YELL-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American [Paperback]

Vickie, and Eng, Phoebe (Foreword by) Nam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2001

In this groundbreaking collection of personal writings, young Asian American girls come together for the first time and engage in a dynamic converstions about the unique challenges they face in their lives. Promoted by a variety of pressing questions from editor Vickie Nam and culled from hundreds of submission from all over the country, these revelatory essays, poems, and stories tackle such complex issues as dual identities, culture clashes, family matters, body image, and the need to find one's voice.

With a foreword by Phoebe Eng, as well as contributions from accomplished Asian American women mentors Janice Mirikitani, Helen Zia, Nora Okja Keller, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Elaine Kim, Patsy Mink, and Wendy Mink, Yell-Oh Girls! is an inspiring and much-needed resource for young Asian American girls.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coming of age as an Asian-American girl in the largely white reaches of upstate New York, editor Nam writes that she began to "make sense of the contradictions of being Asian, American, and a girl" through writing, as did many of the young women whose stories, essays, poems and letters she's compiled in this vibrant, much-needed anthology. Though Nam received hundreds of contributions, the collection includes only 80 brief selections (most are under three pages) by budding writers between 15 and 22 years of age, from all over the country. Nam presents the pieces according to theme with helpful background information and analyses of the works, and ends each section with a "Mentor Piece" by an established Asian-American writer on her own coming-of-age (these include essays by Lois-Ann Yamanaka and Helen Zia). The real stars in this collection, however, are girls like high school senior Rona Luo, who waxes lyrical about the "last time I saw my father chow" (cook with a wok). Other essays discuss body image, interracial friendship and dating, adoption, "model minority" stereotypes, Asian-American feminist activism, sexuality, language and white boys' "Asian fetish." Nam regrets that her youth was filled with silence on the subject of being young and Asian-American. Thanks to this fine collection of writings, future generations of Asian-American girls need not feel so isolated. (Aug.)Forecast: Though the book will appeal to young Asian-American women, the writers' focus on the tough work of establishing identity will make it relevant to young women of all ethnic backgrounds. Essential for high school libraries.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Asian-American young women speak out in this anthology of stories and poetry about what it is like growing up in two cultures. The brief contributions are from high school and college students from all over the United States and Canada. They speak passionately of the lack of Asians and women in the history textbooks; of feeling foreign in America and in the country of their ancestors; of being laughed at and ridiculed simply for not looking "American"; of interracial dating; and of finding their own niche. Arranged by topics such as "Finding the Way Home," "Dolly Rage," and "Family Ties," each entry begins with some background about the writer and the work. The selections are interspersed with pieces by notable Asian-American women such as congresswoman Patsy Mink and writer Lois-Ann Yamanaka. The overall strength of the writing, and the need for this topic, makes this a worthy addition to YA collections.

DeAnn Tabuchi, San Anselmo Public Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (July 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060959444
• ISBN-13: 978-0060959449
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yell-oh Girls Speak Out!, August 3, 2001

By 

Lydia Kim (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: YELL-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American (Paperback)

I ordered this book online a few weeks before it came out in bookstores on August 1. For the first few moments after I got it in the mail, I just held it. This is a book I would appreciate now as a 21-year-old college graduate, but one that would have been my companion as a miserable high schooler.

I don't know what the editor Vickie Nam went through exactly when she grew up in a white town, since I grew up outside of LA for most of my life where there were always tons of APA kids. But I related to so many of the stories because I remember how it felt being an Asian American girl who knew I didn't fit into "American" society because the majority saw me as different-an alien, kind of. Every kid can probably think of a time when he or she was called a 'chink' (a penetrating story in "Dolly Rage"), or when she tried to live up to her parents dreams (several stories in "Family Ties").

I loved reading this book because it's a first real resource for kids who are trying to understand their cultural identity. It's something I can share with my baby cousin when she reaches middle school, so she's not just stuck with the stuff that portrays white girls and mainstream society. This book-- well-written and totally relevant in today's world-- is definitely going to make girls look at themselves in new ways. Thanks to the courage of a whole army of Yell-oh girls!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish this book was around when I was a teenager, August 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: YELL-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American (Paperback)

I agree with the reader below, this is a sweet collection of stories. I enjoyed and appreciated that the stories don't go into too much depth. For an anthology written by young girls, I think the reader below is expecting too much. I'm glad that the stories are true to their experiences, and that they do not try too hard to "explain" at the expense of being didactic.

I would buy this for every young asian american girl I know.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth YELL-ing about!, November 2, 2004

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: YELL-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American (Paperback)

"YELL-Oh Girls!: Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American," an anthology edited by Vickie Nam, contains more than 80 pieces (both poetry and prose) written by young Asian American women. There are also a few "mentor pieces" by established Asian American women. The book is organized thematically into 5 main sections: "Orientation: Finding the Way Home," in which writers "explore the Asian American landscape"; "Family Ties," which focuses on relationships with family members; "Dolly Rage," which deals with the intersections of physical appearance, difference, and discrimination; "Finding My Voice," about "wrestling with language, trying to somehow find the words to portray ourselves"; and finally "Girlwind: Emerging Voices for Change," which celebrates the activism of "the women warriors of tomorrow."

Each author is identified by her name (except for a small number of anonymous or pseudonymous pieces), age, and town they have lived or currently live in. Cities from many parts of the United States (California, Hawai'i, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, Texas, etc.) are represented, and there is at least one writer from Canada. The young writers, who range in age from 14 to 22, have cultural/ancestral roots in many different nations: Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Laos.

Over 300 pages long, this anthology is full of fascinating selections. Most of them are very short. Some seem like seeds of what could become longer pieces. Some pieces seem to whet the appetite more successfully than satisfy it, but the best pieces are really noteworthy.

Some of the selections I found most impactful are as follows. "Her Three-Inch Feet," by Jenny Yu: a moving portrait of a great-aunt who had evidently undergone footbinding. "The Other Sister," by Kim McKee: about being adopted and having Caucasian family members. "Going Undercover," by Wendy M. Thompson: a reflection on having both Chinese and African American parentage. "Zine Grrrl," by Kristy Chan: a fascinating piece about alternative literary creativity. "Waving Fans," by Mia Chan Mi Park: about being the drummer for an all-Asian American female rock band. This last piece has my favorite line from the whole book: "YES, Asian American women also rock. . . and we rock hard, dammit!"

This book challenges stereotypes and offers bold new images of young Asian American women. And while rooted in the Asian American female experience, the book addresses many themes that are equally relevant to men and to women of other ethnic/cultural groups. Overall, this is a fine anthology, and a fitting companion to such groundbreaking anthologies as "Home Girls" and "This Bridge Called My Back." "YELL-Oh Girls!" is, in my opinion, a good choice for college courses, for reading groups, or for individual reading.