With the rise of anti-Asian racism, it’s important to denounce the violent acts targeting the Asian community. But it’s also important to note that these aren’t isolated incidents, but rather a sentiment deeply rooted in our country’s systems.
To understand the full scope of what’s happening today, we need to look to the history of how we got here, in xenophobic sentiments that have existed long before the pandemic—from laws like the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, to Japanese internment during World War II, to the rise of Islamophobia and racial profiling in a post-9/11 world, to travel bans and threats of deportation, and to refugee resettlement and displacement here due to wars bolstered by Western powers in Eastern countries.
While confronting this history, we also need to confront the harmful stereotypes leveraged against Asians. This includes the “model minority” myth, or the assumption that all Asians are universally successful and high-achieving. Reducing a diverse group to a single narrative erases the experiences of those who don’t fit this mold and creates challenges in building solidarity with other minority groups.
When we hurt, we look to books for answers, comfort, and learning. Books can help us understand the history and root of these systemic issues and how people are affected by them. From there, we can work towards building a collective future.
As organizer Julie Ae Kim writes, “As you show solidarity for Asian-Americans during this time of grief, do it because you care not just about us, but about all of us.” Below is a list of books about Asian Americans by Asian authors, to highlight the various experiences of the group in both the past and present as we work to build towards a better future.
Past: Historical Stories
Historical stories and memoirs that highlight the experiences of Asian Americans
1. Tall Water by SJ Sindu, illustrated by Dion MBD
From Stonewall Honor–winning writer SJ Sindu, author of Shakti, and celebrated illustrator Dion MBD comes a powerful coming-of-age teen graphic novel that follows one girl’s journey to Sri Lanka to reconnect with her long-lost mother during the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Perfect for fans of Persepolis and Almost American Girl.
Ever since she turned sixteen, Nimmi has wanted to see her mother. Though she has a loving but overprotective father and a budding relationship, she yearns to travel to Sri Lanka to confront the mother who refused to leave the island during a war, not even for Nimmi’s sake. Her father is going back for the first time as a reporter on assignment, but he refuses to take her, deeming Sri Lanka too dangerous.
But then Nimmi’s mother appears to her in a dream, asking her to come find her, and Nimmi knows she must go. Her father is livid when he sees her at baggage claim, but by then it’s too late, and he reluctantly agrees to help Nimmi make contact with her mother. In Sri Lanka, Nimmi tags along with her father and his guide, past checkpoints and armed soldiers and increasing hints of the war that rages there.
However, the day after Christmas, disaster strikes and a tsunami ravages the island. Stranded amid the devastation and destruction, can Nimmi reunite with her mother? Through her journey, Nimmi might just learn that the person she most needed to find was herself.
2. Displacement by Kiku Hughes
This stunning graphic novel by Kiku Hughes follows a young teenage girl who learns about the Japanese internment camps of World War II through the experiences of her grandmother.
Kiku is on vacation in San Francisco when suddenly she finds herself displaced to the 1940s Japanese-American internment camp that her late grandmother, Ernestina, was forcibly relocated to during World War II.
These displacements keep occurring until Kiku finds herself “stuck” back in time. Living alongside her young grandmother and other Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, Kiku gets the education she never received in history class. She witnesses the lives of Japanese-Americans who were denied their civil liberties and suffered greatly, but managed to cultivate community and commit acts of resistance in order to survive.
Kiku Hughes weaves a riveting, bittersweet tale that highlights the intergenerational impact and power of memory.
3. Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhà Lai
Award-winning author Thanhhà Lai crafts a deeply moving novel about a brother and sister separated during the Vietnam War and their journey to healing in the aftermath.
In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country.
Six years later, Hằng has made the brutal journey from Việt Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.
Hằng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn’t remember her, their family, or Việt Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, Hằng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.
4. The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
From founding member of We Need Diverse Books, Stacey Lee, this story set in the 1890s follows Jo, a Chinese American girl living in Atlanta, who navigates identity, betrayal, and the meaning of family after she becomes the secret author to one of the most popular gossip columns at the time.
