15 Must-Read New Books By AAPI Authors
The last few years have brought more, newer, and more thematically diverse works of fiction by AAPI authors than ever.
As we celebrate AAPI heritage month, here are some of the best fiction books by AAPI authors (in no particular order) that came out in recent years.
1.When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley
Soon Wiley's gorgeous debut novel follows Korean-American ex-pat, Min, as he searches for answers in Seoul following the tragic death of his Korean girlfriend. Wiley takes us through struggles with sexuality, identity, and the difficulties of navigating a society that shuns nonconformity with a startling realism that questions the iron-clad traditions that frame Seoul's cosmopolitan facade.
2.The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Filmmaker, Pulitzer prize finalist, novelist, and ordained Zen Buddhist priest Ruth Ozeki is a master of magical realism. In The Book of Form and Emptiness, material objects speak to thirteen-year-old protagonist Benny Oh after his father's death — and his mother's increasing hoarding problem certainly doesn't help. Trying to escape the silent cacophony, Benny spends time in a public library where the objects are at least well-behaved. There, his adventures begin and he begins to find his own voice.
3.The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin
Wild West, vengeance for a kidnapped wife, a system that only white men are allowed to testify in — think Chinese Joaquin Murrieta narrated by Cormac McCarthy and Ray Bradbury. Wonderful Western by Tom Lin.
4.Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
No. 1 NYT bestseller of the Iron Widow series, Xiran Jay Zhao, tackles YA fiction with the novel Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor, the first of an ongoing fantasy series about a Chinese-diaspora boy tasked to save the mortal realm while connecting with his Chinese heritage. They're calling it Percy Jackson meets Yu-Gi-Oh! (or Tristan Strong for copyright purposes).
5.Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala
Mia P. Manansala's dark follow-up to Arsenic and Adobo tackles themes like depression, PTSD, and harassment, but still cooks up plenty of tasty drama with hot bachelors, murder, and beauty pageants. Things get hot in the summer, especially for Lila Macapagal!
6.Land of Big Numbers by Te Ping Chen
This list is supposed to be all AAPI-authored novels, but journalist Te Ping Chen's poignant short stories illustrating the idiosyncrasies of China were one of the best things I've read this year. Moreover, Chen portrays China — as much as I hate the word — more authentically than any other writer who grew up in the West. From a call-center girl stalked by her ex-boyfriend to a group of people trapped in a subway station for a month, Te Ping Chen's debut offers acute social insight and questions: What is freedom?
7.O Beautiful by Jun Yun
Former model, Elinor Hanson, returns to her hometown in North Dakota to write about the Bakken oil boom. Newcomers swarm the area, and old-timers see her as foreign. She is forced to reckon with her estranged family, which fell apart after her Korean mother left Elinor and her sister behind to escape an unhappy marriage with her father.
8.Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian
Sanjena Sathian tells a hilarious tale that, though involving actual magic, rings startlingly true. Neil Narayan, a second-generation Asian-American teenager who cares more about concerts and getting laid than upholding the model minority myth and his parents' crushing expectations, discovers that his neighbor possesses a magical "lemonade" that makes the drinker more ambitious. As an adult in the Bay Area, Neil searches for "gold" in his past and present, weaving history, fantasy, and societal expectations into his own truth.
9.The Last Karankawas by Kimberly Garza
Galveston, TX is the only home Carly Castillo has ever known, but she yearns for the outside world and to escape the lingering legacy of her parents' abandonment. Magdalena, her grandmother who raised her, has always claimed that they're tied to the island as descendants of the extinct Texan tribe, the Karankawas. Filipina-Chicana Kimberly Garza tells a tale of ecological change, family legacy, and the histories that bind us.
10.The Oleander Sword byTasha Suri
The second book in award-winning author Tasha Suri's epic Burning Kingdoms trilogy is a powerful follow-up to The Jasmine Throne. As Malini strives to sit on the throne, the prophecy promises her and works to depose her brother, other forces converge to bring her and thrice-born priestess, Priya, together. All is fate, but fate is not all in this sapphic reimagining of Hindu myths.
11.Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Old Hollywood gets a magical twist with Nghi Vo's latest novel. Young Chinese American actor, Luli Wei, literally sells her soul to be a star on the silver screen. She knows that the worst monsters in Hollywood are the ones who run the studios, who dabble in ancient rituals of blood magic, fueled by sacrificing innocent girls like her. But she is innocent no more — and she would rather be a monster than a sacrifice.
12.To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
Hanya Yanagihara is a master of articulating the impossible. One of the greatest literary voices — period — of the last five years, the A Little Life author does it again with an emotionally driven To Paradise, a sweeping tale of three alternative universes: 1893 America, where people are supposed to be able to choose how they live and love, 1993 Manhattan during the AIDS epidemic, and 2093 under a totalitarian regime.
13.Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
Western museums display gorgeous riches of colonial plunder; priceless artifacts and artwork stolen from countries across the world. Harvard senior, Will Chen, embarks on an Ocean's Eleven-esque heist after receiving an offer from a mysterious Chinese benefactor to "recover" five priceless Chinese sculptures. Is the fifty million dollars worth it for Will and his crew (filled with fellow yellows of every heist archetype you can think of), and will they reclaim what colonialism has stolen?
14.The Red Palace by Jun Hur
June Hur cooks up another juicy mystery with The Red Palace, perfect for fans of period dramas and sexy royals. In 1758 Korea, a young illegitimate daughter, Hyeon, gets a job as a palace nurse in the capital and is quickly thrust into the savage world of court politics following the murder of four women in a single night. She must work together with young police inspector Eojin to clear her friend's name and find the killer.
15.A Thousand Steps Into The Night by Traci Chee
Gods, monsters, and humans exist side-by-side in the realm of Awara. An ordinary innkeeper's daughter, Miuko, is shocked out of her humdrum existence when she is cursed and begins to transform into a demon, sending her on a quest to reverse the curse and go back to her normal life. But is she ready to give up the freedom and power to return to her old life?
