Asian American and Asian Pacific Islander Voices for Adults

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, and in honor of this, we have put together a list of titles by authors of Asian and Pacific Islander decent.

Updated April 28, 2024
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La Tercera
Apostol, Gina
Paper Book
Rosario Delgado, a Filipina novelist in New York City, learns of her mother's death in the Philippines. Instead of rushing home, she puts off her return by embarking on an investigation into her family's history and her mother's supposed inheritance, a place called La Tercera, which may or may not...

2023

Everything I learned, I learned in a Chinese restaurant : a memoir
Chin, Curtis
Paper Book
This "vivid, moving, funny, and heartfelt" memoir tells the story of Curtis Chin's time growing up as a gay Chinese American kid in 1980's Detroit (Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers). Nineteen eighties Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven:...

2023

A living remedy : a memoir
Chung, Nicole
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK Winner, Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing Named a Best Book of the Year by: Time * Harper's Bazaar * Esquire * Booklist * USA Today * Elle * Good Housekeeping * New York Times * Electric Literature * Today From the bestselling author...

2023

A GREAT COUNTRY
Gowda, Shilpi Somaya/ Adam, Vikas (NRT)
CD
Named an ELLE BEST BOOK OF 2024 Named a BEST or MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR by Readers' Digest, Elle Magazine, CondeNast Traveler, Publishers' Weekly, Indigo, ZibbyMag, Goodreads, BookBub & more  "A deeply moving, layered portrait of the hopes, dreams and fears a...

2024

They called us exceptional : and other lies that raised us
Gupta, Prachi (Journalist)
Paper Book
"In this vulnerable and courageous memoir, Prachi Gupta takes the myth of the exceptional Indian American family to task."--The Washington Post "I read it in one sitting. Wow. It aims right at the tender spot where racism, sexism, and family dynamics collide, and...

2023

Hula
Hakes, Jasmin Iolani
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Summer by Harper's Bazaar and ELLE * Audiofile Magazine Earphones Award Winner "Stunning . . . An intricately built novel that spans decades, moving in and out of a collective voice, while also telling Hi'i's deeply personal and devastating story...

2023

Memory piece
Ko, Lisa
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF TIME'S MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024 ONE OF NPR's BEST READS OF 2024 A VOGUE BEST BOOK OF 2024 ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE READS OF SUMMER 2024 "Adventurous. . .gritty and refreshingly girl-centric. . . lingers in the...

2024

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...

2023

Aloha kitchen : recipes from Hawai'i
Kysar, Alana
Paper Book
From a Maui native and food blogger comes a gorgeous cookbook of 85 fresh and sunny recipes reflects the major cultures that have influenced local Hawaiʻi food over time- Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Filipino, and Western. IACP AWARD FINALIST ....
Biting the hand : growing up Asian in Black and White America
Lee, Julia Sun-Joo
Paper Book
Julia Lee is angry. And she has questions. What does it mean to be Asian in America? What does it look like to be an ally or an accomplice? How can we shatter the structures of white supremacy that fuel racial stratification? When Julia was fifteen, her hometown...

2023

Where i belong : healing trauma and embracing Asian American identity
Lee, Soo Jin (Therapist)
Paper Book
An essential resource that addresses the unique experiences of trauma, healing, and mental health in Asian and Asian American communities. Coauthors Soo Jin Lee and Linda Yoon are professional therapists who witnessed firsthand how mental health issues often went unaddressed not...

2024

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...

2024

A man of two faces : a memoir, a history, a memorial
Nguyen, Viet Thanh
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD The highly original, blistering, and unconventional memoir by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer, which has now sold over one million copies worldwide With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism,...

2023

The good, the bad, and the aunties
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book
What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties. After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe,...

2024

Banyan Moon : a novel
Thai, Thao
Paper Book
A TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick "A riveting mother-daughter tale." -- Elle "Radiant. ... An intimate account of one family's planting of roots in American soil and the sacrifices great and small that each member makes along the way." -- Washington Post A...

2023

Dear America : notes of an undocumented citizen
Vargas, Jose Antonio
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER "This riveting, courageous memoir ought to be mandatory reading for every American."  --Michelle Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow "l cried reading this book, realizing more fully what my parents endured." --Amy Tan,...
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 * A...
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...

2023

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...

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