May is Asian American Pacific heritage month, and we are excited to share some of our favorite books exploring perspectives from Asian Americans. These books, from Children’s picture books, historical fiction, to show business memoirs, share tales from Asian Pacific Americans across generations. These books share the immense beauty and hardships of what it means to be Asian American. We love these books and hope that you pick one up and share the love with us.
Children’s Picture Books
Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom (People Who Shaped Our World)
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This Children’s novel gives history to Wu Chien Shiung, who grew up in China 100 years ago when most girls didn’t attend school because they were considered not as smart as boys. Wu Chien Shiung went on to become the “Queen of Physics” for her work on beta decay. She is the first woman elected President of the American Physical Society, and the first scientist to have an asteroid named after her when she was still alive. This biography follows Wu Chien Shiung as she battles sexism and racism in order to follow her dreams and pursue her love of learning and science. This Children’s book teaches children, and even parents reading it, a history that is often swept under the rug.
Fish For Jimmy by Katie yamasaki
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This book is about a Japanese American boy, Jimmy, and his family being forced to leave their homes and stay in an internment camp. Suddenly Jimmy’s life is turned upside down, and he starts to feel frail and sad. The story continues as Taro refuses to watch his brother suffer and is determined to help his brother with this unfair transition. Jimmy, under the stress of being forced out of his home, can’t eat. So, in order to have his brother eat and stay alive, Taro escapes the camp in order to find fish for Jimmy. Jimmy eats the fish because it reminds him of home. This story is one of resilience and the bond that families have, more specifically brothers, in order to survive trauma.
Middle grade
The Land of Forgotten girls by erin entrada kelly
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This story is about many things, but begins with the bond between sisters and how they deal with the hardships and joy of life. Sol, and her sister, Ming, have been through a lot. Their mother and sister die around the same time and not long after their father announces they are moving to America, a strange place called Louisiana, and marrying a new woman. In order to cope, Sol talks to the ghost of her sister, her little sister offers her advice and helps Sol figure out the realities of her own life. This book offers a strong heroine who looks to hope in the face of loss, a lesson everyone needs to learn.
Inside out and back again by thanhha lai
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For all ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food . . . and the strength of her very own family.
Young Adult
Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen
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Ever Wong finds herself thrust among the very over-achieving kids her parents have always wanted her to be when they send her from Ohio to Taiwan to study Mandarin for the Summer. Little do her parents know, this program is actually an infamous teen meat-market nicknamed Loveboat, where kids are more into breaking the rules than studying. For the first time, Ever sets out to break the rules her parents have set her whole life, but how far can she go before she breaks her own heart? This novel is an important coming-of-age story that explores parent’s expectations, love, and what it means to be yourself.
Wicked Fox by kat cho
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Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt. But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process. With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.
Comic Book
The best we could do by Thi bhi
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This illustrated memoir is about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
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All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he discovers that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school. Along with the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.
Historical Fiction
The Sympathizer by viet thanh nguyen
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The Sympathizer is the story of a South Vietnamese captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today. This novel shares a history that still affects people today.
When the Emperor was Divine by julie otsuka
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This historical novel follows a Japanese-American family that is sent to an internment camp in the Utah desert during World War II. Written in prose that is both gorgeous and heartbreaking, the story follows the family from getting the news of their forced relocation, how they lived in the barracks, and years after their unjust incarceration. This book brings attention to the perspective of Japanese-Americans while reaching into a dark chapter of U.S. history that often is overlooked in school textbooks.
Memoir
From Rufio to Zuko by Dante basco
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You may know him as the voice of some of your favorite childhood heroes; Rufio from hook, Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender, Jake Long from American Teenage Dragon. This memoir is a personal examination of the upbringing, culture, and work of Dante Basco. Basco ruminates on the formative power of his Filipino-American heritage, his family, the dynamics that evolved throughout his career, and his experiences behind playing a couple of America’s most popular characters.
Dear girls by Ali Wong
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Known for her hit Netflix comedy special ‘Baby Cobra’, Wong shares her thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women, and motherhood. Written as letters to her daughters, these sharp insights share the wisdom she has learned in life through comedy, and reveal stories that are extremely funny, moving, and enlightening for all to read.
These books are just a snapshot of the Asian Pacific American books that are out there, all sharing stories that touch our hearts in inspiring ways. While there are a lot of inspiring Asian American books across multiple genres, there are still many more to be heard. So grab a book from an Asian American Author and show publishers that these books really do matter, and that we want more!