In this time when immigration is such a hot topic, Malaka Gharib puts an engaging human face on the issue ... The push and pull first generation kids feel is portrayed with humor and love, especially humor ... Gharib pokes fun of all of the cultures she lives in, able to see each of them with an outsider's wry eye, while appreciating them with an insider's close experience ... The question of 'What are you?' has never been answered with so much charm.
Even for the most well-meaning cartoonists, it's supremely difficult to make race visible without reinscribing such stereotypes ... NPR editor Malaka Gharib's answer to the problem neatly encapsulates her whole approach to life in her high-spirited graphical memoir ... even as she makes light of herself, Gharib's wisdom about the power and limits of racial identity is evident in the way she draws. Most of the time, Gharib just doesn't bother to draw race at all ... Gharib fills her book with the things that do matter: the beliefs, values, food, music and experiences that make an Egyptian Filipino American who she is ... anger, expressed through numerous reminiscences, doesn't come out in her art. She draws white people to look more or less like everybody else — which is to say, like people.
Gharib strikes an adroit balance between her internal questions and external realities, which are appealingly presented ... And she presents her mostly linear story in a flat, loose-line style that nods to the kinetic art of the New Yorker’s Roz Chast. Some of Dream’s most appealing scenes involve her travel abroad—so much so that a fan of this debut might wish that Gharib has an illustrated travelogue in her future.
Gharib details her transformation in simple, self-deprecating cartoons. She peppers the narrative with interactive elements like microaggressions bingo, mini-zine pages, and a paper doll sequence that highlights her attempts to literally wear different aspects of white culture as she navigated her adult life ... This engaging memoir is an uplifting ode to Gharib’s bicultural background, her immigrant parents, and her road to self-acceptance. An essential purchase.
At each turn, the illustrations in this graphic memoir are filled with joy. Even as Malaka grapples with the difficulties she encounters, she is a curious, funny, and kind protagonist who you can’t help but root for and celebrate as you read. I Was Their American Dream is an excellent representation of a very particular way of growing up in America that is, even in its uniqueness, absolutely relatable and universal.
... Gharib displays an infectious enthusiasm for openness ... though it has every right to be preachy, heavy, and sometimes even despairing, Gharib lends more helpful emotions to her message. Her cartooning gives her biography a charming edge that feels like honest sharing with a happy smile, and that is matched by her openness. Gharib seems genuinely devoted to the idea of figuring this stuff out the best she can, of looking at the negative in a positive way that moves things forward and brings people to some kind of understanding, and of bringing an energy and humor to a dynamic that so often falls victim to hostility. It’s a complete and insightful work, one that doesn’t have Gharib posing as an expert on the subject matter, but as a fellow traveler telling us what she’s discovered, and where she hopes to go with it, in the hopes that there is more she can understand.
...a formidable balancing act negotiating parents, cultures, religions, and expectations ... Presenting her memories in hues of pinks, oranges, and blues, Gharib augments them with stinging, comically poignant interruptions ... Forthright and funny, Gharib fiercely claims her own American dream.
...charming ... Gharib’s enthusiastic, if naive, scribbly art style is reminiscent of Lynda Barry in the way it captures moments of chaotic Filipino family life ... Gharib’s storytelling remains upbeat through life’s ups and downs. This lighthearted narrative, self-reflective but never angst-ridden, has wide appeal.
Gharib thoughtfully explores the gradations of diversity and what they meant to different people ... Charmingly unsophisticated illustrations, predominantly—and appropriately—colored in red, white, and blue, and Gharib’s authentic voice make her story personable and accessible ... A heartwarming tribute to immigrant families and their descendants trying to live the American dream.
