pedestrienne

What really stood out to me about American Panda is its depiction of complex parental relationships, where the parents want the child to fulfill an ideal instead of seeing the child as they are. The scene where Mei takes her mom around campus and for once doesn't feel like she's walking on eggshells and that they are finally having a sincere interaction is heartbreaking. Mei and her family are the core of the book and why it's powerful despite sometimes feeling... stilted or jumbled together? Mei doesn't know how to be herself for most of the book so maybe that is her repressing feelings, and her relationship with Darren feels rushed. She has a lot of character traits but they feel placed on her instead of part of her, which is why I struggled with the book, but looking forward to reading more of Chao's writing in the future.