By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady’s maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society’s ills, but she’s not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta’s most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light.
5. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the height of the Red Scare paranoia, Lily Hu must learn to explore her queer and cultural identity during this fraught time.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.
But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
6. We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
In this book by Traci Chee, follow a tight knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, whose lives are upended by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II.
Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco.
Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted.
Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps.
In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart.
7. Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
Through the eyes of Reza, an Iranian American boy, Abdi Nazemian explores queer self-expression and living life to the fullest during the 1980s AIDS epidemic.
It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.
Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS.
Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance…until she falls for Reza and they start dating.
Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.
As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart—and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.
8. A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
Based on Tahereh Mafi’s own life, A Very Large Expanse of Sea explores being a Muslim teenager in a post-9/11 world plagued by prejudice.
It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.
Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.
But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.
9. Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
Almost American Girl is a graphic novel memoir from Robin Ha that explores the culture shock of moving to America from Korea and the power of arts to bring people together.
For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.
So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated.
Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.
Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.
10. An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi
From bestselling and National Book Award–nominated author Tahereh Mafi comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating the hyphen of dual identity, and reclaiming your right to joy—even when you’re trapped in the amber of sorrow.
It’s 2003, several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the American political world has evolved. Tensions are high, hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local mosques, and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down.
She’s too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time to deal with bigots.
Shadi is named for joy, but she’s haunted by sorrow. Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has mysteriously dropped out of her life. And then, of course, there’s the small matter of her heart—
It’s broken.
Shadi tries to navigate her crumbling world by soldiering through, saying nothing. She devours her own pain, each day retreating farther and farther inside herself until finally, one day, everything changes.
She explodes.
An Emotion of Great Delight is a searing look into the world of a single Muslim family in the wake of 9/11. It’s about a child of immigrants forging a blurry identity, falling in love, and finding hope—in the midst of a modern war.
11. Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, James D. Houston
During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life.
At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Written with her husband, Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.
Farewell to Manzanar has become a staple of curriculum in schools and on campuses across the country. Last year the San Francisco Chronicle named it one of the twentieth century’s 100 best nonfiction books from west of the Rockies.
Present: Contemporary YA Stories
Contemporary stories about Asian Americans today, as they overcome obstacles, navigate their layered identities, and celebrate their roots
1. An Expanse of Blue by Kauakanilehua Mahoe Adams
Fans of The Poet X will fall for this powerful, romantic debut novel-in-verse about a Native Hawaiian girl's fight to find belonging in a fracturing family, sharing a message of love with resounding emotional truth.
Aouli Elizabeth Smith is adrift: unheard at home and an unbeliever at church, fighting her sister and losing her best friend. Overflowing with feeling, she pours her secrets and herself into her song journal when the world threatens to sweep her away. The one place she feels tied down to earth is at her Aunty Ehu’s house. Those joyous Saturdays with her extended Native Hawaiian community living in Western Washington are precious to her. Under the maple trees, the fragments of her life fit together, if only for an afternoon.
Then, an unspeakable truth about her father shatters this one perfect corner of her life.
As Aouli’s world constricts around what others wish she could be, language fails her. But when a new boy, Nalu, turns up with eyes that seem to pierce right into her soul, maybe it’s love that can give her the words to set herself free.
2. Such Great Heights by Rajani LaRocca
Siya Kumar is done with liars. Part of the reason Siya joins her school’s mock trial team is to honor the memory of her mother, a lawyer who was killed in a car accident when Siya was just ten years old. Her mom always told her that the truth is like a flame that burns away lies. When Raj Raghavan, varsity soccer star and mock trial co-captain, seems interested in Siya, it feels too good to be true. Everything is golden until an overnight team bonding session, when Siya accidentally gets locked in a room with another guy until dawn. Even though Siya swears nothing happened, she doesn’t feel like Raj believes her. At the same time, the details of the mock trial case are suspiciously similar to the circumstances of her mom’s death—which leads Siya to wonder if it was really just a car accident that took her mother’s life. From award-winning author Rajani LaRocca comes a contemporary retelling of the Ramayana that asks whether seeking the truth is always the right thing to do. Sometimes, is the past better left behind?
