left him and his father when he was very young. With their time potentially running out, Li Yu wants to make the most of what time they do have and drags the more skeptical Yang Kuaikuai to the Comet Club, a group of students that discuss UFO sightings and the possibility of extraterrestrial life visiting their mountain town. The club is led by the handsome, charming, and very intelligent Qi Ming, who beat out Yang Kuaikuai for first place in their school’s math competition. For this reason and out of morbid curiosity, he agrees to hear the club members out and join. Soon strange lights in the mountains bring the club members out of their comfortable homes in the town and up in the harsh winter wilderness above. And it is in that bleak landscape that the kids shed their childlike naivete and see things for what they truly are. Comet Club is a coming of age story very similar to such hallmarks of the genre as Stand by Me, showcasing the bonds of childhood friendship that hold a group of characters together and the cracks that form as time and circumstance begin to take their effects on who those kids are developing into. Through the characters’ parental figures the reader is given insight into what shaped the characters into who they are and insight into the choices the characters are making to distance themselves from their parents and their expectations or to seek out and meet those expectations. Li Yu’s drunken father set no expectations whatsoever leading him to take things less seriously and become a class clown. Yang Kuaikuai’s mother leaving when he was so young creates a need to prove that he is good enough to be worthy of her withheld love. Qi Ming’s father is working overseas in Japan and sends him letters and gifts such as a telescope, encouraging him to literally and figuratively reach for the stars, while at the same time hiding a dark secret of his own that also will play into his son’s future. Creator Li Yang imbues the story with a realistic sense of angst, uncertainty, and youthful idealism. Her artwork lies somewhere between realism and fantastical which really drives home the story’s place in the transitional period between the main characters’ childhood perspectives and the burgeoning reality slowly descending upon them. Regardless of their circumstances or in what country the reader was born, the plotline is universally relatable making it a great read for teenagers going through many of the same things.
Comet Club By Yi Yang Fantagraphics, 2026 ISBN: 9798875002564
Company Age Rating: Teen
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11) Creator Representation: Chinese, Character Representation: Chinese,
JieJie and her little brother DiDi live in a desert wasteland outside of a bustling metropolis known as Oasis City. Their mother works long, grueling hours in order to get her children admitted to the city. JieJie does her best to keep her little brother in good spirits and acts as sister, best friend, and mother. But this is no job for a child. Scavenging for water, enduring sandstorms, and trying to make nutritious meals from dry packets weigh heavily on JieJie. Things change when the children come across a scrapped AI robot in a junkyard. This new addition to the family is able to do pretty much everything their original mother can and the children begin to develop a familial love for her. Despite the story’s dark premise, it ends on a very hopeful note.
I do want to draw attention (pun intended) to the beautiful illustrations in this book. The character designs are minimal and delicate – the people in this story have a cartoonish, child-friendly design that is almost evocative of dolls or toys and I think the whole vibe endears them to the reader. The harsh environments and settings are realistically rendered, and Goujing makes excellent use of color and highlight to bring out the despair and hope in the story.
Oasis has a lot of potential for dark storytelling, but ultimately leaves these plot threads behind to favor a saccharine ending. I feel that there was a rich vein to mine about AI, environmentalism, the nature of work in capitalist societies (a very haunting connection is drawn between the children’s mother and the AI robot), and how all of those things have the potential to just slam together and what sort of disasters it might create.
But really, this book is not necessarily trying to speak to me personally. As the author states, the book was inspired by the “left-behind children” of China—children who live in rural areas while their parents seek work in cities. A happy ending is what we want to give these children who are so far away from their parents, and it’s easy to see that desire reflected in the story. The publisher describes it as “filled with equal parts hope and suspense,” and I am inclined to agree.
Oasis By Guojing Macmillan, 2025 ISBN: 9781250818386
Company Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11) Creator Representation: Chinese, Character Representation: Chinese,
Wei has always wanted to be a lion dancer. His father was part of a championship-winning lion dance team, and Wei dreamed of doing athletic stunts like him. He joined a team, where he and his friend Hung danced together in the two-person lion costume: Wei as the head, and Hung as the tail. But when Wei’s father died and Hung started making fun of lion dancing, Wei quit.
