Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time Book

In my ever-long quest in examining Asian American teen fiction, I gave Stanford Wong a try and have to admit, I am a fan. Stanford is a horrible student and basketball star who has to retake English in summer school. This book, written in the form of a diary, tracks Stanford's life that summer where he deals with his parents' tense relationship, his grandmother moving into an old folks' home and his falling in love for the first time with a girl and with books. Cute. I loved Stanford's character. Yee addresses the model minority myth and makes this American born Chinese boy a kid like everyone else. Chinese culture is seamlessly woven in without trying to teach.