3. The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee
Bestselling author Lyla Lee delivers a deliciously fun YA K-drama remix of Pride and Prejudice—if Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett were a college-run reality TV dating show.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when there is a hot person, there is also someone with a crush on them.
Mia Yoon has a plan for everything. Get a full ride to her dream film school in Los Angeles, behind her mom’s back, and escape her middle-of-nowhere hometown—check. Produce her own dating show starring other people and their crushes—check. But everything goes off the rails when she has to enlist the help of her own secret crush, Noah Jang, a boy she’d rather hate.
Despite being a campus celebrity voted “most eligible student bachelor,” Noah can’t remember the last time he was in a relationship. And he’s perfectly content with that, thank you very much, especially since just the word feelings makes him uncomfortable. But he can’t stop staring at Mia, who keeps glaring at him in class. And when she asks him to be on her dating show—as one of the contestants—he can’t say no.
As Noah goes on more and more romantic dates on The Cuffing Game and Mia watches from behind the camera, something feels off. With the showrunner and contestant slowly falling for one another, can the show still go on?
4. Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee
Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Rachel Lynn Solomon, this charming, poignant rom-com follows an academics-obsessed teen who learns big truths about love, family, and herself when a scheduling snafu lands her in a culinary arts class.
Eliza Park’s senior year will be perfect: She’s going to be salutatorian, give a tear-jerking graduation speech in front of her parents, and enjoy her last year with her equally ambitious best friends. But when a scheduling mishap enrolls her in Culinary Arts, Eliza is suddenly the most clueless person in the class. Her typical title of star student belongs to the aggravatingly arrogant Wesley Ruengsomboon, a charming Thai American boy whose talent in the kitchen leaves Eliza both awed and annoyed.
With her rank on the line, Eliza’s only hope is to snatch the midterm cooking contest win from Wesley, however improbable that may be. Add in the flavor of her grandmother’s Korean recipes, the heat of being class partners with Wesley, and the sweetness of unexpected feelings—and Eliza must now rebuild everything she knew about success, love, and what it means to be herself, from scratch
5. K-Jane by Lydia Kang
From acclaimed author Lydia Kang comes a funny, moving YA novel following a third-generation Korean American teen who goes to extreme and hilarious lengths to connect more with her Korean heritage, perfect for fans of Maurene Goo and Rachel Lynn Solomon.
Jane Choi is a typical Nebraskan teen—a corn-fed lover of Husker football. But lately, she feels like she’s missing something. Her non-Korean classmates—that’s everyone—are immersed in K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty . . . basically, K-everything. But for Jane, kimchi? Not a fan. Bibimbap? What is that? Her mom even named her after the very not-Korean Jane Eyre.
Everyone seems to know more about Korean culture than Jane. And she isn’t sure whether she’s more annoyed at them, or herself.
With a baby brother on the way, Jane is determined to save her new sibling from enduring the same humiliation. Enter: a totally foolproof plan to become the K-Jane of her dreams. What better way than to start a private social media account about all things Korean so her closest cousins can learn from her?
But Korean heritage and identity are more complicated than taste-testing multiple varieties of kimchi in front of a camera. And when online virality crashes into real life, Jane’s plans might just go K-boom in her face.
6. Home Has No Borders, edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra
From New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra comes this uplifting contemporary teen anthology celebrating South Asian stories and writers.
From first crushes to first heartbreaks, complicated family dynamics to community relationships, this powerful collection of stories explores race, class, culture, language, and the very idea of home as both a place and a feeling.
Edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra and featuring some of the most acclaimed, bestselling South Asian authors writing for teens today—this is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it means to be South Asian.