Two years later, in middle school, Wei is unhappy as a benchwarmer on the basketball team. When he learns about a local junior lion dance team, he decides to join. Lion dancing again feels great, and Wei is making new friends. The only problem? Hung is on the team, and he wants Wei out.
This fun story offers a fascinating look at some techniques and traditions of lion dancing. The team consists of not just the dancers inside the lion costumes but also drummers and cymbalists who accompany the dance. All members of Wei’s junior team are trained on drums and cymbals as well as dancing, and they sometimes switch out during long performances, since the dancing can be exhausting. The team does a variety of performance types, from dancing onstage to roaming through crowds on the street at Lunar New Year to being hired to bless shops and restaurants.
Like many sports stories, this book includes a competition aspect: the senior team captains are observing the junior team to decide which members will participate in an upcoming competition. Wei and Hung both desperately want to be chosen. Both currently dance as lion “heads,” and both are skilled, though Hung is better because Wei has not been dancing for the last two years. However, Wei is improving quickly, and Hung faces a frustrating problem: he wants to keep performing as a head, but he has the stronger, heavier build of a tail. When a lion jumps or rears up during a performance, the person dancing as a tail must lift their partner, and it is becoming hard for Hung’s tail to lift him. Wei is smaller, ideally built for a head. When he joins the team, Hung is furious, fearing that he will once again be made a tail to Wei’s head. This leads to much of the book’s conflict and drama. While the story mostly follows Wei, we get a few scenes from Hung’s point of view as well.
The art is clear, dynamic, and expressive. The characters have a cartoon style, but still fit with the highly detailed lion costumes and backgrounds. The movements are natural and easy to follow, even when the characters are in their lion costumes. The costumes themselves are beautifully illustrated and become highly expressive with the dancers’ movements. The characters’ facial features are sometimes similar, but distinctive hairstyles make it easy to tell them apart. At the beginning of each of the book’s eight chapters, a lion dance move or tradition is illustrated and explained. This adds interesting context to the story. Readers may be inspired to look up some lion dance performance videos!
The conflicts in this story are Wei versus Hung and Wei versus his own self-doubt. There is some middle-school meanness, but no physical violence. Wei has a lot of self-doubt, and he misses his dad, but he has a loving grandmother and one good friend even before he joins the team, so there is support in his life.
This is a lively story featuring a highly athletic sport/performance art that may be unfamiliar to many readers. It will appeal to fans of middle school stories featuring unusual sports, like Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson, and to anyone interested in learning about a cool dance tradition.
Lion Dancers By Cai Tse Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN: 9781665927239
Typically, biographical works aren’t about the entirety of the subject’s life but rather the moments in that life that are most significant. For biographies involving artists, those significant moments are ones that define and shape that artist’s creative vision. An autobiographical work from an artist has the added benefit of the artist illustrating their own vision of how they see the world that may or may not come through in critical interpretations of their work. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei decided to literally illustrate his life story, with the illustrations provided by Italian cartoonist Gianluca Constantini, in the book Zodiac: A Graphic Memior.
Weiwei might not have the name recognition of Banksy or Pollock, but his contributions are wide-ranging. A well-known artist and activist in his native China, Weiwei’s artwork often speaks to China’s stances on human rights and democracy. He was the son of Chinese poet Ai Qing, whose own views led the Weiwei family to live in exile for nearly 16 years. Eventually making his way to America, Weiwei studied animation and became acquainted with Beat poet Allen Ginsburg. In 1993, he returned to China to take care of his ailing father where he continues to influence the art scene in China as well as demonstrating how art can be used as a method of protest.
The path Weiwei takes to tell the story of his life isn’t a straightforward progression through the various milestones. As the title of the book suggests, the book’s chapters are divided up according to the Chinese Zodiac, the animals of the Zodiac representing different personality aspects and, in this case, different moments in Weiwei’s life. Along with the Zodiac, Weiwei weaves in poetry, bits of Chinese folklore, and conversations with his young son that allow a unique reflection of Weiwei’s life and how he creates. Indeed, as much as Weiwei’s book is a biography, it’s also a manifesto as to how art, protest, and living intersect.
