Since 1992, we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May to acknowledge the accomplishments and contributions of the AAPI communities to the United States. With the unacceptable rise in anti-Asian violence both here and abroad, it is especially vital for us to bring well-deserved attention to these amazing books written by AAPI writers of the past and present.
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner: Zauner, a biracial Korean American musician otherwise known as Japanese Breakfast, shares her moving and witty story of growing up Asian in Eugene, OR, cooking and eating Korean food, grieving her mother’s death and her estranged relationship with her white Jewish father.
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia: Zia, a Chinese American journalist documents the captivating lives of four young people who left Shanghai for Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S. during China’s Communist Revolution of 1949.
Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu: A funny and heart-warming novel that centers around Lucky, an unemployed millennial programmer and Krishna, an editor for a greeting card company. To appease their conservative Sri Lanken American families, they get married despite both being gay. But while Lucky helps take care of her ailing grandmother, she unexpectedly reconnects with her childhood friend and former flame, Nisha who initially pursued having an arranged marriage.
No-No Boy by John Okada: First published in 1957, Okada shares the story of Ichiro Yamada, a young man who, after attending university in Washington state, is forced into an internment camp, and later spends two years in federal prison for refusing to join the U.S. military and fight Japan during WWII. Yamada becomes known as a “no-no boy” for both refusing to fight and to swear full allegiance to the United States.
The Year of Blue Water by Yanyi: In just 96 pages, Yanyi’s poems capture his identity as a queer and trans Chinese American immigrant. Yanyi also writes about racism, trauma and mental health. “If there’s a thing I want to teach me, it’s how I live my light.”
Things We Lost to the Water: A Novel by Eric Nguyen: A newly-published novel that captures the experiences of Huong, an immigrant Vietnamese woman and her sons living in New Orleans. She is forced to cope with never seeing her husband, Cong, again, and knowing her sons will grow up without a father. As her sons, Tuan and Binh grow, they struggle to embrace both their Vietnamese heritage and their new life in America.
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