With stories by:
- Anuradha D. Rajurkar, award-winning author of American Batiya
- Fatimah Asghar, author of If They Come for Us and cocreator behind the Emmy-nominated miniseries Brown Girls
- Jasmin Kaur, celebrated author of When You Ask Me Where I’m Going and If I Tell You the Truth
- Navdeep Singh Dhillon, author of Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions
- Nikesh Shukla, acclaimed author of Coconut Unlimited; The One Who Wrote Destiny; Run, Riot; The Boxer; and Stand Up
- Nisha Sharma, celebrated author of My So-Called Bollywood Life, Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance, and The Karma Map
- Rajani LaRocca, Newbery Honor–winning author of Red, White, and Whole
- Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of Love, Hate & Other Filters, Internment, Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know, Hollow Fires, and the Amira & Hamza middle grade duology,
- Sheba Karim, award-winning author of Skunk Girl, That Thing We Call a Heart, Mariam Sharma Hits the Road, and The Marvelous Mirza Girls
- Tanuja Desai Hidier, critically acclaimed author of Born Confused and Bombay Blues
- Sarah Mughal Rana, author of Hope Ablaze
- Tanya Boteju, author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens and Bruised
- Tashie Bhuiyan, author of Counting Down with You, A Show for Two, and Stay with My Heart
- Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor–winning author of The Night Diary, How to Find What You’re Not Looking For, and Amil and the After
- Kanwalroop Singh
- Rekha Kuver
So read on, for after all, home has no borders.
7. The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee
She’s read every romance…except her own…
Irene Park loves romance novels—so much so she’s made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene’s real life dating story? Non-existent. So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes.
If only it were that easy.
Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene’s online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too. So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head.
As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page. But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she’ll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.
8. All The Way Around the Sun by XiXi Tan
From the acclaimed author of This Place Is Still Beautiful comes an evocative, achingly romantic road-trip story about grief, diasporic identities, and the deep-buried secrets that haunt us, perfect for fans of Past Lives and The Farewell.
Stella Chen’s life ground to a halt when her brother unexpectedly passed away a year ago. Raised together by their grandmother for years in the Chinese countryside before rejoining their parents in the United States, his absence destroys the connective tissue in her family. With another jarring move her senior year, from rural Illinois to unfamiliar surroundings in San Diego, she is left alone and adrift in her family’s suffocating silence and the void of unanswered questions her brother left behind.
So when Stella’s parents force her to join her estranged childhood friend Alan Zhao for a college tour all over California, Stella dreads it. Alan is a reminder of everything Stella wishes she could be—popular, gregarious, unburdened—and a reminder of how lost she is.
As this road trip takes Stella and Alan down beautiful coastlines and through fraught family dynamics, Stella can’t help but feel the spark of why she and Alan were once so close. Before long, they find themselves pulled into each other’s orbits, forcing unspoken feelings and long-hidden truths into the light.
9. The Vacation Shift by Lily Chu
Gilmore Girls meets a reverse Parent Trap in this swoony and hilarious YA rom-com from popular adult romance author Lily Chu, following a teen who, while on a group tour to Japan, teams up with a fellow traveler to keep their parents from falling in love with each other.
Ivy Yu is cursed. Her parents separated six months ago, and she’s fallen into a fog. To help, her mother books an impulsive trip to Japan (cool) on a bus tour (very uncool). Ivy should be grateful, but this summer is her last chance to get her situationship, Connor, to fall in love with her.
When they arrive in Tokyo, it’s even worse than she imagined. Ivy and her Mom are the youngest of a group of seniors. Make that two of the youngest: there’s brooding Matteo, with his single dad, Keith.
Then Ivy discovers her mother and Keith are getting close, and her crush back home is hooking up with someone else. Desperate for some semblance of control and a distraction from the heaviness she can’t seem to shake off, she makes a deal with Matteo to keep their parents apart. Luckily, he agrees—and their devious plans begin.
Dodging nosy old ladies on the bus ride through Japan, their strange partnership begins to blossom into something unexpected and exciting—but can their romantic spark survive the journey?
10. True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li
Inventing a formula to predict people’s perfect partners doesn’t equate to love in this contemporary YA novel that New York Times bestsellers Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick call “honest, raw, and breathtakingly real.”
College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable routine: Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies.
Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her program will take all the drama out of relationships. That’s why she keeps trying to make things work with her match, a guy named Jamie. But as the semester goes on and she grows closer to Julia, Grace starts to question who she’s really attracted to.
In award-winning author Christina Li’s YA debut, Grace will have to make a choice between the tidy equations she knows will protect her from heartbreak or the possibility that true love doesn’t follow any formula.
11. Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir Of A Wuhanese American by Laura Gao
After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Mars—at least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name.
In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter.
Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gao’s debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.
12. The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra
In this heartfelt and hilarious debut from Ambika Vohra—that’s Netflix’s Never Have I Ever meets Jenny Han—one girl tackles a question that changes the trajectory of her senior year: “How have you gotten out of your comfort zone?”
That’s the Stanford admissions prompt that valedictorian shoo-in Aisha Agarwal can’t answer. Comfort zone? Her life’s been homework and junk food for as long as she can remember. Not exactly the thing college essays are written about. So, when her crush, Brian, asks her to winter formal, Aisha thinks her fate is changing . . .
. . . until Brian stands her up.
As if on cue, a banged-up Volkswagen arrives outside the dance; the driver—a guy her age—profusely apologizing for being late to pick her up. Does Aisha know him or what he’s talking about? No. Does the Stanford essay convince her to take him up on the ride? Absolutely.
To Aisha’s relief, seventeen-year-old Quentin Santos isn’t a kidnapper, but he is failing math. So, they strike a deal: If Aisha helps Quentin pass math, he’ll help push her out of her comfort zone, using a series of sticky note to-do’s—dares—that will not only give Aisha content for her essay but will turn her into the confident person she’s always wanted to be.
From New Year’s Eve kisses to high school parties, Aisha’s sticky note manifesto is taking off. But when she falls for the wrong guy, hurts her best friend, and still can’t finish her essay, victory feels far from reach. Is winning worth it if you end up losing yourself in the process?
13. The Ping-Pong Queen of Chinatown by Andrew Yang
Perfect for fans of Ben Philippe and Mary H. K. Choi, this charming, insightful YA novel follows two high school students who form a complicated, ground-shifting bond while filming a movie.
High school junior Felix Ma wants to prove to his parents that he’s not a quitter. After crashing out of piano lessons and competitive ping-pong, Felix starts a film club at his school in a last-ditch attempt to find a star extracurricular for his college applications.
Then he meets Cassie Chow, a bubbly high school senior who shares Felix’s anxieties about the future and complicated relationship with parental expectations. Felix feels drawn to Cassie for reasons he can’t quite articulate, so as an excuse to see her more, he invites Cassie to star in his short film.
The project starts out as a lighthearted mockumentary. But at the urging of Felix’s college admissions coach, who wants to turn the film into essay material, it soon morphs into a serious drama about the emotional scars that parents leave on their kids. As Felix and Cassie uncover their most painful memories, Cassie starts to balk at opening her wounds for the camera.
With his parents and college admissions coach hot on his heels, Felix discovers painful truths about himself and his past—and must decide whether pleasing his parents is worth losing his closest friend.
14. Asking for a Friend by Kara H.L. Chen
This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao.
Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:
1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.
2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.
When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior.
Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview.
With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.
15. Kween by Vichet Chum
A searing, joyful YA debut about a queer Cambodian American teen’s journey to find her voice and step into her legacy.
With her first video posted to social media, Soma Kear has become a viral MC. Trouble is, she didn’t exactly think the whole thing through. All Soma knew was that her rhymes were urgent. They were on fire. They were an expression of where she was, and that place…was a hot mess.
Soma’s Ba was deported back to Cambodia six months ago, and it’s changed everything. Her Ma’s been away, trying to help her father acclimate to his new life, and against Soma’s wishes, her older sister, Dahvy, has moved back in with a brand-new authoritarian tone.
Meanwhile, Soma’s video has moved from small town hype to actually trending, pushing the budding MC to ask herself if it’s time to level up. With her school’s spoken word contest looming, Soma must decide: is she brave enough to put herself out there?
