Review: American Panda by Gloria Chao

Summary from Goodreads:

At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?


From debut author Gloria Chao comes a hilarious, heartfelt tale of how unlike the panda, life isn’t always so black and white.

My Review:


I picked this up under the notion that it would be a fluffy read. The name is American Panda for goodness sake! It was cute but also had a whole lot angst within a 300 paged novel. I loved it but not the light-hearted read I was searching for.

What I Liked: 

Characters. Mei, our main character was so awkward but endearing that she has to be one of my favorites in years! Chao also did an amazing job crafting the side characters, the sign for me that someone is a good writer. 

Taiwanese Culture. My favorite aspect, besides the amazing writing, was the look at Taiwanese culture that Chao gives us. She is able to teach us about the culture in a way that flows with the novel and does not feel in she is dumping information on the reader. And of course I loved reading about some of the food! 

Writing Style/Humor. I went into this blind to Chao's writing style because this is her debut novel and I loved it. She is able to create realistic and characters that the reader comes to love. And Chao has a unique way of writing dialogue that is witty and fun to read. I will be checking out her other novels based on her writing alone! :)

Heart-breaking. As I mentioned before it was not as light-hearted as I had hoped (that was the read I was interested at this time) but that does not mean I did not like it. It was hard to read about some of things happening with Mei but the conclusion brought some of the fluffy and goodness I was hoping for. 

What I Disliked:

Plot. I felt that some aspects of the novel were looked over and let opened ended. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil anything in this review. 

College Life. The novel has Mei going to MIT. It shows some aspects of the college but I would have liked to see more about college life for Mei. 

I recommend checking out this unique contemporary that is full of great characters and a interesting look at other cultures. 

My Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars