I Was Their American Dream
A Graphic Novel
by Malaka Gharib
Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers
on April 30, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Memoir
Length: 160 pages
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Synopsis:
One part Mari Andrew, one part Marjane Satrapi, I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir is a triumphant tale of self-discovery, a celebration of a family's rich heritage, and a love letter to American immigrant freedom. Malaka Gharib's illustrations come alive with teenage antics and earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised.
My Thoughts:
Malaka Gharib gives an insightful look into her life growing up as an Egyptian-Filipino-American in California with parents that had differing backgrounds, religions, and dreams for their lives. Malaka juggles her parents' differing religions (her mother is Catholic and her father is Muslim) as well as her cultural heritage (Filipino and Egyptian) but also the American 'dream' and culture that she grew up with as a first-generation American.
Malaka tells her coming-of-age story in a bold red, white, and blue color scheme that really ties in with the title of the book as well as the content. The illustrations are a little juvenile, or unproportionate, and the artist in me isn't always thrilled with this style but I do love that the style is consistent. There's also a lot of neat extras that remind me of zines, and this author/illustrator mentions in this memoir that she created zines in her youth and is the founder of The Runcible Spoon food zine, so I expect that is why they included such neat formatting for a comic/graphic novel-style memoir.
I can't find any age recommendations for this online but personally think it is fine for young readers. There's no inflammatory language or mentions of sex or drugs (maybe a little rock-and-roll).
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