Books by AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Authors

Participating in the Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge? Here are some suggestions for the Books by AAPI authors prompt!

Updated February 8, 2024
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The picture bride
Yi, Kŭm-i
Paper Book
Winner of the Nautilus Award for Historical Fiction "Lee Geum-yi has a gift for taking little-known embers of history and transforming them into moving, compelling, and uplifting stories. The Picture Bride is the ultimate story of the power of friendship--a must read...
Anybody home?
Seidlinger, Michael J.
Paper Book
What came first, the home or the desire to invade? A seasoned invader with multiple home invasions undertheir belt recounts their dark victories while offering tutelage to a newgeneration of ambitious home...
The liberators : a novel
Koh, EJ
Paper Book
Daejeon, South Korea. 1980. At twenty-four, Insuk falls in love with her college classmate, Sungho, and with her father's blessing, they marry. But then, as the military dictatorship, martial law, and nationwide protests bring the country precariously to the edge, Insuk's father disappears. ...
Exhalation
Chiang, Ted
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories--two published for the very first time--all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others ...
Little fires everywhere
Ng, Celeste
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller * Named a Best Book of the Year by People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month,...
Nothing but blackened teeth
Khaw, Cassandra
Paper Book
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER * A Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Award Finalist! * An Indie Next Pick! * An October LibraryReads Pick! * 2022 RUSA Reading List: Horror Winner! Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a...
Yellowface : a novel
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 she says she...
Kindling
Chee, Traci
Paper Book
From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a stand-alone fantasy set against a war-ravaged world where kindling warfare--the use of elite, magic-wielding teenage soldiers--has been outlawed. In this rich and evocative novel, seven kindlings search for purpose and identity as they...
The fox wife : a novel
Choo, Yangsze
Paper Book
Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . . Manchuria, 1908. In the last years of the dying...
The book of form and emptiness
Ozeki, Ruth
Paper Book
Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction "No one writes like Ruth Ozeki--a triumph." --Matt Haig, New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library "Inventive, vivid, and propelled by a sense of wonder." --TIME "If you've lost your...
House of sticks : a memoir
Tran, Ly
Paper Book
New York City Book Awards Hornblower Award Winner One of Vogue and NPR's Best Books of the Year This beautifully written "masterclass in memoir" (Elle) recounts a young girl's journey from war-torn Vietnam to Queens, New York, "showcas...
The covenant of water : a novel
Verghese, Abraham
Paper Book
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SUBJECT OF A SIX-PART SUPER SOUL PODCAST SERIES HOSTED BY OPRAH WINFREY From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in...
Family style : memories of an American from Vietnam
Pham, Thien
Paper Book
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic MemoirAn NPR Best Books of 2023 A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American...
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...
Land of milk and honey
Zhang, C Pam
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK  Finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Award Longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary...
Death by dumpling
Chien, Vivien
Paper Book
Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for. . . The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family's restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that helping wait tables is...
Holding pattern
Xie, Jenny
Paper Book
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY TIME, VOGUE, VULTURE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, AND ELECTRIC LITERATURE A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION "5 UNDER 35" HONOREE "Exquisite and wise." - New York Times "There is so much heart in these pages, so...
Women of Good Fortune
Wan, Sophie
Paper Book
A reluctant bride and her two best friends plot to steal all the gift money from her glitzy high-society wedding in this dazzling, heartfelt, funny novel for fans of Crazy Rich Asians "A glittering debut. Delightful." --Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times ...
The poppy war
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
One of Time Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time "I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year...I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang's] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin." -- Booknest From #1...
Crazy rich Asians
Kwan, Kevin
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The international sensation and blockbuster Hollywood rom com. * "A Pride and Prejudice-like send-up about an heir bringing his Chinese-American girlfriend home to meet his ancestor-obsessed family." --People   ...
Interior Chinatown
Yu, Charles
Paper Book
NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * "A shattering and darkly comic send-up of racial stereotyping in Hollywood" (Vanity Fair) and a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we...
The Wangs vs. the world
Chang, Jade
Paper Book
The Wangs vs. the World is an outrageously funny tale about a wealthy Chinese-American family that "loses it all, then takes a healing, uproarious road trip across the United States" (Entertainment Weekly). Their spectacular fall from riches to rags...
The verifiers
Pek, Jane
Paper Book
ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S BEST MYSTERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Introducing Claudia Lin: a sharp-witted amateur sleuth for the 21st century. This debut novel follows Claudia as she verifies people's online lives, and lies, for a dating detective agency in New York City. Until...
The very secret society of irregular witches
Mandanna, Sangu
Paper Book
Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, and is used to keeping her head down with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos 'pretending' to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and...
The family Chao : a novel
Chang, Lan Samantha
Paper Book
The residents of Haven, Wisconsin, have dined on the Fine Chao restaurant's delicious Americanized Chinese food for thirty-five years, content to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. Whether or not Big Leo Chao is honest, or his wife, Winnie, is happy, their food tastes good and...
Hula : a novel
Hakes, Jasmin 'Iolani
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Summer by Harper's Bazaar and ELLE * Audiofile Magazine Earphones Award Winner * HONOLULU Magazine's Book of the Year About Hawai`i "Stunning . . . An intricately built novel that spans decades, moving in and out of a collective voice, while...
The school for good mothers : a novel
Chan, Jessamine
Paper Book
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel Longlisted for the 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize Selected as One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2022! In...
The best we could do : an illustrated memoir
Bui, Thi
Paper Book
National bestseller ABA Indies Introduce Winter / Spring 2017 Selection Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Spring 2017 Selection An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family's journey from war-torn Vietnam, from debut author Thi Bui. ...
Emergency contact
Choi, Mary H. K.
Paper Book
"Smart and funny, with characters so real and vulnerable, you want to send them care packages. I loved this book." --Rainbow Rowell From debut author Mary H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory--perfect for fans of Eleanor &...
The house of the lost on the cape
Kashiwaba, Sachiko
Paper Book
A 2024 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honoree A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book One of Kirkus Reviews' 10 Essential Middle-Grade Books for Fall 2023 -- Starred Review One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle-Grade Family Stories of 2023 A 2023 Cybils Awards Finalist...
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 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more * A Reese's Book Club...
The Chinese groove : a novel
Ma, Kathryn
Paper Book
Winner of the Silver Medal for the California Book Award for Fiction Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Prize Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An Amazon Editors' Pick People, A Best Book of the Year...
World of wonders : in praise of fireflies, whale sharks, and other astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
Paper Book
"Hands-down one of the most beautiful books of the year." --NPR From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction--a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us. As a child,...
Real Americans
Khong, Rachel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * READ WITH JENNA'S MAY BOOK CLUB PICK * From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us...
The thousand crimes of Ming Tsu : a novel
Lin, Tom
Paper Book
Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence Finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award A Chinese American assassin sets out to rescue his kidnapped wife and exact revenge on her abductors in this New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice: a twist...
Why not me?
Kaling, Mindy
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and creator of The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever comes a hilarious collection of essays about her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement...
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...
Year of the tiger : an activist's life
Wong, Alice
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . ONE OF USA TODAY'S MUST-READ BOOKS . This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project ...

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