It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so here’s a list of 10 popular books ranging from romance to fantasy to historical fiction with Asian main characters to celebrate AAPI representation in the literary world. Writing stories with Asian characters and authentic depictions of the culture, traditions, and struggles that define the Asian American experience allows society to broaden its horizons of what it means to be in love, be in high school, find one’s passion, or face stereotypes—of what it means to be American.
top 4 picks
1. A Pho Love Story by Loan Le
Summary: Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai are two Vietnamese American teens whose families own rival pho restaurants. Bao has no clue what he wants for his future, while Linh’s one true passion is an immigrant parent’s worst nightmare: a career in the arts. Unexpected circumstances throw them together, and now Bao and Linh must figure out how to deal with their budding romance amidst their long-time family feud.
I first saw this book in one of my Instagram ads about a year ago, but it wasn’t until just recently that I actually decided to cross it off my TBR list. I absolutely blew through it the second I cracked it open. Bao and Linh face the struggle of figuring out what they want to do with their lives while balancing family expectations and their own dreams. Le also beautifully incorporates tons of Vietnamese food, language, and customs into the story to give the readers the full experience of what it’s like to live in a Vietnamese American household. It is a story so uniquely American.
2. Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach
Summary: Eliza Quan is the most qualified person to take up the editor-in-chief position for her school’s newspaper. She is basically a shoo-in until Len DiMartile decides to run against her at the last minute. He is inexperienced, with only one year writing for the paper, but he is charismatic and charming, and—quite frankly—a guy. So who ends up winning the election? Surprise, surprise—it’s Len. Absolutely furious, Eliza writes a manifesto that accidentally gets published, pointing out the blatant misogyny that robbed her of her well-deserved position, which incites a feminist movement at school. Eliza and Len are asked to work together amidst this controversy, and could they also be falling in love in the process?
I read the preview of this book a couple of weeks ago after seeing a TikTok video about it, and I was immediately hooked. Unfortunately, I have yet to buy a physical copy to finish it, because the paperback version doesn’t come out until December and I wholeheartedly refuse to buy a new hardcover. However, I might just cave and forget my long-standing feud with hardcovers because it’s just so good. The title speaks for itself. Eliza Quan just wants to get the job done, and done right. Who says modern-day sexism doesn’t exist? I felt Eliza’s anger throughout the pages, and I can’t wait to see how Len is redeemed. I have a hunch that he’s the one who published her article.
3. The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Summary: Natasha Kingsley is a hardcore realist. Daniel Bae is a hopeless romantic. They meet one day in the streets of New York City as Natasha is running around trying to find a way to stop her family from being deported to Jamaica the next day. In a series of extremely chaotic circumstances, Natasha and Daniel start to fall in love with each other despite the looming threat that they might never see each other again.
This book has got to be one of my favorite contemporary novels of all time. Yoon’s art of storytelling is absolutely incredible and breathtaking as she takes the idea of fate to a whole new level. Each interaction is so cleverly interwoven. I loved every page in this book, and it is the first one I will recommend to anyone who asks me what they should read next. Natasha and Daniel’s story is so tragically real that it makes my heart ache. Even though the primary focus is Natasha and her struggle to save her family from deportation, it also highlights Daniel’s struggle with coming from a Korean family and wanting to become a poet.
4. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Summary: “Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.”
In case you’ve been living under a rock these past few years and haven’t read To All The Boys, here’s your official sign to do so right now. Of course, I had to include the To All The Boys trilogy that took the world by storm with its Netflix adaptation. Lara Jean Song Covey is your all-American girl next door. Seeing Lana Condor on screen as an Asian woman playing the romantic female lead was truly a historic moment. We finally got to see a story about a normal Asian American teenage girl who’s now a rom-com icon.
6 more Honorable Mentions:
5. XOXO by Axie Oh
“Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk.”
6. You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
“Seventeen-year-old Julie Clarke has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city; spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes. Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his belongings, and tries everything to forget him. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces memories to return. Desperate to hear him one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cell phone just to listen to his voice mail recording. And Sam picks up the phone. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes Julie fall for him all over again and with each call, it becomes harder to let him go.”
7. Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
“When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to, you know, see each other.”
8. Loveboat, Taipei by abigail hing wen
“And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turn. Gone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.”
PS: This book is getting adapted into a movie starring Ashley Liao and Ross Butler!
9. Last Night At The Telegraph Club by malinda lo
“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.”
10. The Poppy War by r.f. kuang
“When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.”