For a work that talks so much about the power of art, Constantini’s artwork offers a surprisingly minimalist style. The pages are largely white with black lines and very little color. However, the images drawn by Constantini are very realistic, even in the moments of the book that veer into folklore. This minimalist approach, however, does benefit when it’s Weiwei himself that tells his story. Weiwei’s face as rendered by Constantini shows lines etched in his face that Weiwei has truly earned by being a political prisoner and relying on his art as both an escape and a voice.
While the images of this book might not pop as much as other graphic novels, it does fit into the trend of biographies eschewing bright colors and dynamic angles. Rather, it tells Weiwei’s story without a lot of graphical distractions. This book would be a solid addition to any adult graphic novel collection, or even a biography section, but it also serves as a great discussion of how art influences society and vice versa.
Zodiac A Graphic Memoir By Ai Weiwei Art by Gianluca Constantini Ten Speed Press, 2024 ISBN: 9781984863003
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Chinese, Character Representation: Chinese,
When it comes to renowned texts within the Eastern literary canon, Journey to the West towers over its fellows, often being cited as one of the four great classical works of Chinese literature. There is something enduring about the story of Sun Wukong, a powerful monkey king turned Buddhist disciple that must use his immense strength, durability, and supernatural abilities to protect the monk Sanzang on his quest to obtain sacred texts, all the while facing many rigorous trials and demonic threats along the way.
For centuries, it has entertained and enlightened readers with its rich allegories, political commentary, and overall engaging, adventurous plot. It has also been the source of inspiration for countless plays, novels, movies, TV shows, comics, and manga, most notably Dragonball and Naruto. Here, as a visually captivating graphic novel, Chaiko’s The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey revitalizes the classic tale for an audience that, while most likely familiar with the fruits of its influence, have yet to witness this perilous, strange, yet somewhat comical journey.
While Sanzang technically holds the status of main character in the original story, the refocusing of Wukong as the central character makes the most narrative sense. He displays more character development than anyone in the cast, going from a prideful, violent instigator aiming to topple the Heavens themselves to a loyal protector and disciple of Sanzang capable of showing mercy. His frequent moments of mischief and playfulness make him quite endearing to the reader, playing into a multifaceted nature that can be intimidating yet also charismatic. Wukong is a classic trickster character, similar to Loki and Hermes from Norse and Greek myth respectively, though he is more likely to fight his way out of a situation than through wit or cleverness.
No matter how one chooses to adapt Journey to the West, the main draw and appeal will be its memorable characters and how the creator interprets them for the audience. Along with the chaotic Wukong and devout Sanzang, the other figures that guard the monk during the long trek are the disciples Zhu Bajie, a greedy pig-like being, and Sha Wujing, a quiet, though obedient river ogre. With these varying and certainly clashing personality types, it makes for some standout character moments that give readers an insight into the inner dynamics of the group. At times, there appears to be a familial aspect to how the characters interact with each other: Sanzang as the authority figure,
Wukong the responsible eldest, Bajie the antagonistic foil to Wukong, and Wujing as the peacemaker. Wukong and Bajie’s arguments play off as sibling rivalry at times, making for some hilarious banter and a great deal of tension. It gives another layer to their interactions, as well as establishing another humanizing connection to the reader. In the process of bringing the story into a new medium, Chaiko keeps these relationships intact and maintains the characters as incredibly faithful interpretations, which helps to capture the spirit of the primary text.
What really sets this adaptation apart is Chaiko’s masterful artwork, especially when it comes to ambiance. The art style has a rougher, more traditional appearance, which perfectly puts the reader in the mood for a mythic epic. There is a recurring focus given to grand, natural elements such as cascading waterfalls, lofty mountains, and immersive open landscapes. Chaiko’s use of watercolors gives them a simple, yet elegant appearance, making each part of the journey visually distinct. Color is what ultimately enhances the storytelling, especially in terms of setting and tone. When in the earthly realm, the colors are fairly muted.
