Picture Books

How We Say I Love You
written by Nicole Chen, illustrated by Lenny Wen

In this heartwarming picture book, an Asian American girl shares how her family expresses their love for one another through actions rather than words.

How do you tell your family that you love them? For Hana, love is all around her: Mom stirs love into a steaming pot of xifan. Dad cheers with love at her soccer game. Hana says good night with love by rubbing her grandma’s feet and pouring her grandpa his sleepy tea. And as the light fades, Hana’s parents tuck her into bed and give her a good night kiss.

So many families express their love in all they do for one another, every day. Here is a book that wraps you in a hug and invites your family to share their own special ways of showing love.

How to Wear a Sari
written by Darshana Khiani, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

Sparkling with voice and charm, this picture book about a fashionable kid out to prove she’s not as small as everyone thinks is perfect for kids eager to grow up, and for those who love to play dress-up.

Being a little kid isn’t always fun and games. Sometimes, it’s downright annoying. When a little girl tires of being treated like she’s TOO little, she sets out to prove to her family that she can do ANYTHING she puts her mind to …

… including putting on a colorful, twinkly, silky sari. Sure, they’re long and unwieldy — but that only means her family will be even more impressed when she puts it on all by herself. Naturally, there are some hiccups along the way, but she discovers that she’s not the only one in her family who has set out with something to prove, with hilariously chaotic results. That’s what photo albums are for!

Dream Big
by Joyce Wan

A bold, inspiring message for little graduates of today with a heartening homage to female trailblazers of the past from beloved creator Joyce Wan!

Dream your dreams with your eyes wide open and make them come true. Dream big, little one, the world is waiting for you.In this dreamy oversized board book, little ones will find the courage and strength to achieve anything they want — all by dreaming big! With inspiring illustrations of female trailblazers and icons of history and simple, hopeful text, Joyce Wan creates a moving send-off for graduates of all ages. Included in the back is a simple guide to some of the bold dreamers who came before us who followed their dreams … and changed the world. With a tender message of encouragement and hope, this special board book is a gift to be treasured and shared for years to come. Featuring heartfelt tributes to Rosa Parks, Junko Tabei, Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, Zaha Hadidand many more!

Middle Grade

You Are Here: Connecting Flights
by Ellen Oh (Author and Anthology Editor)

A powerful and engaging exploration of contemporary Asian American identity through interwoven stories set in a teeming Chicago airport, written by award-winning and bestselling East and Southeast Asian American authors including Linda Sue Park, Grace Lin, Erin Entrada Kelly, Traci Chee, and Ellen Oh. Flying Lessons meets Black Boy Joy.

An incident at a TSA security check point sows chaos and rumors, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport. As their disrupted journeys crisscross and collide, they encounter fellow travelers — some helpful, some hostile — as they discover the challenges of friendship, the power of courage, the importance of the right word at the right time and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar.

Twelve powerhouse Asian American authors explore themes of identity and belonging in the entwined experiences of young people whose family roots may extend to East and Southeast Asia, but who are themselves distinctly American.

Written by Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Traci Chee, Mike Chen, Meredith Ireland, Mike Jung, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Randy Ribay, Christina Soontornvat and Susan Tan, and edited by Ellen Oh.

Marikit and the Ocean of Stars
by Caris Avendaño Cruz

A magical middle grade debut, inspired by Filipino folklore, about a ten-year-old girl who embarks on a quest in the world of gods and spirits to save her and her family from a sinister shadow god. Perfect for fans of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and When You Trap a Tiger.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Marikit is used to wearing recycled clothes. Her mother, the best seamstress in the barrio, has become an expert at making do ever since Marikit’s father and brother were lost at sea. But for her tenth birthday, all Marikit wants is something new. So when her mother gifts her a patchwork dress stitched together with leftover scraps from her workshop, Marikit vows to never wear it. That is, until the eve of her birthday, when shadow creatures creep into their home, attempt to take Marikit away, and upend the very life she knew.

When she’s swept away from the human world, Marikit discovers that her dress is a map, one lovingly crafted to lead her to safety in the magical lands of the Engkantos. She trudges through the enchanted lands of mythical creatures, making friends out of monsters and challenging gods. With the help of her friends, including an exuberant firefly and a cursed boy, Marikit journeys through the land of the Engkantos to find the key to saving her family, all without being eaten alive.

Young Adult

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. But when Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against queer people, 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.

