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American Panda

Gloria Chao (Goodreads Author)

3.89 · Rating details · 2,839 Ratings · 918 Reviews

An incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate.

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 ful ...more

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Hardcover, 311 pages

Published February 6th 2018 by Simon Pulse

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Jan 16, 2018 Lola rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2018-publications, college, diversity-yay, culture, teen-romance

This should have been a winner. Mei, the main character, is Taiwanese-American. She is a college student. I could probably count on one hand the number of YA novels with college settings that are published every year.

The culture is great. Every chapter introduces the reader to a new characteristic of the Chinese culture. Some, however, are not well explained, such as why certain numbers are considered bad luck, but most are fairly straight-forward.

But the problem is that even if this book is cle This should have been a winner. Mei, the main character, is Taiwanese-American. She is a college student. I could probably count on one hand the number of YA novels with college settings that are published every year.

The culture is great. Every chapter introduces the reader to a new characteristic of the Chinese culture. Some, however, are not well explained, such as why certain numbers are considered bad luck, but most are fairly straight-forward.

But the problem is that even if this book is clearly diverse and actually an easy read, I feel as though I have read this story already… about a hundred times before.

Let me explain. Mei’s parents are old-fashioned and extremely demanding. Mei cannot do one thing without their permission unless it is something that improves her grades or physique. She is constantly being compared to her brother and other people who her parents consider to be ‘‘rebels’’ or ‘‘failures’’.

I am certain that this all sounds familiar to you, too. To me, this (super controlling and demanding parents) is a trope. I did not give much thought to it in the beginning, since I was captivated by the Chinese culture presented, but after a hundred pages I began to lose interest.

The other problem is that while I would not say that this is an unrealistic story, the author does stretch reality here and there. For instance, the Asian doctor she meets at the hospital early in the story seemed to exist only to make Mei realize medicine may not be the right area for her.

And unfortunately, her Japanese love interest did not make me swoon. He is cute, I admit, but so are a thousand other boys. What makes this one special? Not that much… Plus I did notice an insta-love vibe.

Not a very surprising story. I appreciated the culture and diversity, as I have mentioned many times, so thank you Gloria Chao for writing this book, because I bet new readers of the YA genre will enjoy it more.

Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Google+ | Bloglovin’ ...more

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Dec 02, 2017 Elise (TheBookishActress) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2017, 2018-releases, arc, genre-contemporary, favorite-characters, favorite-friendships, favorite-relationships, gave-me-hope-for-humanity, important-tm, laugh-out-loud-funny

releasing Feb 6th! And a boost to a five, because I can't look at myself anymore for giving this a four.

“You don’t even know what Ying-Na is doing. Everything you hear is a rumor. For all you know, she could be a neurosurgeon married to a billionare tech god.” Or maybe she’s struggling but happy. I kept this thought to myself since my mom wouldn’t understand the value of that life.

What a lovely, lovely surprise. American Panda is ownvoices contemporary fic about a Taiwanese-American girl str ...more

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Apr 11, 2018 Catriona (LittleBookOwl) rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Rating: 4.5 stars

I listened to this on audio and would certainly recommend! I really enjoyed the narrator, and adored the story and our characters.

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Feb 13, 2018 Heather 'Bookables' rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-most-anticipated, contemporary

3/5

A cute, adorable diverse read!!!

Will feature it very soon in a mashup review!!

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Jun 09, 2018 emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, ya, 3-and-a-half-stars, reviewed, recommend, library, couldn-t-wait-to-read, diverse

Things that were absolutely full-on remarkable/fantastic/excellent/next-level/choose-your-own-positive-adjective about this book:
- the representation
- the character development
- the family relationships

This book is some of the best cultural representation I've ever. Read. In. My. LIFE. Our main character, Mei, is Taiwanese-American (the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants). The culture is so well-included it's unreal. So fascinating and intertwined with the lives of Mei and her family without being ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Angelica rated it really liked it

Shelves: authors-i-love, contemporary, four-star, read-2018, release-2018, reviewed, romance, stand-alone

I loved this so much I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It was equal parts funny and earnest, heartwarming and heartbreaking and it was so good!

