Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

"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.

This book does a lot to restore my faith in the publishing industry, which often seems more concerned with profit and packaging than substance, vision or good writing. Although I am a contributor to the anthology, when I first received editor Vickie Nam's call-for-submission emails a year and a half ago, I was skeptical. I was interested in issues facing Asian American women and girls, but I doubted that publishing giant HarperCollins was capable of producing a thoughtful, sophisticated book about deeply personal, complex and diverse experiences.

But despite my fears, the book is wonderful, and I wish it had been written ages ago! This anthology of personal writings by Asian American girls and women is the first of its kind, and it sets a high standard for any future work that wishes to treat Asian American girls' issues. The 80-some essays, letters, stories and poems included in it are thoughtful, eye-opening, moving, honest, strongly-voiced and well-edited.

Furthermore, the collection will dispel most myths that readers of any race or gender may hold about Asian American females. Both the girls and the older "mentor" women published here exhibit a great diversity of backgrounds, personalities, interests, accomplishments and views. They have done, felt and experienced so much, and they write with sincerity and eloquence about everything from kim chee to punk to anorexia to feminist theory. What the writers share is a determination to engage with issues of gender, race, ethnicity and culture, and to stand up for themselves in a society that punishes difference. Vickie Nam's careful editing and organization, along with her thoughtful, personable chapter introductions, give coherence to an eclectic array of voices, but never stifles the natural energy of the pieces.

Like many writers' first books, this one seems to be a project of great personal importance to Vickie Nam, and it has the potential to change the way Asian American girls read. Finally, a heartfelt, complex work that portrays Asian American girls as more than just token minor characters or damaging stereotypes! This book is what was missing from all of our childhoods, but it is a great gift to future generations of Asian American girls.

Yell-Oh Girls will undoubtedly appeal most to Asian American teenage girls. However, young men and non-Asian Americans will surely see themselves in this collection as well, since we have all been on our own journeys toward self-acceptance and, as the book jacket says, "lived to yell about it."

Well, I was not going to write a review, except seeing one of the recent posts really bothered me. I liked Yell-oh Girls because it was a carefully done book that gave all different types of girls a chance to get heard. The comment from the reader from NY makes judges the girls unfairly. He is punishing them when they should be recognized and made to feel proud for being smart, talented and following their goals.

Also, I have never seen these kinds of discussions happening out there in the real world, so they are not cliche to me. This book is close to the issues I deal with on a daily basis. I respect girls for speaking out which isn't easy. I hope this wont be the last book and that more will come out in the future!

This is a sweet collection of short anecdotal stories and poetry by mostly high school or college-aged Asian American females. The book is organized thematically, with subtitles like 'Family ties,' under which we find a variety of short stories written by girls/women of a variety of Asian ethnicities (though pieces authored by Korean Americans seem disproportionately large in number) who claim a variety of U.S. regional affiliations. The idea behind the book seems to be to prove or justify the internal diversity of a demographic popularly called 'Asian American females' - their races, personalities, interests, thoughts - and works as a response to the monolithic view of Asian American women offered by mass media. Whether or not it was intended, the book is unfortunately geared towards a very small audience; not only is it made to appeal to an Asian American female-specific readership that assumes a sort of unofficial sisterhood among females of Asian ancestry, its stories also tend to feature themes that are too high on light anecdotes and too low on fodder for intelligent thought and discussion. That is, most stories seem juvenile: limited to proving the authors' superficial individuality with a review of their outward lives and the problems they face as individuals solidly affiliated with two (or more) cultures but unable to pledge allegiance to any one. The stories in this book - while they number quite a few - are unable to provide detail to the identity crises mentioned or described in passing - details which will provide a deeper, richer, more complete, and more intelligent view of these spirited young countributors by answering basic questions such as 'Who am I?' 'Why am I?' and 'Why do I think so?' We in America have been content for far too long with vague statements about 'appreciating my culture' or 'knowing my culture/who I am' from Americans whose ancestors do not hail from Western Europe. It is time now for young Asian Americans (and other census-defined demographics) to more intelligently claim their individuality by closely examining exactly who they are and why. It is not enough to say that one 'understands what it means to be [Asian]' because has taken a short vacation to Asian nation X after graduating from high school. One must more thoroughly examine oneself before endeavoring to claim that ability to understand so complex a subject - a thorough examination not found in Yell-Oh Girls.