To publicly reveal her fears of Ba not returning?
To admit to herself that things may never be the same?
With every line she spits, Soma is searching for a way to make sense of the world around her. The answers are at the mic.
16. The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.
Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.
Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.
But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.
17. Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia
In this YA standalone perfect for fans of Tobly McSmith and Meredith Russo, the first out trans girl at an all-girls school must choose between keeping her head down or blazing a trail.
Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy.
That is, judged on her merits—not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the center of a larger argument about what girlhood means and whether the club should exist at all.
Being the figurehead of a movement isn’t something Tara’s interested in. She’d rather read old speeches and hang out with the Sibyls who are on her side—especially Felicity, a new friend she thinks could turn into something more. Then the club’s sponsor, a famous alumna, attacks her in the media and turns the selection process into a spectacle.
Tara’s always found comfort in the power of other peoples’ words. But when it comes time to fight for herself, will she be able to find her own voice?
18. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Tiến loves his family and his friends…but Tiến has a secret he’s been keeping from them, and it might change everything. An amazing YA graphic novel that deals with the complexity of family and how stories can bring us together.
Real life isn’t a fairytale.
But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through?
Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?
19. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.
Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth—and the part he played in it.
20. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
Lahore, Pakistan. Then.
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.
Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.
Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.
When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.
21. Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.
Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab.
22. Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido
Experience the extreme joys, sorrows, and triumphs of a queer Filipino-American teenager struggling to prove himself in an unforgiving world. A poignant coming-of-age story, perfect for fans of Patron Saints of Nothing and Juliet Takes a Breath.
Self preservation. That’s Bobby’s motto for surviving his notoriously violent high school unscathed. Being out and queer would put an unavoidable target on his back, especially in a Filipino community that frowns on homosexuality. It’s best to keep his head down, get good grades, and stay out of trouble.
But when Bobby is unwillingly outed in a terrible way, he no longer has the luxury of being invisible. A vicious encounter has him scrambling for a new way to survive–by fighting back. Bobby is inspired by champion Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao to take up boxing and challenge his tormentor. Then Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against queer people, and Bobby’s faith–in his hero and in himself–is shaken to the core.
A powerful and unflinching debut that will both shatter and uplift hearts with every read.
23. Clementine & Danny Save the World by Livia Blackburne
You’ve Got Mail gets a fresh YA twist in this irresistible rom-com that spotlights the power of activism and community organizing in the face of gentrification, perfect for fans of Tweet Cute and Yes No Maybe So.
Clementine Chan believes in the power of the written word. Under the pseudonym Hibiscus, she runs a popular blog reviewing tea shops and discussing larger issues within her Chinatown community. She has a loyal, kind following, save for this one sour grape named BobaBoy888.
Danny Mok is allergic to change, and the gentrification seeping into Chinatown breaks his heart. He channels his frustration into his internet alter ego, BobaBoy888, bickering with local blogger Hibiscus over all things Chinatown and tea.
When a major corporation reveals plans that threaten to shut down the Mok’s beloved tea shop, Clementine and Danny find themselves working together in real life to save this community they both love. But as they fall hard for this cause—and each other—they have no clue that their online personas have been fighting for years.
When the truth comes to light, can Danny and Clementine still find their happily-ever-after?
24. This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua
Admission meets American Panda in this propulsive, poignant YA contemporary novel about a teen who, after getting rejected from her dream college, forges her own acceptance and commits to living a lie. Perfect for fans of Mary H.K. Choi!
At sixteen, Perla is the youngest graduating senior of the hypercompetitive Monte Verde High. Praised—and not-so-quietly bashed—as “Perfect Perlie Perez,” Perla knows all the late nights, social isolation, and crushing stress will be worth it when she gets into the college of her (and her parents’) dreams: Delmont University.
Then Perla doesn’t get in, and her meticulously planned future shatters. In a panic, she forges her own acceptance letter, and next thing she knows, she’s heading to Delmont for real, acceptance or not. Soon, Perla is breaking into dorm rooms, crashing classes, and dodging questions from new friends about her lack of a student ID. Her plan? Gather on-the-ground intel to beef up her application and reapply spring semester before she’s caught.