I laughed so hard while reading this book. And no, I don’t mean awkward little smiles and little huffs of air. No. I actually laughed out loud the entire time. I was reading it between class breaks at school and I keep getting weird looks from people as I tried to contain my laughter. And the way I see it, if a book can make you look like a fool a ...more

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Feb 12, 2018 Amy Leigh rated it it was amazing

I loved this! It's well-written and engaging. I couldn't put it down! There are some laugh out loud moments and times you wish you could reach in and give Mei a hug or a high five. (Not that she would like that.)

Mei is a Taiwanese-American seventeen year old who is starting her freshman year at MIT. She tries so hard to appease her very traditional parents while her mother constantly speaks negatively about her. She hides her Japanese crush turned boyfriend from her parents because that is the w ...more

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Jan 13, 2018 Fafa's Book Corner rated it really liked it

Omg this was so good!

Going to be rereading this when it comes out.

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Jul 09, 2018 may ❀ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 300-pgs, contemporary, ded, i-am-trash, kickass-heroine, library, my-heart, standalones, super-cute, marshmallow-fluff

this was absolutely one book that SHOCKED me with how amazing it was. here i was thinking it was gonna be a cute, little contemporary, that includes some Taiwanese rep but NO NONONONON THIS BOOK IS SO MUCH MORE

the way the author explores and delves into the culture and traditions as well as all the superstitions and outrageous expectations parents have for their children was SO EYEOPENING

i loved how both narratives were explored. like yes we get to it from Mei's side, the overbearing parents tha ...more

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Feb 01, 2018 alexandra rated it really liked it

Shelves: diverse, release-2018, ss, asian-mc, own-in-physical-form

this is the first book that made me feel like my asian-american-ness is seen. forever grateful. full review to come.

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Mar 10, 2018 Romie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018-releases, contemporary-cuties, representation-matters, the-book-bound-society, books-to-read-to-understand-me

Dearest Reader,
I wrote American Panda because it was the book I needed in high school and the book I needed when I decided to put my dental career aside to try writing, which I had no experience in.

This is also a book I would have needed in high school or during my three years of pre-med school. People can say all they want, but reading a book and being able to relate to it is probably one of the best feelings ever; I am but one Asian kid among many others, and I wish for them to find themselves Dearest Reader,
I wrote American Panda because it was the book I needed in high school and the book I needed when I decided to put my dental career aside to try writing, which I had no experience in.

This is also a book I would have needed in high school or during my three years of pre-med school. People can say all they want, but reading a book and being able to relate to it is probably one of the best feelings ever; I am but one Asian kid among many others, and I wish for them to find themselves in books.

This is an ownvoices book about a Taiwanese-American girl born of Taiwanese immigrants, trying to make her way through MIT while struggling with her traditionalist parents’ expectations and what she truly wants for herself. People might sell you this book as a cute contemporary, saying it’s about a Taiwanese girl falling for a Japanese guy, but someone hold me, this book is so much more than that.

Mei is a 17-year-old MIT student, pushed by her parents to become a doctor because ‘this is what’s best for her’ and she ‘should trust her parents to know what’s good for her’ … she’s torn between her Taiwanese heritage and the fact that she does happen to be both American and Taiwanese, she has to find where she stands between these two extremely different cultures. She’s been taught by her parents that respecting them means never challenging their point of view, or honouring them by finding a good husband, or being rich, or simply not speaking her mind.

This book isn’t about a girl and a boy falling in love *coughs* It does happen in the book, sure, but this isn’t about that, this isn’t the core subject of this book. This book is about Mei finding out what she wants for her life, what she does or not believe in, what she can keep of Taiwanese heritage and what she should left behind because she cannot possibly believe it’s the right thing. Mei has to deal with this internalised obedience and guilt she feels when she thinks of not doing what her parents want. It’s about her learning to put herself first.