Ever since I started rediscovering my Asian American culture in 1997, I searched for everywhere for a book where I could relate my feelings. There are many good books out there written by Asian American authors, but none has compared to this anthology. This is the first book that I have read where I could relate to all the writers' thoughts. "Yell-Oh Girls" is made up of wonderful stories, poems, essays, and quotes by young Asian American girls and female Asian American role models. The book is divided up into 5 categories: Orientation:Finding the Way Home, Family Ties, Dolly Rage, Finding My Voice, and Girlwind:Emerging Voices For Change. The category I found that I could relate to most was "Orientation: Finding the Way Home". In this category, the stories are mainly about dealing with being Asian and American. Many of these girls feel like they are stuck in the middle of nowhere and this is a feeling that many can relate to. Throughout this book there are many topics that make you think. It is such a surprise to discover that racism and ignorance is still occuring in the United States today. From the subject of Mr. Wong to the stereotypical view of Asian females in today's media are also discussed in this book. This is one book that should not be ignored because the Asian American population is growing everyday and the issues in the book are very important. I would highly recommmend this book to everyone I know. Not only is is a great book for Asian American females, but I think people of different races would enjoy. I think many females of different colors can relate to some of what is said in this book. I think it's great that Asian American girls have finally had their chance to speak out for themselves.

Growing up as an Asian-American girl isn't easy. Vickie Nam wanted to create an anthology of essays, stories, poems and artwork that was all about what it's like to be an Asian-American young woman these days. And she succeeds with a great read for any girl! The collection includes 80 brief selections by young women writers between 15 and 22 years of age, from all over the country. Some stories are sad and thought-provoking, while others will have you giggling on the floor.(...)

At the surface, Nam's book may seem tethered to the concerns of Asian American women and teens, but that would be giving the book partial credit. The anthology will appeal to readers who are open to fresh voices and dialects (try Hawaiian pidgin for instance). The golden thread in Nam's book speaks to a much greater pursuit than racial/gender awareness/advancement: it's about arriving at one's individuality and feeling comfortable in one's own skin. Last time I checked, men strive for this, too.

by Truc Doan, age 15
Teen Editor
...

When I was reading Yell-Oh Girls! many people in my school asked me what it was about and if they could read the back. One boy had picked it up and asked me, "So what is this? A girly book?"

Girly book? If by girly he meant that the anthology was written by girls and targeted mainly toward girls, than yes. However, if by girly, he meant that it was somehow refined, glossed over and full of fluff, he was very wrong indeed.

Yell-Oh Girls! is an anthology full of passionate writing, the result of true emotion and experience. It is amazing how the young women writers that contributed to this book articulated and defined the situations and issues they wrote about. Every story, every paragraph, every sentence in this book gives the reader a blow straight to the gut and to the mind.

These writers do not tiptoe lightly over controversial issues, but instead state them loud and clear. The writing screams out, "this is who I am and this is what I went through and yes, all of it is true." Even the title takes a derogatory, stereotypical phrase and changes it into something more powerful and meaningful.

Yell-Oh Girls! takes the all too painful experience of growing up and facing the world and mixes it with a blend of bittersweet sadness and joy. All the stories are about realizing who you are and how the people around you react to that. It is about independence, change, anger, oppression, prejudice, beauty, and courage to accept yourself for who you are.

Being an Asian-American female going through adolescence and heading towards the long road to adulthood and maturity, I found this book very encouraging and familiar. Yell-Oh Girls! shows that Asian-American girls are neither passive nor quiet and should not be given any label or fitted into any specific media category.

However, you do not have to be Asian American to connect with this anthology. The first part titled "Orientation" speaks of finding your identity and your culture. The second section, "Family Ties" contains angst filled stories that deals with one of the more important aspects of one's life...one's family. "Dolly Rage," the third section, rages with fury and ferocity at all those that support the image of a "model female." I especially enjoyed the last two sections, "Finding My Voice" and "Girlwind: Emerging Voice For Change" because it has personal stories of girls speaking out and acting out.

Yell-Oh Girls! is a truly breathtaking, magnificent anthology, and its editor, Vickie Nam, is amazing. To me, these stories send out the message, "Yes, girls, it's okay to yell. Yell as loud as you possibly can! Let no one stop your voice!"