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Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American | Laura Gao
12 posts | 13 read | 10 to read
Messy Roots is a laugh-out-loud, heartfelt, and deeply engaging story of their journey to find themself--as an American, as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, as a queer person, and as a Wuhanese American in the middle of a pandemic.Malaka Gharib, author of I Was Their American Dream After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Marsat least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name. In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter. Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gaos debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.
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Lauredhel
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Messy Roots is a pretty terrific, nuanced, always engaging graphic memoir of a queer Wuhanese-American woman in Texas.

#WickedWords @AsYouWish

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Laurenwhite0508

I really like the idea of recommending this book to students. I think that it could be a great book club book for students who are interested in graphic novels. I also really like the elements of the pandemic that are discussed in this book. I know that for several more years there will be students who have had memorable experiences during the pandemic and this could be a very relatable book for many of them. This book feels current and conscious.

ms.reagan It‘s so important that we teach books that handle both past and current events! It‘s even more important to choose texts and teach them consciously as well. 5mo
1 like1 comment
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Laurenwhite0508

I am almost to the end of this novel and I am not totally sold on graphic novels for myself, but I completely understand the appeal. This is the first one I have ever read and my opinion of them is now different. I had a misconception that graphic novels could not possibly be as in depth or as well rounded as a full on chapter book, but Messy Roots is everything that a traditional book is and maybe more. The images did nothing but enhance my exp.

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Laurenwhite0508

Messy Roots has a very interesting concept, and I did not know this when I first picked it up. The main character is Wuhanese, meaning that she is from Wuhan. This is where the Coronavirus is believed to have originated. The main character is not only navigating life as a Chinese-American, but also as an Asian person in an extremely conservative area in Texas, during the pandemic. The pandemic presents a secondary level of turmoil in the book.

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Laurenwhite0508

For one of my chosen novels I have picked Messy Roots. I chose this book because it is a graphic novel and that is very outside of my comfort zone normally. I wanted to find something on the reading list that I felt represented a category of reader that I am not very in touch with. So far, I am enjoying the book. It is about Chinese-American girl who moves to Texas, but it seems to touch on several different issues additional to that.

abbyleap Good on you for pushing outside of your comfort zone! I also have found myself slacking in terms of reading graphic novels, and I'm glad that you found one that pushed you further in terms of types of readerships you were missing. 5mo
1 comment
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Mimi28
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This book detailed the story of a girl from China and her adventures and ups and downs of family and finding herself and Covid at home and in America. I felt sorry the discrimination she faced and the limitations her family wanted to put on her. I liked it. It wasn‘t as heavy as the last one which was good. I would highly recommend it 😉😊🫶🏽🩷😎

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Rachel.Rencher
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I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN. I'll admit I'm pretty new to the graphic novel genre, but this is already my favorite one.

77 likes3 stack adds
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ChrysFey
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I love graphic novels. I love diverse reads. If you do, too, check out Messy Roots.

#graphicnovel #diverse #diversereads #LGBTQ

TheBookHippie Oh thx! My daughter would love this! 2y
gossamerchild Oooh, this sounds fascinating. Stacked! 2y
ChrysFey @TheBookHippie you‘re welcome! 2y
21 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Lindy
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A moving and amusing memoir in graphic novel format about adjusting to a new life in America after immigrating from China as a child. On top of all of the bi-cultural identity negotiations, and shyness, and anti-Asian racism, she‘s attracted to girls. #LGBTQ #comics

40 likes1 stack add
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Lindy
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It‘s heartening to know that Gene Luen Yang‘s American Born Chinese had a positive effect on author Laura Gao when she immigrated to the USA as a child. It mirrored aspects of her own experiences with racism and self-hatred.

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Lindy
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In February 2020, the author and her brother were flying home to the USA after visiting family in Wuhan. Their dilemma: follow their mother‘s instructions to keep face masks on for protection from illness during transit, or else take them off to be spared 20 hours of dirty looks from fellow passengers.

33 likes1 stack add
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TracyReadsBooks
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Fantastic memoir about “growing up a queer Chinese-American immigrant in Texas.” Aimed at a YA audience, Gao‘s memoir touches on important themes including immigration, sexuality, assimilation & racism. It‘s a powerful story about identity & belonging, about leaving home & about how hard it can be to go back (even for a visit) & how a pandemic can make your hometown, Wuhan, a household name for all the wrong reasons. On sale 2/15/22.