But as her guilty conscience grows and campus security looms large, Perla starts to wonder if her plan will really succeed—and if this dream she’s worked for her entire life is something she even wants.
25. While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai
It’s a classic story: girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, boy finally notices girl when he sees her in a homemade costume. At least, that’s what Sonia Patil is hoping for when she plans to meet her crush at the local comic-con in cosplay.
But instead of winning her crush over, Sonia rescues him after he faints into a canal and, suddenly, everything changes. Since she was in disguise, no one knows who the masked do-gooder was . . .but everyone is trying to find out. Sonia can’t let that happen—her sister is undocumented, and the girls have been flying under the radar since their mother was deported back to Mumbai.
Sonia finds herself hiding from social media detectives and trying to connect with her crush and his family. But juggling crushes and a secret identity might just take superpowers. Can Sonia hide in plain sight forever?
26. Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen
Return to the sparkling world of Loveboat, this time with Pearl Wong, on an entirely new, romantic, whirlwind adventure from Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author of Loveboat, Taipei, soon to be a major motion picture.
Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.
Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned—until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans… and a new image.
Where better to revamp her “brand” than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.
But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat—the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn—and there’s more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor… and a summer that will change her forever.
Sweeping, glamorous, and deeply soulful, this companion to the New York Times bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei and Loveboat Reunion will reunite readers with their favorite characters, in a thrilling new journey of romance, self-discovery, and empowerment. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen.
27. Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
Jayne and June Baek are nothing alike. June’s three years older, a classic first-born, know-it-all narc with a problematic finance job and an equally soulless apartment (according to Jayne). Jayne is an emotionally stunted, self-obsessed basket case who lives in squalor, has egregious taste in men, and needs to get to class and stop wasting Mom and Dad’s money (if you ask June). Once thick as thieves, these sisters who moved from Seoul to San Antonio to New York together now don’t want anything to do with each other.
That is, until June gets cancer. And Jayne becomes the only one who can help her.
Flung together by circumstance, housing woes, and family secrets, will the sisters learn more about each other than they’re willing to confront? And what if while helping June, Jayne has to confront the fact that maybe she’s sick, too?
28. Firebird by Sunmi
Sunmi’s gorgeous two-color teen graphic novel debut examines the power of resilience and reinvention, following the lives of Caroline and Kim, two queer, Asian American teenagers growing up in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, as they forge an unexpected connection.
Caroline Kim is feeling the weight of sophomore year. When she starts tutoring infamous senior Kimberly Park-Ocampo—a charismatic lesbian, friend to rich kids and punks alike—Caroline is flustered . . . but intrigued
Their friendship kindles and before they know it, the two are sneaking out for late-night drives, bonding beneath the stars over music, dreams, and a shared desire of getting away from it all.
A connection begins to smolder . . . but will feelings of guilt and the mounting pressure of life outside of these adventures extinguish their spark before it catches fire?
29. If You’re Not the One by Farah Naz Rishi
This funny, electric rom-com follows a teen struggling to reclaim her perfect life and the perfectly wrong guy who sees through her facade, from the acclaimed author of It All Comes Back to You.
Anisa Shirani is…well, perfect. A fact, not an opinion. Of course, it’s all a front to feed her own praise-obsessed ego. Behind closed doors, she is—some might say—a little slobbish and snobbish, and she works obsessively to maintain her God-given talents. Fate has favored her, but Ani knows better than anyone that fate is made by effort.
But she must, especially when all signs point to her being a top-notch lawyer with a top-notch education and being destined to marry Isaac, total heartthrob and eldest son of the richest family in the community. A perfect girl deserves a perfect life, and Ani’s perfect life is going exactly the way it should…
Until Ani’s parents announce they’re getting divorced.
Until Isaac shows all the signs of…cheating. Sort of.
Until she starts catching feelings for Marlow, an overly friendly weirdo she’s hated since the moment she laid eyes on him in class.
How can fate be so wrong?
