Asian Heritage Month
Celebrate Asian Heritage Month with these fantastic reads by Asian authors.
The adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi : a novel
Chakraborty, S. A., author
2023
After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean's most notorious pirates, Amina al-Sirafi has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon. But when she's tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she's offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade's kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there's more to this job, and the girl's disappearance, than she was led to believe.
The art of prophecy : a novel
Chu, Wesley, author
2022
It has been foretold: a child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle. But the prophecy was wrong. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue, Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend.
Banyan moon : a novel
Thai, Thao, author
2023
Ann Tran's beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away,forcing her to return home to Florida to face her estranged mother, Huơng. Under the same roof for the first time in years, mother and daughter must face the simmering questions of their past and their uncertain futures, while trying to rebuild their relationship without the one person who's always held them together. And when long-buried secrets come to light, it becomes clear how decisions Minh made in her youth affected the rest of her life - and beyond.
Crying in H Mart : a memoir
Zauner, Michelle, author
2021
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humour and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond over heaping plates of food. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.
Klara and the sun
Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954- author
2021
Set in the near future, in a distinct reality of its own but reminiscent of Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun is a thrilling feat of world-building and a mesmerizing novel about the human heart, anchored by a singularly unforgettable heroine who has a great deal to teach us about what it means to love.
Know my name : a memoir
Miller, Chanel, author
2019
She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral--viewed by almost eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time. Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words.
A magic steeped in poison
Lin, Judy I., author
2022
Ning enters a cutthroat magical competition to find the kingdom's greatest master of the art of brewing tea, but political schemes and secrets make her goal of gaining access to royal physicians to cure her dying sister far more dangerous than she imagined.
Portrait of a thief : a novel
Li, Grace D., author.
2022
Will Chen, a Chinese American art history major, believes art belongs with its creators. So when a Chinese corporation offers him a (very illegal) chance to reclaim five priceless sculptures China lost centuries ago, it's surprisingly easy to say yes. Will's crew of fellow students each have their own complicated relationship with China and the identities they've cultivated as Chinese Americans. If they succeed, they earn an unfathomable ten million each, and a chance to make history. If they fail, they lose everything - and the West wins again.
Year of the reaper
Lucier, Makiia, author
2021
In the aftermath of a devastating plague, young Lord Cassia returns home determined to discover who is trying to assassinate the queen and must follow the trail of a terrible secret that could threaten the kingdom's newfound peace.
Yellowface : a novel
Kuang, R. F. (Rebecca F.), author
2023
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese labourers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.