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 changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?

Adult Fiction

Someone Else’s Life: A Thriller
by Lyn Liao Butler

A new life in paradise should have healed her wounds. But for a woman struggling to hold on to her family and her sanity, one stormy night could change everything.

Blow by blow, Annie Lin’s life crumbles. Her dance studio goes bankrupt. Her mother and beloved dog are gone the same year. Then a terrible accident leaves her young son traumatized.

It’s time for a change.

Palm trees, mai tais, peace and quiet — Annie should be at ease, safe in her new Kauai home with her husband and son. She hopes proximity to her family can provide them all with a sense of belonging and calm. But soon items from her past start turning up — her dog’s collar, a bracelet that disappeared years ago — and she has the unnerving sensation she’s being watched. Reality begins to fracture, and Annie’s panic attacks return. When, during a brewing storm, a woman appears on her doorstep looking for shelter, Annie is relieved to have the company and feels an unexplainable bond with her visitor.

As the night progresses, Annie realizes the woman is no stranger. Their lives are inextricably intertwined — and Annie might just lose everything.

The Raven Thief: A Secret Staircase Mystery
by Gigi Pandian

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian is one of the best locked room mystery writers working today. Her newest heroine, Tempest Raj, returns in The Raven Thief, where sliding bookcases, trick tables and hidden reading nooks hide something much more sinister than the Secret Staircase Construction crew ever imagined.

One murder. Four impossibilities. A fake séance hides a very real crime.

Secret Staircase Construction just finished their first project with Tempest Raj officially a part of the team — a classic mystery novel-themed home interior. Their client is now ready to celebrate her new life without her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a party, and Tempest and Grandpa Ash are invited to the exclusive mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property — for good. It’s all lighthearted fun until Corbin’s dead body crashes the party.

The only possible suspects are the eight people around the séance table — a circle of clasped hands that wasn’t broken. Suspicion quickly falls on Grandpa Ash, the only one with actual blood on him. To prove her beloved grandfather’s innocence, Tempest must figure out what really happened — and how — or Ash will be cooking his delectable Indian and Scottish creations nevermore.

Adult Nonfiction

How to Read Now: Essays
by Elaine Castillo

“How to Read Now explores the politics and ethics of reading, and insists that we are capable of something better: a more engaged relationship not just with our fiction and our art, but with our buried and entangled histories.”

How to Read Now explores the politics and ethics of reading, and insists that we are capable of something better: a more engaged relationship not just with our fiction and our art, but with our buried and entangled histories. Smart, funny, galvanizing and sometimes profane, Castillo attacks the stale questions and less-than-critical proclamations that masquerade as vital discussion: reimagining the cartography of the classics, building a moral case against the settler colonialism of lauded writers like Joan Didion, taking aim at Nobel Prize winners and toppling indie filmmakers, and celebrating glorious moments in everything from popular TV like The Watchmen to the films of Wong Kar-wai and the work of contemporary poets like Tommy Pico.

At once a deeply personal and searching history of one woman’s reading life, and a wide-ranging and urgent intervention into our globalized conversations about why reading matters today, How to Read Now empowers us to embrace a more complicated, embodied form of reading, inviting us to acknowledge complicated truths, ignite surprising connections, imagine a more daring solidarity, and create space for a riskier intimacy — within ourselves, and with each other.

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir
by T Kira Madden

Acclaimed literary essayist T Kira Madden’s raw and redemptive debut memoir is about coming of age and reckoning with desire as a queer, biracial teenager amidst the fierce contradictions of Boca Raton, Florida, a place where she found cult-like privilege, shocking racial disparities, rampant white-collar crime and powerfully destructive standards of beauty hiding in plain sight.

As a child, Madden lived a life of extravagance, from her exclusive private school to her equestrian trophies and designer shoe-brand name. But under the surface was a wild instability. The only child of parents continually battling drug and alcohol addictions, Madden confronted her environment alone. Facing a culture of assault and objectification, she found lifelines in the desperately loving friendships of fatherless girls.

With unflinching honesty and lyrical prose, spanning from 1960s Hawai’i to the present-day struggle of a young woman mourning the loss of a father while unearthing truths that reframe her reality, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls is equal parts eulogy and love letter. It’s a story about trauma and forgiveness, about families of blood and affinity, both lost and found, unmade and rebuilt, crooked and beautiful.