30. The Queens of New York by E. L. Shen
From acclaimed author E. L. Shen comes a sun-drenched, cinematic YA novel about three Asian American girls, their unbreakable bond, and one life-changing summer, perfect for fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Best friends Jia Lee, Ariel Kim, and Everett Hoang are inseparable. But this summer, they won’t be together.
Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far. Brainy Ariel is flying to San Francisco for a prestigious STEM scholarship, even though her heart is in South Korea, where her sister died last year. And stable, solid Jia will be home in Flushing, juggling her parents’ Chinatown restaurant, a cute new neighbor, and dreams for an uncertain future.
As the girls navigate heartbreaking surprises and shocking self-discoveries, they find that even though they’re physically apart, they are still mighty together.
31. Love & Resistance by Kara H. L. Chen
Moxie meets Mary H.K. Choi in this funny, whip-smart YA debut about love, resistance, and the enduring friendships that make it all worthwhile.
Seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang is at her fourth school in seven years. Her self-imposed solitude is lonely but safe. At Plainstown High, however, Olivia’s usual plan of anonymity fails when infamous it-girl Mitzi Clarke makes a pointed racist comment in class. Tired of ignoring things just to survive, Olivia defends herself.
And that is the end of her invisible life.
Soon, Olivia joins forces with the Nerd Net: a secret society that’s been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror for months. Together, they plan to unite the masses and create true change at school.
But in order to succeed, Olivia must do something even more terrifying than lead a movement: trust other people. She might even make true friends along the way . . . if Mitzi doesn’t destroy her first.
32. When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao
Acclaimed author Gloria Chao creates real-world magic in this luminous 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.
Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids, but all that changed when a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time—and they haven’t spoken since.
Then Liya discovers her family’s wishing lantern store is struggling, and she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may boost sales and save the store, but she can’t do it alone . . . and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help.
While working on their covert missions, Liya and Kai rekindle their friendship—and maybe more. But when their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?
33. I’m Not Here to Make Friends by Andrew Yang
Terrace House meets Loveboat, Taipei in this fun, frothy, incisive YA debut, following two teens and their unforgettable summer on a reality show.
When Sabine Zhang is picked for Hotel California, a teen reality show with an all-Asian cast, she jumps at the opportunity. As one of few Asians at her high school in the Midwest, she’s always felt as if she was playing a side character in someone else’s story. But on this show, she’ll finally have a chance to step into the spotlight.
All Yoona Bae wants is to get away. The girls at church think she’s mean, her mom thinks she’s a troublemaker, and she’s tired of fighting against her unearned bad reputation. So when she’s invited to appear on Hotel California, Yoona sees it as an opportunity to chill out, make some friends, maybe even get a tan.
But life on the show isn’t all sunshine and self-actualization. The producers want drama at all costs, even if it means pitting Sabine and Yoona against each other. With the season finale looming, can the girls figure out a peaceful way forward, before they lose control of their own narratives?
34. Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand, illustrated by Tara Anand
This debut teen graphic novel from social media influencer Jyoti Chand and rising star illustrator Tara Anand follows one girl’s journey navigating high school and her mental health within a traditional South Asian family. Perfect for fans of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever and Tillie Walden’s Spinning.
All Nitasha’s parents want is for her to be the perfect Indian daughter—something she is decidedly not. Everything she does seems to disappoint them, especially her mom. They just don’t get that she’ll never be like her doctor older brother. To make matters worse, she’s never quite felt like she belongs at school either, and lately, her best friend, Ava, and her crush, Henry, seem to be more interested in the rich new girl than in her.
Alcohol takes the edge off, but when that doesn’t work, Nitasha turns to cutting. She can’t stop asking herself: Will she ever be enough for her friends or her family? Or even for herself?
This authentic and powerful teen graphic novel shines a light on how harmful the stigma of mental illness is and how lifesaving a community that is honest about mental health can be.
To learn more about Kid Lit’s efforts against anti-Asian racism, check out this article. To learn more about ways to support Asian communities and organizations, check out these resources.