May Is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month
Check out this month’s staff recommendations!
Recommended Reading for Adults
We Do Not Part by Han Kang
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • We Do Not Part tells the story of a friendship between two women while powerfully reckoning with a hidden chapter in Korean history.
Recommended Reading for Young Adults
Warcross by Marie Lu
When teenage hacker Emika Chen glitches into the popular virtual reality game Warcross, she gets recruited by the game creator to spy on an international tournament to discover a security threat. What she actually discovers is something way more devious than she could have anticipated.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
Recommended Reading for Children
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho
PICTURE BOOK: A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers’. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother’s, and her little sister’s. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future. Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment.
Mabuhay! by Zachary Sterling
GRAPHIC NOVEL: First-generation Filipino siblings, JJ and Althea, struggle to belong at school. But between the leftover Filipino food their mom packs for their lunches to having a last name that nobody can pronounce, any sense of belonging seems like a long shot. Their parents are always drawing parallels between lazy characters from Filipino folklore and JJ and Althea. But when witches, ogres, and other creatures from those same stories appear in their town and threaten their family, JJ and Althea realize that the myths their parents have always told them may be more real than they’d suspected.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh
JUVENILE FICTION: In a crowded Chicago airport, an incident at TSA impacts twelve young Asian Americans, all strangers to one another before this day. As events cause their journeys to intertwine, they discover the challenges of friendship, the perils of younger siblings, the power or words, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar. Twelve virtuoso authors draw from their own experiences to explore themes of identity and belonging in the interwoven stories of young people whose family roots may extend to East and Southeast Asia, but who are themselves distinctly American.
Yes we will : Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country by Kelly Yang
JUVENILE NONFICTION: A lyrical nonfiction picture book featuring eighteen Asian American changemakers and two pivotal moments in Asian American history, illustrated by fifteen renowned Asian and Asian American artists.