I am always so charmed by everything Gene Luen Yang writes, and his newest graphic novel, Level Up, is no exception. His latest centers on Dennis Ouyang, a high school student whose parents desperately want him to become a doctor. Dennis, on the other hand, would much rather play video games – maybe even professionally one day. Dennis makes it into a good college, but when his dad – the person who exerted the most parental pressure on him – dies, he slacks off, staying at the arcade until all hours, skipping school, and failing his classes. He’s placed on academic probation and eventually kicked out of college.
That’s when three angels show up and begin exerting that same pressure – plus a healthy dose of guilt – to become a doctor on Dennis. They’re able to convince the dean to reinstate Dennis, and they also convince Dennis that he should make it his goal to work hard, get into medical school, and become a gastroenterologist (a poop doctor). They tell him this is his destiny.
Just as in the two previous works I’ve read by Yang (American Born Chinese and The Eternal Smile), things are not what they seem. All is revealed at the end, and of course I can’t say anything more because that would spoil things. But the reveal is a good one, giving the reader insight into the characters of both Dennis and his father. It’s also heartwarming and a little weepy.
Like any good story, there’s more than one theme at work here. We learn a lot about Dennis’ relationship with his father, which is certainly the primary aim, but we also see the development of Dennis’ friendships with his classmates in medical school and see how a teenager strikes out on his own to become an adult (something rarely seen in books – so few are about 20-somethings!). Typical for Yang, there’s also a good dose of humor.
The art is done by relative newcomer Thien Pham. It’s nothing hugely remarkable – cute without being childish, with a lot of soft colors that emphasize how adorable the angels are. It’s nice to look at and he clearly has talent, I just tend to prefer bolder colors and firmer lines.
This is such a great book for 20-somethings (like me). Dennis starts out as a teenager but grows into an adult in medical school, making him around my age near the end. Beyond the age equivalency, though, is the inclusion of the videogames: the front of the book is an old-school gameboy, and Dennis talks about playing the original Nintendo Entertainment System frequently, both of which my generation is very familiar with. Today’s teens are a little too young to have grown up with these (relative) pioneers in gaming. While there are no references to Duck Hunt or blowing on game consoles, Dennis does play Pac-Man and other arcade and NES games extensively. Despite its YA designation, I feel like Level Up was written more with my age group in mind.
Copy borrowed from my local library.
I think our age group is really where a LOT of graphic novels are aimed as of late, and I think it's a tricky age group to label. We ARE young adults, but not from the bookstore/marketing standpoint.
I'm going to pick this one up soon. I've had it on my shelf too long š
I really enjoyed it. Yang takes a deceptively simple concept (a guy who likes video games is confronted by four angels who tell him he should be a doctor) and makes it very moving.
This sounds awesome, especially since it sort of bridges the age range gap a bit. I keep seeing it around the blogosphere and I really adore the cover. Fun!