When the number four spells disaster, Eugenia Wang’s twelfth birthday might just be her unluckiest yet.
In his debut middle-grade graphic novel, The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang, author-illustrator Stan Yan weaves a tale that is in equal parts spooky and humorous. Twelve-year-old Eugenia is an aspiring artist clashing with her mother’s strict adherence to Chinese superstitions, particularly the belief that her April 4th birthday sets her on course for bad luck. After a mishap in gym’ class leaves her with concussion, Eugenia’s reality begins to fracture. Strange visions haunt her, mirroring the disasters she draws in her sketchbook. Racing against time and the dread of her upcoming thirteenth birthday, she must unravel the connection between her art and the ominous events unfolding around her before her luck runs out completely.
Yan’s work is a smart pick for students who might be intimidated by traditional prose novels. The graphic novel format naturally scaffolds comprehension; the illustrations use a distinct color palette—shifting to intense reds—to signal dream sequences, helping readers visually distinguish between reality and Eugenia’s visions without needing dense descriptive text to guide them. The dialogue keeps things moving with simple and compound sentence structures, making the pacing brisk and accessible for English language learners. While the story introduces specific cultural concepts and vocabulary related to superstition, the visual context ensures these terms are easily understood. Praised by Kirkus Reviews for its blend of humor and heart, this book allows less capable readers to engage with complex themes of identity and family pressure through a medium that feels manageable and fun.