Rarely does the reader see anything brighter than the light blue of the sky, or orange of the setting sun. The hues are more reserved and modest, contrasting the bright pinks, purples, and golds that are constantly seen in the heavenly realm or in the presence of divinity. It gives the perfect sense of otherworldliness and reverence to the home of the immortals, inferring that a certain sort of beauty is only attainable when reaching a higher plane. In terms of tone, Chaiko utilizes color to instill certain emotions in a scene. During battles with foes, the panels turn ominous with dark greys and blues, highlighting the intensity and dynamic posing of characters, whereas lighter colors follow more emotional or light-hearted moments. As a result, each scenario gets its desired effect, whether that be raised tensions as a fierce face-off in a dark sky rages on, or a cold feeling of sorrow during a parting of ways in a bright and bare snowy forest.
As to its status as an adaptation, Chaiko does an admirable job of adapting and condensing 100 chapters worth of material into a graphic novel accessible to a modern, international audience. If I were to have one gripe, it would be that the marketing and synopsis describes it as being the complete story of Sun Wukong, When really it does not follow his journey with Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha to its conclusion. The story ends quite suddenly after a climactic moment, only hinting at the rest of the journey they still must undergo. It was somewhat frustrating not to be able to see them to their journey’s end, but it did not bring down the story as a whole.
Though cutting off a bit short, the graphic novel still holds all the intrigue, charm, and feel of the original that has been drawing people in for centuries. If anything, it leaves readers with the chance to discover more of the story themselves, whether that is through consulting with the text or seeking out another adaptation. For those wanting a more complete graphic novel version, I would recommend checking out Adventures from China: Monkey King by Wei Dong Chen, which takes a similar abridged approach in the span of twenty volumes.
The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey will entertain readers partial to stories of mythic quests, legendary heroes, and beloved folk tales with a thrilling action element. Manga readers especially may be drawn to its art style, as well as through its ties to popular titles they may have already read. Due to its wonderful ability to balance drama, action, and humor with deeper themes and allegories, this title can be enjoyed by a wide age range, though publishers have given a specific recommended age of 13 and up. Librarians and educators looking for titles that may connect readers more easily to classical literature or see a high circulation of titles tied to myths and legends should consider purchasing this title.
The Monkey King: The Complete Odyssey By Chaiko Tsai Magnetic Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781951719760
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Chinese, , Character Representation: Chinese, Buddhist ,
The sentient mansion of Graveneye is more introspective than haunted. It feels protective, fond, proud, and curious. But it tells us it does not feel remorse. The house tells the story of its beloved owner Isla. Even though Isla’s lifetime is only a quarter of its own, you get the impression that the house loves her best. No one understands Isla the way the house does. No one else hears her red voice and embraces her hunter nature. A new maid, Marie, is hired to care for the house and her timid presence pricks the interest of Isla and her home. We see her before we see Isla, a keyhole filled with bright red leads to the front door opening on its own. Marie’s entrance is marked by a bite from the house, the door’s strike plate cutting her hand open and spilling bright red drops across the greyscale panels. The relationship between Isla and Marie blooms slowly, keeping pace with Marie’s transformation from a woman curled inward by domestic abuse to one open to warmth and comfort. It’s impossible to resist being enchanted by the story, to feel the love of the house.
Even though the house is showing you Isla’s history. Even though you know Isla is foremost a hunter. Even though you know it’s a horror story, not a romance.
The writing is spellbinding. While the subject matter is very different from Leong’s award-winning YA sports story A Map to the Sun (to label it too broadly), there’s a similar sense of the story taking just as much time as it needs to be told. With a languorous pace and gothic flourishes, it meanders through the story, showing flashbacks of Isla’s life, her hunting trips in the surrounding woods, and even speculates at Marie’s terrible home life. The house uses imagery of trees and buildings in its narration: Isla has “skin that looked not unlike the lightning struck oak in the courtyard. She was as regal as a maple” and Marie is a “young spruce-white wisp of a girl”. It reads like a fairytale. Isla is a powerful, darkly flawed character. Leong doesn’t pull any punches, we see some of the most horrifying parts of Isla’s past early on, but she remains fascinating. Marie seems to believe she’s in a different kind of story. The contrast is jarring and almost as violent as the action.
