May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month.

To celebrate these beautiful cultures, to honor the AAPI community who has seen increased violence, and in order to encourage others to read more books by AAPI authors and/or with AAPI characters, I have created a short list of book recommendations for you. There's romance, memoirs, graphic novels, young adult, and more here. This is not an exhaustive list but rather a starting point.

Enjoy!

Asian American Pacific Islander Book Recommendations

*** MEMOIRS ***

Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir by Elizabeth Miki Brina

Representation: Japanese-American

Short Description: Elizabeth's mother was working as a nightclub hostess on U.S.-occupied Okinawa when she met the American soldier who would become her husband. The language barrier and power imbalance that defined their early relationship followed them to the predominantly white, upstate New York suburb where they moved to raise their only daughter. 

Blurb & Buy @ Bookshop

In the Country: Stories by Mia Alvar

Representation: Pilipino-American

Short Description: In these nine globe-trotting tales, Mia Alvar gives voice to the women and men of the Philippines and its diaspora.

Blurb & Buy @ Bookshop

Fairest: A Memoir by Meredith Talusan

Representation: Pilipino-American

Short Description: Fairest is a memoir about a precocious boy with albinism, a sun child from a rural Philippine village, who would grow up to become a woman in America. Coping with the strain of parental neglect and the elusive promise of U.S. citizenship, Talusan found childhood comfort from her devoted grandmother, a grounding force as she was treated by others with special preference or public curiosity. 

Blurb & Buy @ Bookshop

So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific Oceans by Nailah Folami Imoja

Representation: The subtitle says it all.

Short Description: The 17 selections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in this vibrant collection unite the voices of islanders from around the globe, complete with an excellent introduction by Marlon James...Readers encounter the language, customs, and flora and fauna of many island nations in this delightful and enlightening volume, an invitation to share and experience islands around the globe.

Blurb & Buy @ Bookshop

*** LITERARY ***

House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport

Representation: Hawaiian-American

Short Description: Told in spellbinding and mythic prose, House of Many Gods is a deeply complex and provocative love story set against the background of Hawaii and Russia. Interwoven throughout with the indelible portrait of a native Hawaiian family struggling against poverty, drug wars, and the increasing military occupation of their sacred lands.

Blurb & Buy @ Bookshop

*** POETRY ***

Tofu Quilt by Ching Russell

Representation: Chinese-American

Short Description: A collection of poems telling the story of Yeung Ying, a young girl in Hong Kong in the 1960s who, against the conventions of society and family members, aspires to become a writer.

Blurb & Buy @ Bookshop

*** ROMANCE ***