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itsmeamethyst's review
5.0
"Show your unmasked face, and the uniqueness of who you are will be all the magic you need."
This is a book that challenges the harmful “model minority” stereotype, or the belief that success among Asian Americans is universal. The stereotype dangerously exacerbates interracial tension and does not acknowledge the socioeconomic disparities among the diverse range of Asian-American subgroups. It also perpetuates a myth that Asian Americans are not afflicted by racism and disregards a longstanding history of racially-motivated aggression and discrimination in policy against Asian Americans (e.g., L.A.’s 1871 Chinese Massacre, the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese Internment Camps).
Like any other group of people, there is no singular Asian American experience. While there are perhaps shared themes, especially when encountering racism or ignorance for example, the way we process or respond to those situations varies, as does the way we view and identify ourselves. This book highlights our shared humanity and the universal experience of wanting to belong and feel accepted while including 30 contributors who are at the intersection of multiple identities. This compilation includes diverse voices from different ethnicities, backgrounds, and even writing style; yet it still feels cohesive. There are poems, essays, comics, and even quotes from prominent Asian Americans.
As a Black and Filipino-American woman who grew up never feeling Filipino or Black enough, I especially connected with Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence's piece about her experience of also being Black and Asian and interracial tension. Especially with an introduction written by MTV's SuChin Pak (who was a fixture on my television), this book feels like it was written directly to my teenage self, to help me know I wasn't alone and to help me embrace and define myself for myself.
Many thanks to the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), MTV Books, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book which was published earlier this month.
This is a book that challenges the harmful “model minority” stereotype, or the belief that success among Asian Americans is universal. The stereotype dangerously exacerbates interracial tension and does not acknowledge the socioeconomic disparities among the diverse range of Asian-American subgroups. It also perpetuates a myth that Asian Americans are not afflicted by racism and disregards a longstanding history of racially-motivated aggression and discrimination in policy against Asian Americans (e.g., L.A.’s 1871 Chinese Massacre, the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese Internment Camps).
Like any other group of people, there is no singular Asian American experience. While there are perhaps shared themes, especially when encountering racism or ignorance for example, the way we process or respond to those situations varies, as does the way we view and identify ourselves. This book highlights our shared humanity and the universal experience of wanting to belong and feel accepted while including 30 contributors who are at the intersection of multiple identities. This compilation includes diverse voices from different ethnicities, backgrounds, and even writing style; yet it still feels cohesive. There are poems, essays, comics, and even quotes from prominent Asian Americans.
As a Black and Filipino-American woman who grew up never feeling Filipino or Black enough, I especially connected with Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence's piece about her experience of also being Black and Asian and interracial tension. Especially with an introduction written by MTV's SuChin Pak (who was a fixture on my television), this book feels like it was written directly to my teenage self, to help me know I wasn't alone and to help me embrace and define myself for myself.
Many thanks to the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), MTV Books, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book which was published earlier this month.
daumari's review
5.0
An anthology of essays by creatives across the Asian American diaspora, especially after the increase in visible attacks over the last several years where we feel compelled to bring our frustration, our rage, our collective trauma to paper.
I especially appreciated the wide range of viewpoints- not just CJK-Americans, but Montagnard and Khmer voices too, as well as various mixed Asians reflecting on how they are perceived by various communities. Mark Kramer's "The Question" was probably my favorite, and I also really liked [a:Shing Yin Khor|5185774|Shing Yin Khor|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1629844954p2/5185774.jpg]'s "I Don't Want to Write Today". Both speak to wanting to simply exist, but whenever anyone perceives us they instantly bin us into some kind of category, more often than not Other.
Also, as these are all writers in some medium or another, a great way to find your next reads/watches/etc.!
I especially appreciated the wide range of viewpoints- not just CJK-Americans, but Montagnard and Khmer voices too, as well as various mixed Asians reflecting on how they are perceived by various communities. Mark Kramer's "The Question" was probably my favorite, and I also really liked [a:Shing Yin Khor|5185774|Shing Yin Khor|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1629844954p2/5185774.jpg]'s "I Don't Want to Write Today". Both speak to wanting to simply exist, but whenever anyone perceives us they instantly bin us into some kind of category, more often than not Other.
Also, as these are all writers in some medium or another, a great way to find your next reads/watches/etc.!
frozensnowshoe's review
4.0
Less than 4 stars. The voices in the book were very one noted. Not a single piece by someone who’s been adopted. Further marginalizing us as not Asian enough. Most writers were CA.
laurenpedersen's review
3.0
As a white American this book was hard to read. It is a collection of stories by Asian and Pacific Island Americans with reflections upon their culture, experiences and expectations as “other”, as a “model minority” and as a “near white”. At times while reading I got angry, at times guilty, at times sympathetic. It made me question my own actions, comments and judgements and think more broadly.
tiakiwi's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book and maybe it's because I listened to the audio book of it, some stories were very descriptive and gave you a beginning, middle, end. Some stories were poems and you knew they were poems. But some stories started out of nowhere and were hard to follow.
readwithkayy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced