The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

I loved this graphic novel aimed at a YA audience. The year is 1885 and the location is a small isolated working town. 13-year-old Mei helps her father run the kitchen at a logging camp in the Sierra Nevada. She is first generation American, her father having come on a slow boat from China in search of a better life for her. She dreams of seeing the world but isn't sure how to do so, and she begins to call upon Auntie Po, a legendary giant Chinese matriarch with a blue ox, to watch over the camp. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak. Auntie Po can't stop every misfortune, and Mei must deal with tragedy and heartbreak along the way. Bad things happen to the best of people in this book which mixes folklore and history to explore issues of equality, equity, and identity. This is a story brimming with historical incident, and timely depictions of both bigotry and understanding. Sweet, funny, and wise without dipping in to self-pity.