Celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month With Reads for All Ages
During Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate the many ways that AANHPI communities and their members enrich our country and our city. All month long, The New York Public Library is hosting related events and programs as well as offering resources and book recommendations including over 100 titles in our Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Reading List for adults, kids, and teens spanning fiction and nonfiction. These 20 titles below are the most recently published from the list and spotlight a range of experiences within Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
Adult
The Bandit Queens
by Parini Shroff
A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut.
Welcome Me to the Kingdom
by Mai Nardone
Organized around the devastating financial crisis of 1997, these stories introduce us to an unforgettable cast of characters who employ various schemes and strategies to conceal, betray, lie, and seduce their way to achieving the 'good' life.
The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo
by Garrett Hongo
A poet’s audio obsession, from collecting his earliest vinyl to his quest for the ideal vacuum tubes. A captivating book that “ingeniously mixes personal memoir with cultural history and offers us an indispensable guide for the search of acoustic truth.
Sea Change
by Gina Chung
Ro is stuck. She's just entered her thirties, she's estranged from her mother, and her boyfriend has just left her to join a mission to Mars. Ro's only companion is Dolores, a giant Pacific octopus who also happens to be Ro's last remaining link to her father, a marine biologist who disappeared while on an expedition when Ro was a teenager. When Dolores is sold to a wealthy investor intent on moving her to a private aquarium, Ro finds herself on the precipice of self-destruction.
Flux
by Jinwoo Chong
Four days before Christmas, 8-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, 28-year-old Brandon loses his job after a hostile takeover of his big-media employer, and 48-year-old Blue, a key witness in a criminal trial against an infamous now-defunct tech startup, struggles to reconnect with his family. So begins Jinwoo Chong's dazzling, time-bending debut that blends elements of neo-noir and speculative fiction as the lives of Bo, Brandon, and Blue begin to intersect, uncovering a vast network of secrets and an experimental technology that threatens to upend life itself.
Young Adult
Stars and Smoke
by Marie Lu
The story of a superstar tapped to become a secret agent and the reluctant young spy assigned to be his partner.
One Girl in All the World
by Kendare Blake
Blake returns to New Sunnydale in this sequel to In Every Generation, set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Hellmouth has been reawakened, inter-dimensional portals are opening, and an oracle warns of a new foe on its way: the Darkness.
When You Wish Upon a Lantern
by Gloria Chao
A romance about teens who devote themselves to granting other people's wishes, but are too afraid to let themselves have their own hearts' desires—each other.
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim
by Patricia Park
Alejandra Kim doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. At her wealthy Manhattan high school, her super Spanish name and super Korean face do not compute to her mostly white "woke" classmates and teachers. In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she's not Latinx enough. Even at home, Ale feels unwelcome.
The Cartographers
by Amy Zhang
Seventeen-year-old Ocean Wu moves to New York City to start college, but she defers her enrollment, keeping it a secret from her immigrant mother, and instead uses the time to deal with her ambivalence about her place in the world.
Middle Grade
Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies
by Stacey Lee
Winston Chu saves the owner of a curiosities shop from a robbery only to be gifted a broomstick and a dustpan for his trouble—items that turn out to be more a curse than a blessing when they sweep away important stuff, like his baby sister.
The Guardian Test
by Christina Soontornvat; illustrated by Kevin Hong
Young Plum is shocked to discover that she's been accepted to the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island, an elite school where kids learn how to transform into Guardians, magical creatures who are sworn to protect the natural world.
A Spoonful of Time
by Flora Ahn; illustrated by Jenny Park
Maya discovers stories and secrets from her family's past in Korea as her grandmother teaches her to cook and about their family's ability to time travel into memories via food.
Mirror to Mirror
by Rajani LaRocca
A novel in verse about identical twin sisters who do everything together--until external pressures threaten to break them apart.
This Is How I Roll
by Debbi Michiko Florence
Susannah Mikami dreams of becoming a famous sushi chef like her dad. And this summer, she plans to learn everything about his traditional kitchen. Only he refuses to teach her, and won't tell her why. Is it because he doesn't want her to embarrass him in front of the documentary crew filming at his restaurant? Or worse, because she's a girl?
Picture Books
Once Upon a Book
by Grace Lin and Kate Messner
Alice can go anywhere in the magical pages of her favorite book. So when it flaps its pages and invites her in, she is swept away to a world of wonder and adventure. But at the end of her imaginative journey, she yearns for the place she loves best of all.
Chloe's Lunar New Year
by Lily LaMotte; illustrated by Michelle Lee
Chloe enjoys the festive celebration and yummy food, but most of all, she loves spending time with her family.
Dim Sum, Here We Come!
by Maple Lam
Today is Sunday and that means its dim sum time with my whole family! I can't wait to see everyone, especially Grandma. I'm going to eat lots of shrimp dumplings, rice noodle rolls, egg tarts, and my favorite—char siu buns.
One Day
by Joanna Ho; illustrated by Faith Pray
In this heartfelt mother's ode to her baby boy, she shares her hopes and dreams for him as she envisions him exploring the world and blazing his own trail.
This Is Not My Home
by Vivienne Chang; illustrated by Eugenia Yoh
Lily is upset when her mother announces the family will be moving back to Taiwan to care for her Ah Ma, but when her mother explains Taiwan is her home, Lily agrees it is her home too.
