Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month - Books for Adults

Explore books for adults that spotlight a range of experiences within Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

Updated January 22, 2026
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All you can ever know : a memoir
Chung, Nicole
Paper Book
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER This beloved memoir "is an extraordinary, honest, nuanced and compassionate look at adoption, race in America and families in general" (Jasmine Guillory, Code Switch, NPR) What does it means to lose your roots--within your culture,...
Bitter over sweet
Llanes Brownlee, Melissa
Paper Book
Hawaiian native Tita works to escape a vicious cycle of poverty and abuse, only to realize along the way that life can not only be better, it can be whatever she wants it to be... Take a deep dive into the lives of real Hawaiians as we follow Tita and other native women living and struggling against...
Chlorine : a novel
Song, Jade
Paper Book
In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts...
Crying in H Mart : a memoir
Zauner, Michelle
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American--"in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself" (NPR). * CELEBRATING...
Cursed bunny
Chung, Bora
Paper Book
A wildly original novel from a rising star of Korean literature--surreal, chilling fables that take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech with absurdist humor and a (sometimes literal) bite.    From an author never before published in...
Girl in translation
Kwok, Jean.
Paper Book
Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures. When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life:...
The hundred secret senses
Tan, Amy
Paper Book
"Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of southern China, this is a tale of American pragmatism shaken, and soothed, by Chinese ghosts. What proof of love do we seek between mother and daughter, among sisters, lovers, and friends? What are its boundaries and failings? Can love go beyond...
Insurrecto
Apostol, Gina
Paper Book
"A bravura performance."--The New York Times Histories and personalities collide in this literary tour-de-force about the Philippines' present and America's past by the PEN Open Book Award-winning author of Gun Dealers' Daughter.   Two women, a...
The manicurist's daughter : a memoir
Lieu, Susan
Paper Book
An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery. Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family's past and about her own future. Refugees from...
On earth we're briefly gorgeous : a novel
Vuong, Ocean
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller * Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction * Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century ...
Our missing hearts : a novel
Ng, Celeste
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * Named a Best Book of the Year by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more * A Reese's Book Club Pick * New York Times...
Pachinko
Lee, Min Jin
Paper Book
One of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In this New York Times bestseller, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan-the inspiration for the television series on...
The school for good mothers : a novel
Chan, Jessamine
Paper Book
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence | Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize | Selected as One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year! In this New York Times...
Severance
Ma, Ling
Paper Book
Maybe it's the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma's offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, Severance. "A stunning, audacious book with a fresh take on both...
Sex and vanity : a novel
Kwan, Kevin
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GMA BOOK CLUB PICK * The author of the international phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians takes us from Capri to NYC, where a young woman finds herself torn between two men--and two very different cultures. "Another riveting tale of privilege,...
The sleepwalker's guide to dancing : a novel
Jacob, Mira
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE BOSTON GLOBE, KIRKUS REVIEWS, BUSTLE, AND EMILY GOULD, THE MILLIONS For fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Meg Wolitzer, Mona Simpson, and Jhumpa Lahiri comes a winning, irreverent debut novel about a family wrestling with its...
The taker
Katsu, Alma.
Paper Book
From the author of The Hunger--hailed by Stephen King as "deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down"--comes a hauntingly atmospheric tale replete with alchemy, lust, and betrayal. True love can last an eternity...but immortality comes at a price... ...
A tale for the time being
Ozeki, Ruth L.
Paper Book
A brilliant, unforgettable novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness Finalist for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award "A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and...
Yellowface
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "Hard to put down, harder to forget." -- Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences... Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who...

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