Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American
“Messy Roots is a laugh-out-loud, heartfelt, and deeply engaging story of their journey to find themself--as an American, as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, as a queer person, and as a Wuhanese American in the middle of a pandemic.”—Malaka Gharib, author of I Was Their American Dream
After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Mars—at least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name.
In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter.
Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gao’s debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.
Book At A Glance
# of Pages: 272
Book Binding: Paperback
Year of Publication: 2022
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Language: en
ISBN: 9780063067769
Creator Bio
Laura Gao is a Chinese-American writer and illustrator. Born in Wuhan, China, she immigrated to the United States with her family at a young age. Growing up, Laura struggled to balance her Chinese heritage with American culture and often felt like she didn't fit in. This experience inspired her to tell her story through the medium of graphic memoir, combining her love for art and storytelling. She holds a degree in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley and currently works as a software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Messy Roots is her first graphic memoir, exploring her journey of self-discovery and identity as a Wuhanese American.
