Reviews with content warning for Racism - Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American

This graphic novel was good and I liked seeing Gao's struggles and growth as she came to terms with her many identies and the expectations of others. It was also another interesting look into the American immigration system.

I felt the story was all over the place with flash backs and forwards. I think making this more clear through the coloring or art style would have helped.

Overall, a good read.

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shingekiyes's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

i wept. this is a phenomenal memoir that perfectly captures the sense of longing many of us have experienced throughout our lives. though i can’t at all relate to being an immigrant (or having a cultural identity crisis) i strongly related to laura’s family dynamics and her struggle to understand and label who she is. laura’s artwork and cultural references throughout the book were light-hearted and fun, but her voice carried an emotional depth that really cut me to my core. definitely a read i’ll recommend to all graphic novel lovers and gen-z kids.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Messy Roots focussed on the author’s exploration of and coming to terms with her identity as Chinese-American and as a queer woman. I’ve read about these topics in the graphic memoir format before so content wise this book didn’t offer me anything new. But the storytelling was very well done. I especially liked the artwork and the way Chinese mythology and cultural touchstones were incorporated into the text. The author’s Wuhan origins added a layer of complexity, and brought her extra unjustified discrimination, following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.

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123urmom's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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theoceanrose's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

4.5

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antonique_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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