I related a lot to this story. It makes me sad to say it because you never really want to say something bad abut your own culture, but Asian stereotypes do exist for a reason. Not everybody has to undergo them, but some of us do, I did. I saw my dad in Mei’s parents, in their way to control her life, her career, but I also saw my dad in Mei’s mom trying to make things better, trying to understand her. As a French-Vietnamese woman, I related to so many of the little things Mei had to go through, all these internalised racist comments people throw at you, all these Asian jokes ….. I could and did relate. I saw myself in May and her struggles, I was pushed to study sciences because we’re taught it’s the only way to succeed in life, I had to go against my parents to show them it wasn’t for me … that’s not something every Asian kid has to suffer through, but I did, and I am glad I could share this burden with Mei, see myself in her. It makes looking back on these years a little easier.

This book is dear to my heart, it represents something I am not ashamed of, a battle I had to fight and won. This book represents hope in its most essential form.

4.5 ...more

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Sep 28, 2017 Dani - Perspective of a Writer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018, fiction-young-adult, g-c-asian, g-a-strong-family, g-t-contemporary, genre-coming-of-age, genre-cultural, genre-romance-deliberately, imo-suspenseful, rp-netgalley

Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

17-year-old Mei should be in high school, but skipping a grade was all part of her parent's plan for her to go to MIT become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, and produce a litter of babies. When she reconnects with her brother, Xing, the truth she's carefully constructed starts to waver and the truth leaks out: she hates germs, falls asleep in biology lectures, and has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decided ...more

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Nenia ✨ Queen of Literary Trash, Protector of Out-of-Print Gems, Khaleesi of Bodice Rippers, Mother of Smut, the Unrepentant, Breaker of Convention ✨ Campbell

Dec 23, 2017 Nenia ✨ Queen of Literary Trash, Protector of Out-of-Print Gems, Khaleesi of Bodice Rippers, Mother of Smut, the Unrepentant, Breaker of Convention ✨ Campbell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: poc-interracial, ya-ya-land, netgalley, yule-challenge-2017

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

🌟 I read this for the Yule Bingo Challenge, for the category of Cedric: friendship goals. For more info on this challenge, click here. 🌟

This is ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET from a Taiwanese perspective. Seriously. Seriously. I have waded through disappointing YA all year - and finally, finally, I have read one that was the ground-breaking, emotionally moving experience that I was expecting. And you know what the funny thing is? Tha ...more

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May 04, 2018 Monica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-loved

There's something magical about reading a book and feeling so seen. Multiple elements of this story were things I've never seen another book tackle when it comes to growing up Asian. But this is a book anyone can relate to - it's all about the struggle of wanting to be who you are while also being what your family expects of you. The story was poignant and funny, and I can't wait to read future books by Gloria.

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Jun 11, 2018 Faye* rated it it was ok · review of another edition

First of all, how cute is this cover!!

Secondly, I am not Asian so I have no idea how accurate the depiction of Chinese culture is in this book. But it was very interesting to read about and I'm happy that I read this, if only to learn more about the culture and struggles of Taiwanese-Americans.

Thirdly, I loved the Chinese sprinkled in. I don’t speak Chinese so, again, no idea how well this was done, but I loved the sound of it in the audio book.

Fourthly, I was disappointed in this book. Yes, it ...more

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Jun 12, 2017 Korrina (OwlCrate) rated it liked it

Very, very cute and quite funny too!

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Feb 12, 2018 Tatiana rated it liked it

Shelves: starred-2018-done, ya, 2018, 3

I wish the author made an attempt to think bigger and be more creative. A lot of the plot is too familiar and predictable (it's mostly the Asian-tiger-parents-pushing-for-med-school scenario) and the romance, while sweet, is kind of bland and not memorable. Overall it gave me a feeling of a very rookie novel.

Chao captured the voice of a nagging/threatening/pleading tiger mom very well though. Just reading conversations with this "mom" gave me anxiety attacks. Can't imagine having to live in a fa ...more

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Mar 25, 2018 CW (Read Think Ponder) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018, diverse-shelf, audiobook, has-poc-rep, humour-comedy, ownvoices, realistic-fiction, romance, young-adult

This Kiwi-Panda has mixed feelings about American Panda.

