Book Recs: books to read for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Hello, I’m happy your here!

While I was trying to create a TBR for myself for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May, I couldn’t help but reminisce over all the incredible stories I’ve read the past few years that celebrate Asian culture or have been written by Asian authors. So, I have compiled a list of books that I would highly encourage you to pick up in anticipation for the month of May!

Of course, we should be reading diverse books all year, not just during months that celebrate a single culture. Therefore, I encourage you to continue reading books that are inspired by Asian culture all year!

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

TW: suicide

This was the first book I thought of when I think of books that beautifully include Asian culture into their plot. This book follows Leigh, a Taiwanese-American teenager. Leigh’s mother has just committed suicide, and Leigh is certain that her mother has turned into a bird. She believes the bird is leading her to Taiwan, where she meets her grandparents for the first time and discovers her family is full of shocking secrets. This book is so beautifully written and handles the issues of identity and grief beautifully. There is also a hint of magical realism that will definitely transport you to Taiwan as we uncover everything Leigh is learning about her family. To read my full review, click here.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

This book was written by Helen Hoang, daughter of a Vietnamese immigrant. In this novel, our main character, Stella, has Asperger’s and therefore has always struggled romantically. She doesn’t like the idea of someone touching her, much less kissing her. So, she hires a male escort, Michael, to teach her how to handle the physical part of a relationship. This book is so cute, and both of the main characters are Vietnamese-American! If you are interested in this book, you can find my full review by clicking here.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Although this book does not explicitly feature Asian characters, it was written by a Japanese-British author, and definitely deserves to be mentioned! This book follows students at a boarding school called Hailsham. These students seem normal, but have never left the walls of the boarding school and are being sheltered from the outside world with no knowledge as to why. I feel like this is a book that is better if you don’t know much about it going in, so I will leave it at that! This is a great sci-fi novel and definitely a modern day classic!

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Of course, I couldn’t make this list and not include this book! Although the writing style did not mesh with me as much as I would’ve liked, this is definitely still a great story that deals with very important topics! Our main character, Frank Lee, is a Korean-American teenager who lives in California. When he starts to talk to a white girl named Bridget, he knows he has to keep it a secret from his Korean immigrant parents who want him to date exclusively Korean girls. So, Frank teams up with his fellow classmate Joy, who is having the same issue as him. The two begin “fake dating” so they are free to hang out with their real significant others. This books deals with racism and racial identity and the romance is just so dang cute!

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

I have seen mixed reviews about this book, but I completely fell in love with the story when I picked it up! Dimple has just graduated high school and is ready to go to a good university to leave her strict Indian parents behind her. However, her mother will not stop obsessing over how to find Dimple a perfect Indian husband, even though Dimple has no desire to get married right now. After begging her mother to attend a summer program, Dimple is very surprised when she agrees. However, what she doesn’t know is that Rishi is being sent to the same summer camp, with orders from his parents to get Dimple to fall in love with him. This book takes a fun approach on modern day arranged marriage and is just swoon worthy!

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

The last book I have to recommend was written by the Iranian-American author Tahereh Mafi. This book was so incredible and life-changing. This book follows our main character Shirin, a Muslim-American teenager trying to survive public high school a year after 9/11. Since Shirin wears a hijab everyday, she is used to the stares and assault that she receives and refuses to let anyone really get to know her. That is, until Shirin meets Ocean. Ocean is the first person that actually wants to get to know Shirin for who she is, and not just out of curiosity. This is a beautiful love story and deals with racism towards Muslims during 9/11, a topic I have not read about apart from this book.

Thank you for taking a look at my recommendations! I hope posting this early gives you enough time to pick up your copies before May! Happy reading!