Asian and Pacific Islander Voices: Books for Young Teens

Updated May 16, 2024
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Green Lantern : legacy
Le , Minh
Paper Book
From Minh La, award-winning author of Drawn Together and Let Me Finish! comes the tale of a new hero! Thirteen-year-old Tai Pham lives in the apartment above his grandmother's store, where his bedroom is crammed with sketchpads and comic books. But not even his most...
Troublemaker
Cho, John
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestselller! An Indiebound bestseller! 12-year-old Jordan feels like he can't live up to the example his older sister set, or his parent's expectations. When he returns home from school one day hoping to hide his suspension, Los Angeles...
Aru Shah and the end of time
Chokshi, Roshani
Paper Book
Best-selling author Rick Riordan introduces this fantasy adventure by New York Times best-selling author, Roshani Chokshi, inspired by the great epics she grew up on. Named one of 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time by Time magazine! Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a...
Morning sun in Wuhan
Compestine, Ying Chang
Paper Book
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year * A NCSS 2023 Notable Social Studies Trade Book What was the pandemic of the century like at the start This swift, gripping novel captures not only the uncertainty and panic when COVID first emerged in Wuhan, but...
Golden girl
Faruqi, Reem
Paper Book
From the award-winning, ALA Notable author of Unsettled and Lailah's Lunchbox, this is a captivating coming-of-age middle grade novel in verse about seventh grader Aafiyah Qamar, a Pakistani American girl who hatches a special plan to help her family but finds that doing what...
We are here : 30 inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have shaped the United States
Hirahara, Naomi
Paper Book
A stunning anthology licensed in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, We Are Here celebrates 30 of the most inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in U.S. history. There are more than 23 million people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent living in the United...
Emma and the love spell
Ireland, Meredith
Paper Book
Witchlings meets The Parent Trap in this contemporary fantasy about a girl who tries to use her fickle witchy powers to keep her best friend (and secret crush!) from moving away. Twelve-year-old, Korean American adoptee Emma Davidson has a problem....
Shinji Takahashi : into the heart of the storm
Kagawa, Julie
Paper Book
As Shinji struggles to understand and control his new guardian magic, the members of S.E.A. learn that a sunken ship belonging to the long extinct Natia people has been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Shinji, Lucy and Tinker, along with Oliver Ocean and Phoebe Mystic, a quirky, enthusiastic...
Jennifer Chan is not alone
Keller, Tae
Paper Book
In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller offers a gripping and emotional story about friendship, bullying, and the possiblity that there's more in the universe than just us. Sometimes middle school can make you feel like...
When you trap a tiger
Keller, Tae
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL * WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE * #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the...
The last fallen realm
Kim, Graci
Audiobook
When Clouds Touch Us
Lai, Thanhha.
Paper Book
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award finalist! Inspired by the author's own childhood, this stunning novel in verse, the sequel to the award-winning #1 bestseller Inside Out and Back Again, picks up two years after Hà and her family arrive in Alabama as refugees from the Việt Nam War....
Red, white, and whole
LaRocca, Rajani
Paper Book
Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. * Walter Award Winner * New England Book Award Winner * An NCTE Notable Verse Novel * Golden Kite Award...
Gigi Shin is not a nerd
Lee, Lyla
Paper Book
This first book in a sparkling middle grade series "reminiscent of Ann M. Martin's Baby-Sitters Club books" (Kirkus Reviews) follows a young Korean American girl who starts a business with her best friends to support her artistic dreams. Jiyoung "Gigi" Shin loves to create...
Finding Junie Kim
Oh, Ellen
Paper Book
For fans of Inside Out and Back Again and Amina's Voice comes a breathtaking story of family, hope, and survival from Ellen Oh, cofounder of We Need Diverse Books. When Junie Kim is faced with middle school racism, she learns of her grandparents' extraordinary...
You are here : connecting flights
Oh, Ellen
Paper Book
A powerful and engaging exploration of contemporary Asian American identity through interwoven stories set in a teeming Chicago airport, written by award-winning and bestselling East and Southeast Asian American authors including Linda Sue Park, Grace Lin, Erin Entrada Kelly, Traci Chee, and...
Isabel in bloom
Respicio, Mae
Paper Book
A girl discovers a connection between her home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S. through a special garden in this middle grade novel that celebrates nourishment and growth. Twelve-year-old Isabel is the new kid in her San Francisco middle school. It's the first time...
Amal Unbound
Saeed, Aisha
Paper Book
"Saeed's timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review The compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude. Life is quiet and...
A first time for everything
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
*Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature* A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been a...
The last mapmaker
Soontornvat, Christina
Paper Book
A Newbery Honor Book A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book  From Christina Soontornvat, the visionary and versatile author of three Newbery Honor Books, comes a high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. In a fantasy adventure every bit as...
A wish in the dark
Soontornvat, Christina
Paper Book
A 2021 Newbery Honor Book A boy on the run. A girl determined to find him. A compelling fantasy looks at issues of privilege, protest, and justice. All light in Chattana is created by one man -- the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to bring peace and order...
Parachute kids
Tang, Betty C.
Paper Book
**National Book Award Longlist Title** **Asian/Pacific American Award Honor Book** This funny, fast-paced, and heartrending story about three siblings living on their own as undocumented new immigrants is perfect for fans of New Kid and Front Desk....
Parachute kids
Tang, Betty C.
Paper Book
**National Book Award Longlist Title** **Asian/Pacific American Award Honor Book** This funny, fast-paced, and heartrending story about three siblings living on their own as undocumented new immigrants is perfect for fans of New Kid and Front Desk....
Summer at Squee
Wang, Andrea
Paper Book
From Newbery Honor-winning author Andrea Wang, a new middle grade novel about a Chinese American tween who attends a Boston-based Chinese cultural overnight camp--and the many ways it transforms her. Phoenny Fang plans to have the best summer ever. She's returning to...

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