Anna Bowles provides the art to Leong’s script. Unlike Leong’s kaleidoscope-hued A Map to the Sun, the grayscale pages of Graveneye are filled with the shades of a stormy sky. In flashes of blood and the copious gore, bright red pierces the gray. It also appears as an accent to intense emotional moments. The lines are sketchy and the backgrounds lush. The house’s finery and architecture looms large. At times the character faces can be indistinct and lacking the polish of other moments, though the various anatomical sections show a lot of skill. The art carries a heavy load, fleshing out the characters. Seeing the emotion flit across the faces of the women makes broad changes to the house’s words. Isla is first shown in a full page splash, standing bold and strong, her clothing lining every muscled curve and angle of her body, juxtaposed with Marie’s tense body broken up by jagged panels, in a messy sweater and sneakers. There are no dialog bubbles, the house rarely feels the need to tell us what the characters are saying. Its narration comes in neat boxes or floating freely on the page. Every visual element serves the mood and motion of the story, it joins the writing perfectly. For a story told entirely in voice over narration there is a delicately balanced ratio of text to page. This is an incredible graphic novel debut for Bowles and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Any adult library collection where horror comics circulate well should pick this up immediately. Its closest graphic novel relative is Emily Carroll’s When I Arrived at the Castle, but horror classics like The Shining, The Haunting of Hill House, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle also share a lot of DNA with it. In case the blood red cover and the woman with blood coating her chin and neck didn’t tell you, there’s a lot of gore and violence in Graveneye. There’s a scientific context surrounding it in the book that makes it feel less gratuitous, but it should still be noted for content and to keep this in the adult category. There is also a lot of female nudity, but no sex.
Open the cover to Graveneye, step into its welcoming halls, but be warned that this is a story that will linger in your mind long after the last page.
Graveneye By Sloane Leong Art by Anna Bowles TKO Studios, 2021 ISBN: 9781952203176
Publisher Age Rating: 15 and up
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Chinese, Mexican, Native Hawaiian Character Representation: Lesbian
In this deceptively simple and colour-filled graphic novel, we are introduced to the author’s family history as seen through the eyes of five female members at fifteen. The book starts in 1908 with Weng Pixin’s great-grandmother Kuan in China. Her story is followed by the narratives of her grandmother Mei in 1947, her mother Bing in 1972, herself in 1998, and the imagined story of Pixin’s future daughter in 2032. The fact that we are shown, rather than are able to attend to their verbalizations, is an indication of the struggles this matrilineal family has, and continues to face, with silence as their paramount defense in all aspects of their lives. “She grew to quiet her voice, just so she could survive.”
While the stories are not completely based on her female family members due to the silence and lack of family stories, Pixin extrapolates the histories and uses her art to explore the concealed and stifled personal struggles that had traditionally been internalized, subdued, and hidden from others in her lineage. It is through her art and the telling of these stories that Pixin delves into the rationale behind the harrowing and negative relationship she had always had with her own mother. These stories are told in a series of vignettes, moving both forward and backwards in time, each exploring key and interrelated elements in the lives of the five characters. This arrangement effectively illuminates the inter-generational complexities of societal expectations, family dysfunction as well as successes, and reveals how they are transferred from one generation to another. The themes that resonate within these vignettes are the love of nature and animals, a sense of alienation from the adult world, the suppression of trauma, and the sanctuary of artistic expression to compensate for the silence that predominated each of their lives. The breaking of that silence and the understanding of the causes of the frustrations and anger that seems insurmountable is the valuable undertaking that Pixin and her imaginary daughter explore with the fragments of the family history that they can find. “I wonder also what it would be like to live in a world where you have no control over your life.”
Pixin’s illustrations, painted in bold and vibrant colours, are reminiscent of folk art, focusing primarily on domestic settings. Included in the panels are extreme close-ups, recurring images of crickets, and the daily chores of each of the teenagers within their time frames. The layout of the panels is not static, but, while fairly conventional, it is also reflective of an uncomplicated and straightforward narration that combines to engage the reader in unanticipated observation and mediation. This is not a book that should be read quickly, but savoured. The ambiguity of the stories being told adds to the appreciation of the book as a whole. The occasional full-page panels add to the awareness of this being a work of art and passion. The occasional dialogue offers additional snippets of information about each of the characters, their motivations, and their challenges, but it is not the driving force for this graphic novel. It is the images, and the silences within the panels and illustrations, that ultimately carry the story.
