Nothing Alike (Zewlan Moor, illus Peter Cheong, Bright Light)

Nothing Alike, a picture book by Zewlan Moor and illustrated by Peter Cheong, is impressive on many levels. The clean, playful and dynamic illustrations and design keenly reflect the substance of Zewlan’s text. Nothing Alike is a thought-provoking story about a white boy, Reuben, and his relationship with two Asian classmates. ‘Their names are Esmé and Eunwoo. I can’t tell them apart. Or can I?’ The story explores Reuben’s challenge with the similarities in the girls’ appearance that initially confuses him but soon becomes irrelevant when he realises the more exciting differences between them as individuals. Esmé has kind eyes and likes yellow, while Eunwoo likes…Reuben! The story’s humorous plot twist (when Reuben is mistaken for his similarly Caucasian classmate, Owen) is a highlight. The gentle humour and lightness of tone in Nothing Alike are successful tools to communicate the heavier issues at play here—racism and stereotyping. Moor and Cheong were inspired to create Nothing Alike because of the trending #sorrywrongasian discussion, both having experienced being mistaken for other Asian peers in the publishing industry. This is an important book that may help to gently prompt some big conversations.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Michelle Atkins is a communications professional and published educational author. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews