Books From Around the World (YA): Asia

It’s often interesting to get a different perspective on the world. Here are some books set in some far-flung places – and some places close to home – grouped by continent/large body of water with islands in it. The books on this list are (mostly) written by authors from the countries they are about, and in many cases have been translated into English from their mother tongues (the book we’ve chosen for Madagascar, Return to the enchanted island by Johary Ravaloson, is only the second book to have ever been translated from Malagasy into English!).

Not all of the books are in the Young Adult collection, but we’ve tried to make sure that they all at least feature kids or teens in prominent places in the story. Our eventual goal is to have at least one book for every country in the world! Help us out by sending in recommendations if you’ve found one we’ve missed!

This list contains books written by authors from Asia. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Europe, North and Central America, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated April 25, 2024
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Wellington City Libraries
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Three apples fell from the sky
Narine Abgaryan
  The Russian bestseller about love and second chances, brimming with warmth and humour In the tiny village of Maran nestled high in the Armenian mountains, a place where dreams, curses and miracles are taken very seriously, a close-knit community bickers, gossips and laughs,...

Armenia | Armenian-Russian author

The Freedom Swimmer
Chim, Wai
This incredible tale about two boys' swim from mainland China to Hong Kong in search of freedom from poverty and oppression is inspired by a true story.

China | Chinese-American author

The three body problem
Cixin, Liu
Read the award-winning, critically acclaimed, multi-million-copy-selling science-fiction phenomenon - soon to be a Netflix Original Series from the creators of Game of Thrones. 1967: Ye Wenjie witnesses Red Guards beat her father to death during China's Cultural Revolution. This...

China | Chinese author

A hero born
Yong, Jin
"China. The year is 1200. The Song Empire has been defeated in the north by invading Jurchen forces. Pushed further south, the empire is in danger of collapse and the Chinese population is furious. Now it falls to lone patriots trained in the martial arts to save China. Guo Jing's father was one...

China | Chinese author

The wandering : a red shoes adventure
Paramaditha, Intan
The most ingenious and unusual novel you will read all year, where you choose your own story You've grown roots, you're gathering moss. You're desperate to escape your boring life teaching English in Jakarta, to go out and see the world. So you make a Faustian pact with a devil,...

Indonesia | Indonesian author

The enlightenment of the greengage tree
Azar, Shokoofeh
An extraordinarily powerful and evocative literary novel set in Iran in the period immediately after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Using the lyrical magic realism style of classical Persian storytelling, Azar draws the reader deep into the heart of a family caught in the maelstrom of post...

Iran | Iranian author

Daughter of the Tigris
Al-Ramli, Muhsin

Iraq | Iraqi author

Frankenstein in baghdad
Saadawi, Ahmed
  WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR ARABIC FICTION A SATIRICAL REIMAGINING OF MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN SET IN MODERN-DAY BAGHDAD, BRILLIANTLY CAPTURING THE HORROR OF A CITY AT WAR From the rubble-strewn...

Iraq | Iraqi author

The girl with seven names : a North Korean defector's story
Lee, Hyeonseo
An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships - and the story of one woman's terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom. As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a...

North Korea | North Korean author

Celestial bodies = Sayyidat al-qamar
ı̀Þ♯rith♯±, J¿±khah

Oman | Omani author

Ruins
Savanadasa, Rajith
'RUINS is a stirring and skilfully crafted debut, and Savanadasa's characters are so vividly drawn they feel like family. With his sharp and masterful observations of race, class and gender in the "new" Sri Lanka, Savanadasa takes his seat beside Omar Musa, Alice Pung and Michael Mohammed Ahmad...

Sri Lanka | Sri Lankan author

Loveboat, Taipei
Wen, Abigail Hing
Now a major movie, Love in Taipei, on Paramount+   "Exciting and authentic." Sabaa Tahir, New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes "Surprising, original and intelligent. An intense rush of rebellion and romance."...

Taiwan | Chinese-American author

10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world
Shafak, Elif
'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away . . . ' <...

Turkey | Turkish author

Mountains sing, the
Nguyen, Phan Que Mai
Set against the backdrop of the Vi Et Nam War, The Mountains Sing is the enveloping, multi-generational tale of the Tran family, perfect for fans of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko or Vaddey Ratner's In the Shadow of the Banyan. H Noi, 1972. Huong and her grandmother, Tran...

Vietnam | Vietnamese author


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