Recommended for high school library collections, public library collections, and collections on memoir, family histories, and Chinese creators and history.
Let’s Not Talk Anymore By Weng Pixin Drawn & Quarterly, 2021 ISBN: 9781770464629 Publisher Age Rating: 16 and up
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Chinese Character Representation: Chinese
Everything is Beautiful and I’m Not Afraid: A Baopu Collection explores the identity, imagination, and struggle of cartoonist Yao Xiao. Baopu is a monthly, serialized comic published in Autostraddle, a online community dedicated to publishing independent, progressively feminist, queer media. Thus, Everything is Beautiful and I’m Not Afraid: A Baopu Collection allows us to enter the universe of a bisexual, Chinese-American emigrant woman, an identity not often, if ever, shown in popular media. The collection includes both never before seen comics and fan favorites.
Baopu is a Taoist word used to illuminate the importance of simplicity and the ideal of living in a simpler state. Xiao clearly exemplifies this ideal through her work. The artwork is understated and the writing is accessible. The use of simplicity in Xiao’s artwork conveys a feeling of intimacy. Every comic in this compilation seems like it could have easily come directly from Xiao’s diary. And, frankly, this makes her comics likeable. Regardless of your identity, Xiao’s artwork is relatable. Xiao portrays herself in pseudo-minimalist drawings throughout each comic. In fact, her line work is so uncomplicated that her character is often only identifiable by a triangular hat differentiating her from the characters around her. While some readers may find the lack of detailing in her work frustrating, others will find it endearing.
As for the actual writing in this collection, once again readers may find themselves divided. Some of Xiao’s writing, such as one comic highlighting her frustration to pick a—literal—box, may read as cliched and a bit saccharine. However, other comics, such as those highlighting her loneliness as an immigrant, are quite poignant. One notable comic, titled “Quiet Night Thoughts” illustrates a poem by famed 7th century Chinese poet Li Bia. Xiao beautifully applies a poem written during the Tang Dynasty to her experience as a Chinese-American in the 21st century.
Given the independent nature of this publication, no particular age group is ascribed to the book. However, this book will mostly likely be appreciated by teens and emerging adults. Another issue with the independent publishing of this book is availability. This title most likely will not be available to libraries unless purchased from the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, or Amazon. And, ultimately, may not be worth the investment.
Everything is Beautiful and I’m Not Afraid: A Baopu Collection is a sweet, engaging book. However, for a comic collection, the book is short at 128 pages. The collection feels incomplete. As a reader, I found myself wanting more. Xiao is clearly a young, very promising comic artist. I would love to read a more comprehensive volume of work from her. While I cannot recommend that this particular book be added to your library’s graphic novel collection, I would highly recommend that prospective readers take a look at Xiao’s professional Instagram account (@yaoxiaoart) and published work on Autostraddle. Xiao is a competent artist and cartoonist. More is certainly to come.
Everything is Beautiful and I’m Not Afraid: A Baopu Collection By Yao Xiao ISBN: 9781524852450 Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2020 Publisher Age Rating: (16+)
Browse for more like this title NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Adult (18+) Character Traits: Chinese American Bisexual, Queer Creator Highlights: Own Voices, BIPOC Creator, LGBTQIA+ Creator
Discover the wonders of everyday life with four stories set in Beijing, China. In My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, Nie Jun explores life through the eyes of a young girl named Yu’er and her grandfather.
Yu’er is disabled, and relies on her grandfather for transportation. She dreams of swimming in the Special Olympics, but the family does not have access to a pool. So her grandfather fashions a harness to a tree that allows Yu’er to practice swimming. The message of the story is if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
In another story, Yu’er finds some neighborhood kids tormenting a butterfly. She tries to stop them, but they push her to the side. A young boy, Duobao, comes to the rescue. He whisks Yu’er away to what he calls Bug Paradise. Duobao shows her the visual and sensory pleasures that can be found there. From the sounds of crickets chirping, to the buzz of the bee, Yu’er imagines a symphony all around her. The scene captures the marvel and magic that surrounds us, that we are too busy to notice.