On one hand:
- I didn't find myself in this book, though many others did and I'm thankful for that. Nonetheless, I appreciated American Panda's narrative, its honesty and its vulnerability.
- There were some truly tender moments that made me shed a tear, particularly the stuff that were related to her family.
- I enjoyed Chao's unapologetic and seamless integration of Taiwanese culture into the narrative, and I liked that it wasn't dense wit ...more

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Jan 19, 2018 Chloe rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018, i-own, advanced-readers-copies

LOVE THIS SO MUCH! 我很愛這本書喔 (｡♥‿♥｡)

1. IT'S SO, SO RELATABLE.

I'm Chinese, and I could really relate to some of the family stuff Mei had to deal with. My parents are not as traditional as Mei's, BUT - I'M REALLY FAMILIAR WITH A LOT OF STUFF IN THIS BOOK AND IT FEELS GOOD, YA KNOW?

Stinky tofu! It's one of my favorite Chinese street foods and although it stinks, it tastes so delicious *drools* (Sadly, Mei doesn't like stinky tofu D:)

Insecurities - Mei is dissatisfied with the size of her nose, and ...more

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Oct 30, 2017 Shenwei rated it it was amazing

Shelves: asian-reads, by-and-about-poc

it's rare to find a book where I can read along and be like "it me" and yell because the references are so familiar and this is one of them. *cries in ownvoices*
the cover image makes the story seem a bit lighter than you might expect since it gets really heavy at some points with the family drama, I felt like I was being punched in the gut. :'(
I feel like I need to make a playlist for this book now.

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Feb 16, 2018 Mel Anie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyobe, especially young-adult readers

Shelves: 2018, contemporary, romance, young-adult, ya, cultural, diverse

This was so funny and better than good, although expectations of some people annoyed me.

Motto to this book:
Always remember to chase happiness and don't give up on your dreams.

American Panda turned out to be an awesome contemporary YA book. It was far better than I thought knocking down all my expectations. This book emanated such warmth which is so hard to find in book and which I adore so much. All that warmth is entwined with Mei self-discovery, being loyal to her dream and being a prop ...more

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Oct 02, 2017 Kerri rated it it was amazing

this had me laughing, crying, and craving dumplings more than i already do. official blurb to come soon, but for now? you totally need to add this to your pre-order lists. one of my favorite reads of the year.

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Jun 24, 2018 Fuzaila rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of When Dimple Met Rishi

Shelves: 2018, 50-states-challenge, could-have-been-better, contemporary, family, i-didnt-get-the-point, liked-it-but-i-am-not-sure, made-me-cry, romance-lovey-dovey, young-adult

It bothers me that when you hear ‘POC’ or ‘diversity’ it almost always means half-American and half-whatever-culture-they-represent. Not that it is this book’s fault or anything, but where are those books featuring Indian, Chinese, Japanese, African, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Australian, French, Dutch and characters from every other nation out there? Where are the books written by people from these nations? WHY AREN’T BOOKS SET IN THESE BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL LANDS? Why are people so interested in Ame ...more

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Feb 06, 2018 ALEXA rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2018

I really appreciate the way that AMERICAN PANDA was a book that featured a ton of things I love (cute romance, college anecdotes, self-growth and discovery) AND centered around a Taiwanese-American character. While not quite the same as my own experiences as Filipino-American, there were certain similarities in attitude and expectation that really felt relatable to me and I appreciated that so much. And I really just liked Mei and was rooting from her right from the start!

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Nov 21, 2017 Book Riot Community added it

I try not to read books too far in advance because it means everyone else will have to wait before they too can experience the joy I’m feeling. Gloria Chao’s American Panda is about a Taiwanese-American girl named Mei who gets into college early (MIT) and has to straddle two cultures. It’s a story about the importance of traditions but also the room for evolution. I related so much to Mei’s experience as someone who came to Canada as an infant and navigating my relationship with parents as a res ...more

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Dec 05, 2017 Janani rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, women-nb-gf-authors-protags, ya, poc-author-artist-mc, north-american-authors, arcs

Just. So. Good. Keep an eye out for this in Feb 2018. Full review to come.

