American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang and Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin both share in common the storyline where the main protagonist experiences and is plunged into a new environment, however in different ways, a graphic novel, and a novel. In Jin Wang’s case, he moved into a new town and school in which there were no longer Chinese-American kids for him to easily socialise with, and Jin needed to adapt to the American way of living to fit in. Or did he? While in Mao’s last Dancer, Li Cunxin, the author himself, was suddenly and to his own surprise elected to be part of an elite dance group. He had to move from his comfortable life in his hometown, and live in Beijing. Soon enough, he was settling into his new way of life, until an opportunity to go to America comes, and crazily enough changes his view of the world. This essay will address stylistic features which make both American Born Chinese and Mao’s Last…show more content… To transform meant to become something else, but the two books stressed that you must never forget who you were. In Mao’s Last Dancer, while Li’s decision to defect and live in America provided with plenty of opportunities, he was haunted by the fact that the people who gave him AN opportunity in the first place, his family, was left behind. That was until he could finally meet them again. While in American Born Chinese, through conflicts and ordeals, Jin Wang realises that fitting in in society, doesn’t mean you have to become someone you aren’t. But instead he had to fit into his own skin first, he had to work with the fact that he is in fact Chinese American, and has to play his cards right, with the hand that he was dealt. This overarching theme of transformation, left me thinking after reading both the books, and definitely impacted my view and opinion on fitting in, and being