Yu’er has rosy cheeks and wears an orange and white cap with a tuft of her bangs hanging out. Her grandfather is a rotund fellow, who is always in a jovial mood. The artwork is done in the style of watercolor. The main colors used are orange, yellow, green, and blue. The courtyard residences that make up the hutong are naturally grey, but the author infuses them with orange and green window trimmings to give it a vibrancy. It makes the images pop out, and you want to absorb every little detail.
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder captures what life is like living in a hutong. These types of structures are normally found in the northern parts of Beijing. A hutong is an alleyway that connects rows of siheyuan. Siheyuans are residences that are built to form squares or rectangles to create a courtyard. These types of spaces began during the Yuan dynasty circa 1271-1368. When initially people think about Beijing, they might think of the Summer Olympics. A visual of huge crowds, historic buildings, and a place where tradition and the present combine. The hutongs as depicted in the graphic novel give us a sense of interconnectedness of the community. By being connected physically, communities become closer and cooperation is necessary for peace and harmony.
I found My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder to be a visual feast for the eyes and like a warm cup of soup for the soul. You can’t help but feel your spirit glowing. The story radiates happiness, and an appreciation for the simple things around us. Children will enjoy the visuals, and the character of Yu’er. The theme of the importance of dreams, and not letting your limitations define you will resonate with the young and old.
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun ISBN: 9781512445909 Graphic Universe, 2016 Publisher Age Rating: 7-11
Memoirs often capture memories frozen in time, yet over the years, these memories can become reshaped, remixed, and even distorted. After all, facts become scattered but the truth behind the experiences endures. In her introspective memoir Until We Meet Again, Lily Kim Qian wrestles with deeply ingrained truths as she recounts her earliest memories leading to the estranged relationship between her parents, setting her on a path to discovery and inner healing.
When we are young the world can seem magical and full of untold possibilities. It’s when we get older and more perceptive, if not wiser, that the magic can fade and reality becomes more apparent. This transition from childhood to adulthood is a rite of passage for all of us and a time that can define who we become as people. 
long, grueling hours in order to get her children admitted to the city. JieJie does her best to keep her little brother in good spirits and acts as sister, best friend, and mother. But this is no job for a child. Scavenging for water, enduring sandstorms, and trying to make nutritious meals from dry packets weigh heavily on JieJie. Things change when the children come across a scrapped AI robot in a junkyard. This new addition to the family is able to do pretty much everything their original mother can and the children begin to develop a familial love for her. Despite the story’s dark premise, it ends on a very hopeful note.
dreamed of doing athletic stunts like him. He joined a team, where he and his friend Hung danced together in the two-person lion costume: Wei as the head, and Hung as the tail. But when Wei’s father died and Hung started making fun of lion dancing, Wei quit.
significant. For biographies involving artists, those significant moments are ones that define and shape that artist’s creative vision. An autobiographical work from an artist has the added benefit of the artist illustrating their own vision of how they see the world that may or may not come through in critical interpretations of their work. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei decided to literally illustrate his life story, with the illustrations provided by Italian cartoonist Gianluca Constantini, in the book Zodiac: A Graphic Memior.
When it comes to renowned texts within the Eastern literary canon, Journey to the West towers over its fellows, often being cited as one of the four great classical works of Chinese literature. There is something enduring about the story of Sun Wukong, a powerful monkey king turned Buddhist disciple that must use his immense strength, durability, and supernatural abilities to protect the monk Sanzang on his quest to obtain sacred texts, all the while facing many rigorous trials and demonic threats along the way.
In this deceptively simple and colour-filled graphic novel, we are introduced to the author’s family history as seen through the eyes of five female members at fifteen. The book starts in 1908 with Weng Pixin’s great-grandmother Kuan in China. Her story is followed by the narratives of her grandmother Mei in 1947, her mother Bing in 1972, herself in 1998, and the imagined story of Pixin’s future daughter in 2032. The fact that we are shown, rather than are able to attend to their verbalizations, is an indication of the struggles this matrilineal family has, and continues to face, with silence as their paramount defense in all aspects of their lives. “She grew to quiet her voice, just so she could survive.”
Discover the wonders of everyday life with four stories set in Beijing, China. In My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, Nie Jun explores life through the eyes of a young girl named Yu’er and her grandfather.