UPDATE: First published at The Shrinkette.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Simon Pulse for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plot: Seventeen-year old Mei is a freshman at MIT, thanks to skipping fourth grade- all part of her parents’ master plan. This plan also includes Mei becoming a doctor, marrying a Taiwanese boy selected by her parents, and have a bunch of babies. Unfortunately, between her hatred Just. So. Good. Keep an eye out for this in Feb 2018. Full review to come.

UPDATE: First published at The Shrinkette.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Simon Pulse for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plot: Seventeen-year old Mei is a freshman at MIT, thanks to skipping fourth grade- all part of her parents’ master plan. This plan also includes Mei becoming a doctor, marrying a Taiwanese boy selected by her parents, and have a bunch of babies. Unfortunately, between her hatred of germs, her inability to stay awake during biology lectures, and a crush on her Japanese classmate Darren, Mei knows that she doesn’t want this future that her parents have planned and worked so hard for. When she reconnects with her estranged brother Xing, she begins to wonder whether it was worth keeping so many secrets from her parents, or if it was possible for her to find a way to live life on her terms.

I think the Goodreads synopsis of this contemporary YA novel can be a little misleading. I went in expecting a hilarious romantic comedy of errors, but instead was hit with a plethora of intensely complicated emotional drama. Gloria delivers a very real story that is not uncommon in many Asian families. Mei is a strong narrator throughout the book, and I found myself getting caught up in her angst and conflicting emotions. She’s clearly experiencing a tremendous amount of cognitive dissonance- wanting to make her parents happy and not let their sacrifices go for nought, while at the same time having ambitions and dreams of her own that are so far left field from what her parents have envisioned for her. While I didn’t grow up with parents as intense as Mei’s, my expat childhood was filled with a lot of these constant, conflicting desires. Gloria does an excellent job as portraying them for what they are- hardworking immigrant parents who’ve lived their lives holding firmly onto these perspectives and values and wanting their kids to have a secure future to the point where they’ve lost sight of personal happiness and their kids’ happiness, and the fact that the world and the country they live in is very different from the one they grew up in. Mei’s parents are very conservative and old-fashioned, ascribe to all manner of superstitions and beliefs, and yes, their love is conditional on their kids’ obedience- as evidenced by the fact that their son is estranged for falling in love with a non-parental-approved girl. I developed a certain appreciation for Mei’s mother, especially towards the end of the book. She’s a complex woman, her own story is sad and touching, and as a reader you’re definitely given some perspective on how the same cultural values and beliefs she upholds has had its effect on her own life.

Mei’s character arc itself is really strongly written and great to follow- she goes from being the kid who is too scared and too sheltered to disobey her parents, to a person that accepts that in order to live her life on her terms she is going to have to be okay with disappointing them once in a while. Boy, is that a life lesson, and one that does not get easy over time (yes, this is indeed the voice of experience). Juxtaposing her passion for dance and her lack of interest in her pre-med courses is a really good choice in terms of the writing and helps with the progression of the story. It also really made me empathize with her emotional turmoil. I also absolutely loved that she’s a college student; that transitioning worldview and exposure to a plethora of ideas, experiences, and possibilities was one that I related to completely because I remember experiencing those things when I was 17 and had moved away from my parents for the first time. It’s exhilarating and nerve-wracking, and superbly depicted in the story.

As for the other side characters: I adored her brother, and I was super invested in their relationship. Again, I could relate to that entire story arc on a personal level (not my immediate experience, but it’s happened within our family). You can still see how he does hang onto some of the values he was raised with, and it’s interesting to see how sometimes you can fall into the traps of sharing your parents’ thought processes even if you don’t mean to. Ying-Na serves as a reference for all the things that could happen if you choose to go against your conservative parents and community, and I really liked how she doesn’t just remain a caricature in the end. Darren is an adorable love interest, but I definitely appreciated that their romance was a secondary arc that was there to reinforce the primary narrative instead of taking over Mei’s story.