Graphic Novels

Marshmallow & Jordan
by Alina Chau

Alina Chau’s Marshmallow & Jordan is a middle-grade graphic novel about a disabled, sports-loving Jordan and the magical elephant named Marshmallow who she befriends.

Jordan’s days as star player for her school’s basketball team ended when an accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. Now, she’s still the team captain, but her competition days seem to be behind her … until an encounter with a mysterious elephant, who she names Marshmallow, helps Jordan discover a brand new sport.

Will water polo be the way for Jordan to continue her athletic dreams — or will it just come between Jordan and her best friends on the basketball team? And with the big tournament right around the corner, what secret is Marshmallow hiding?

The Man in the McIntosh Suit
by Rina Ayuyang

A Filipino-American take on Depression-era noir featuring mistaken identities, speakeasies and lost love.

The year is 1929 and Bobot is just another migrant worker in rural California. Or rather, a migrant worker with a law degree from the Philippines reduced to manual labor in America. Bobot, like so many other young Filipinos, finds himself bunking in the fields, picking fruit by day. When his cousin writes claiming to have spotted his estranged wife in nearby San Francisco, he swipes a co-worker’s favorite nightclub suit and heads to the big city to find her. What follows is classic noir with seedy dives, mouthy pool sharks and obsession.

Rina Ayuyang indulges her passion for old Hollywood and elaborate movie musicals while exploring her immigrant roots in a playful and mysterious drama, creating something she never saw but always had hoped for — a classic tale about people who looked just like her. The Man in the McIntosh Suit is a gripping, romantic and psychological exploration of a fledgling community chasing the American dream in an unwelcoming society heightened by racial hostility and the bubbling undercurrent of the coming Great Depression.

Cookbooks

Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed
by Abi Balingit

A sweet baking book of fantastically imaginative remixed Filipino American dessert recipes, plus essays on the Filipino American experience by baker-fundraiser Abi Balingit.

When the pandemic started her lonely work-from-home life in 2020, Abi Balingit channeled all her energy into the one thing that brought her joy: baking. In her tiny, dimly lit, shared kitchen, she produced hundreds of “pasalubong” (souvenir) boxes filled with especially creative treats that blended the Filipino treats and Western style baked goods she grew up with. Each time, she’d sell out within hours and donated the proceeds to support her community in need.

Now Abi shares some of these cult-favorite desserts with Mayumu (which means “sweet” in one of the 8 major languages in Philippines), an incredibly fresh baking book of 75 recipes that span from the never-before-seen, incredibly inventive flavor combinations that Abi dreamed up, to the more familiar, classic Filipino favorites:

• Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookie Strawberry Shortcake Sapin-Sapin (Rice Cakes)
• Ube Macapuno Molten Lava Cakes
• Matcha Pastillas Melon Chicharron Crumble
• Halo-Halo Baked Alaska

Throughout, essays following Abi’s heritage and self-discovery introduce the flavors and experiences that have shaped her life, from visiting the motherland and her parents’ birthplace in Pampanga, Philippines, to California where she grew up and went to school, to her now home Brooklyn, NY. This beautiful book is a celebration of the Filipino American experience, perfect for home bakers wanting both nostalgic and excitingly new recipes.

Cook Real Hawai’i
by Sheldon Simeon and Garrett Snyder

The story of Hawaiian cooking, by a two-time Top Chef finalist and Fan Favorite, through 100 recipes that embody the beautiful cross-cultural exchange of the islands.

Even when he was winning accolades and adulation for his cooking, two-time Top Chef finalist Sheldon Simeon decided to drop what he thought he was supposed to cook as a chef. He dedicated himself instead to the local Hawai‘i food that feeds his ‘ohana — his family and neighbors. With uncomplicated, flavor-forward recipes, he shows us the many cultures that have come to create the cuisine of his beloved home: the native Hawaiian traditions, Japanese influences, Chinese cooking techniques and dynamic Korean, Portuguese, and Filipino flavors that are closest to his heart.

Through stunning photography, poignant stories and dishes like wok-fried poke, pork dumplings made with biscuit dough, crispy cauliflower katsu and charred huli-huli chicken slicked with a sweet-savory butter glaze, Cook Real Hawai‘i will bring a true taste of the cookouts, homes and iconic mom and pop shops of Hawai‘i into your kitchen.

Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala

Don’t forget to check out Blackmail and Bibingka, the latest novel from Mia P. Manansala, the author of this listicle.