AAPI Heritage Month

Gold Diggers

“I love that this book: is a magical realism book that dives into the harm of the model minority myth, and shows how that can translate into toxic ambition for so many second-generation immigrants; it's partially set in the Bay Area; there's a HEIST component at a wedding expo and it's being adapted for television by Mindy Kaling (producer of the Netflix hit show, Never Have I Ever). Smart and funny!”

Zinna, A Great Good Place for Books

The Far Field

“Few seasoned novelists — let alone a first-time novelist like Madhuri Vijay — are able to construct scene after scene with compelling interior drama, tension, and forward momentum, but you’ll never want to stop reading as Vijay skillfully combines a personal journey and family mystery with a political examination of the Kashmiri-Indian troubles. Shalini, the narrator of this extraordinary work, has a mother who immediately belongs on any shortlist of literature’s great characters. If I read a better novel in 2019, then 2019 will become my favorite year of the 21st century.”

Brian Lampkin, Scuppernong Books

This lyrical, stunning picture book tells a story about learning to love and celebrate your Asian-shaped eyes, in the spirit of Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, and is a celebration of diversity.

"This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“A young girl finds beauty in her...

If you enjoyed Minor Feelings, then you’ll love Crying in H Mart.

“This memoir is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of grief as well as a tender look at the complex relationship between a mother and daughter bridging generational and cultural gaps through the comforting creation of food. This book had me simultaneously sobbing and starving. A perfect read.”

LeeAnna, Blue Cypress Books

A stunning, heartbreaking debut novel about grief, love, and family, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Celeste Ng.

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.

Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time.... Read more »

The Kiss Quotient

“I am going to cry. Happy tears. I don’t think I’ve ever related to a character in romance quite so much as I do to Stella. And that is important. Helen gives voice to those who have been counted out of the romance genre for so long, and in such a way that is relatable, informative, and swoon-worthy. I also really enjoyed the premise of flipping Pretty Woman on its head. I'll always take a fake dating trope, but something about this treatment really did it for me. I devoured it. Tropy in all the best ways, and real in all the rest, I truly hope The Kiss Quotient continues to gain readership and notoriety over years to come.”

Britt, Second Star to the Right

An NPR Book Concierge Pick of the Year

“The fun of this engrossing read is that underneath the slapstick lies a finely nuanced meditation on how we perform as ourselves.” —New York Times Book Review
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of Frankly in Love comes a moving young adult novel about friendship, identity, and acceptance. Perfect... Read more »

Severance

“A disaffected young woman just scraping by in the big city. A rag-tag group of survivors on a journey through a post-apocalyptic landscape. These are familiar tropes in contemporary fiction (albeit not usually in the same novel). But with Ling Ma's steely-eyed, wry treatment, they grow into something far more complex. In an alternate 2011, Shen Fever, a global pandemic, causes "a fatal loss of consciousness" in those infected. "The Fevered" forget to eat or drink or sleep, but instead get caught in a seeming zombie-like loop of muscle memory: a housewife sets the table for dinner over and over again; a taxi driver drives around the city until he runs out of gas; a young woman tries on all of the clothes in her closet in an endless loop. This post-apocalyptic world is woven with flashbacks of pandemic-survivor Candace Chen's pre-apocalypse life in New York, where a job she doesn't even like becomes the anchor of her identity such that she will seemingly do anything in order to continue to do it, even after she's the last survivor at her company. The question that lingers: is the rote repetition of our lives the very essence of who we are? And how far will we go to preserve that facade of living? Severance is a beautifully spare and wryly funny novel, by a huge new talent. ”

Rachel, The Book Table

Interior Chinatown

“We all make choices throughout our lives, choosing different paths to follow, different roles to play. But who selects the options we choose from? Interior Chinatown is like a rapier taken to stereotypes that inhabit society's attitudes towards Asian Americans. The main character, Willis Wu, is a minor actor in an ongoing cop drama who wants to be more than a generic Asian male in the background, maybe even someday becoming "Kung Fu Guy". The novel bounces back and forth between the script Wu is inhabiting and an interior monologue . And one of the strengths of this book, for the reader, is how thin the line sometimes feels between these stereotypical roles that Willis is acting, and the ridiculousness of the particular situation. Interior Chinatown is a brilliant novel, one that challenged this reader in the best possible ways”

Martin, Green Apple Books

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

“If ever a book could be compared to a vegetable, this book is an onion. Starting from its center; a Chinese-American family is living and working in a mining town when teenagers Sam and Lucy have to leave when their father dies. Layers upon layers ensue with beautiful narration to tell the story of a family that spent their life searching for a place and a feeling to call HOME.”

Nichole, The Yankee Bookshop

WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
 
Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother.

Some stories refuse to stay bottled up...

When... Read more »

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

“Young readers will connect with the challenges of pursuing interests that your family may not be too thrilled about, and the lengths you'll go to for your dreams to come true!”

Jessica, Brain Lair Books