Overall, this is an intense and emotional read. All the tiny pieces of the puzzle don’t miraculously fall into place in the end; these characters are all a work in progress, as in life, which I appreciate deeply. Unfortunately I didn’t write this review before my ARC expired but I think there’s a potentially amatonormative sentence in there somewhere that made me wince (don’t quote me on this, I don’t remember it. I’ll just have to wait for the finished copy to double-check). However, this novel is still deeply personal and Gloria’s voice and writing are an important addition to the Asian diaspora. Familial expectations versus following the path of uncertainty; undoubtedly, many will find a home, heart, and connection in it.
...more

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May 29, 2018 Suzanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5*

This was a cute read about a Taiwanese girl breaking away from her family’s wishes and traditions to live her own life at MIT. I actually breezed right through this book because it had a lot of funny moments and Mei was such a likeable character. It was uplifting when Mei and Xing reunited and regained their sibling bond which was crucial for Mei to have the courage to finally stick up for what she wanted. This was a really cute book.

My quick and simple overall: adorable and uplifting with ...more

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Feb 10, 2018 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it really liked it

DDR, dumplings, the struggles of dealing with traditional Asian parents and their expectations of perfectly mannered children - I'm pretty sure this is the book of my heart. American Panda is surprisingly refreshing because it actually gets the pressure and all consuming hold that traditional Asian parents can have on your kids, including the ultimatums and cultural expectations that they heap upon you.

Full review to come.

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Jun 29, 2017 Giselle (Book Nerd Canada) marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2018, age-young-adult, authors-poc

Omg another Asian model on the cover... this is just so brilliant to see!

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Dec 04, 2017 Acqua rated it really liked it

Shelves: db, aoc, contemporary, best-mcs, love-cover, loved-it, ya

4.5 stars.
American Panda is one of the best YA contemporaries I've ever read.

It was as compulsively readable as it was multifaceted: it's a coming-of-age story, it's about coming to terms with your heritage, about the way traditions can change with immigration and time, about intergenerational miscommunication, about unlearning internalized biases, and it's also a cute romance. And none of these aspects was neglected.

This book follows Mei, a 17-year-old Taiwanese-American girl who has very tradi 4.5 stars.
American Panda is one of the best YA contemporaries I've ever read.

It was as compulsively readable as it was multifaceted: it's a coming-of-age story, it's about coming to terms with your heritage, about the way traditions can change with immigration and time, about intergenerational miscommunication, about unlearning internalized biases, and it's also a cute romance. And none of these aspects was neglected.

This book follows Mei, a 17-year-old Taiwanese-American girl who has very traditional, controlling parents and is now studying at MIT to become a doctor. The problem? She has mysophobia (yes, finally a book with phobia representation, and an intersectional one!), and she is also falling in love with Darren Takahashi, who is Japanese - her parents would disown her if they knew.

I really liked Mei. She's a well-rounded, likable character, and she felt real. Everything about this book felt surprisingly realistic, down to little details (liquid nitrogen ice cream is a thing that science nerds do at uni. True!). This also meant that Mei's interactions with other characters felt realistic, and so did the side characters themselves. I loved almost all of them, and I was really surprised by both Ying-Na and Nicolette.
Also, it's great that we're getting novels with intersectional main characters (a fat, mentally ill Taiwanese-American girl!) that aren't about their marginalizations. Yes, Mei deals with racist, fatphobic and ableist microaggressions, but the story isn't about that.

The cover of American Panda may make you think this is a cute romance in the vein of When Dimple Met Rishi, and while this book does have a cute romance, it is not about that, and it gets really intense at times - the family dynamics are not healthy at all here and that may be triggering for some. Also, there's a gory scene and frequent mentions of STDs.

The only thing I didn't love was the writing. It wasn't bad by any means, and I found it addicting, but I also felt it was a bit overdramatic at times. ...more

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YA Buddy Readers'...: American Panda by Gloria Chao - Restarting June 20th 2018	48	33	Jun 24, 2018 05:57AM
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About Gloria Chao

Gloria Chao

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Gloria Chao is an MIT grad turned dentist turned writer.

Her debut novel, AMERICAN PANDA, received four starred trade reviews, is a Junior Library Guild Selection and Indie’s Next Pick, and is nominated for several awards including YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adult. Her second novel, MISALIGNED, is forthcoming fall 2019.

Gloria currently lives in Chicago and is always up for cooperative board ga ...more

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