Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Fleeing to America to escape the Vietnam War, Hà and her family end up in Alabama, where they must adapt to a new culture. This novel in verse was inspired by author Thanhha Lai's own experiences.

In this graphic memoir, actor and activist George Takei recounts the internment of his Japanese-American family during World War II. The book was cowritten by Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, with art by Harmony Becker.

Claire's parents send her from China to California to live with a host family and attend an American high school.

Secret agent Henry Park is torn between his American identity and his Korean heritage.

Amina, a Pakistani-American girl, struggles to balance her commitment to her culture with her desire to fit in. When her mosque is vandalized, Amina must finally find her voice.

In 19th-century Atlanta, Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid while secretly penning a controversial advice column and attempting to learn the truth about her past.

In this memoir, co-written by Ryan Estrada and illustrated by Ko Hyung-Jo, Kim Hyun Sook recounts her years as a student activist in South Korea.

After running away from home, Viji and her sister Rukku join up with a group of orphans struggling to survive in the city of Chennai, India.

Sixteen-year-old Melati must brave a riot and grapple with her obsessive-compulsive disorder as she attempts to reunite with her mother in 1969 Malaysia.

This graphic novel weaves fairy tales into the story of a Vietnamese-American boy struggling to communicate with his parents.

Through three interlinked stories, this award-winning graphic novel explores assimilation, racism, and stereotypes.

In this graphic memoir, Malaka Gharib recounts growing up in America while navigating her Filipino and Egyptian heritage.

Like many Japanese-Americans, Hanako and her family are imprisoned in an American internment camp during World War II. After the war ends, they emigrate to Japan — but they struggle to make a home in a country that is unfamiliar to them.

Young Ju immigrates to the United States from Korea, but she struggles to fit in to her new culture and to cope with her increasingly fractured family.

In this international bestseller, four Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters try to understand each other.

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston was only seven when her Japanese-American family was forced to leave their home in Long Beach, California for an internment camp during World War II. This is her story.

A Single Shard tells the story of a homeless orphan who helps a potter earn a royal commission in 12th-century Korea. Master these words that Linda Sue Park shaped into a Newbery Medal winner.

High school senior Jay Reguero travels to the Philippines to investigate his cousin's murder — and grapples with his identity as a Filipino American.

Inspired by her father's fantastical stories, Minli sets off on a journey to change her family's fortune.

When 12-year-old Aru Shah lights a cursed lamp in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, she releases an ancient demon. Now she must find a way to stop the demon and rescue her friends and family.

Loung Ung's privileged life as the daughter of a government official is shattered when the Khmer Rouge army invades the Cambodian capital in 1975. In this memoir, Loung recounts her training as a child solider and her family's suffering during the Cambodian genocide.

Forced to stay in the United States after the Communist takeover of China, Ralph Chang and his sister Theresa are torn between retaining their cultural traditions and assimilating into their new home.

Ten-year-old Mia Tang lives and works at the motel where her immigrant parents are employed. Together, Mia and her family strive to make a better life for themselves — and for other immigrants in their community.

After she moves to New York City from China, Shirley struggles to fit in and make friends — until she discovers baseball.

After her mother's death, Leigh travels to Taiwan, where she tries to piece together her family history while also coming to terms with her grief.

After suffering under the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II and the subsequent rule by communist Russia, Sookan and her family attempt a daring escape to South Korea.

In this graphic novel, a teen girl discovers a magical shawl and learns about her family's history in India.

In 1947, British India was divided into two separate and independent countries: India, a mostly Hindu nation, and Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim nation. The partition leaves Nisha, a girl with both Hindu and Muslim heritage, without a clear place to call home. She and her family must make a treacherous journey to try to find a safe haven in a country rocked by turmoil and violence.

In this novel, a Pakistani girl is forced to work as a servant on the estate of a corrupt businessman.

Shaker Heights seems like an idyllic suburb, but tensions between the conventional Richardson family and their mysterious new tenant come to a head during a custody dispute that divides the town.

Frank Li knows that his conservative Korean parents will not approve of the girl he is dating, so he and friend Joy Song agree to enter into a fake relationship to appease their families.

Journalist Blaine Harden recounts the life of Shin Dong-hyuk, a young man who made a daring escape from a North Korean prison camp.

In this historical novel, Hanna, a girl with Chinese heritage, moves to the Dakota Territory in 1880 and struggles to overcome the prejudices of her new community.

This historical novel follows Sun-hee and her brother Tae-yul as their family grapples with political change, prejudice, and war during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

In the early 1900s, a young boy leaves China to join his father in San Francisco, where they work to build a flying machine.

In this historical novel, an upper-class Chinese girl refuses to have her feet bound and must face the social consequences of her decision.

In this acclaimed book, Elizabeth Partridge combines meticulous research, photographic records, and personal accounts into a vivid history of the Vietnam War and its aftermath.

Ji-li Jiang lived a happy life in China until the Cultural Revolution of 1966. As political unrest and division swept the country, her father was imprisoned and her life was turned upside down. In this memoir, she provides a window into a transformative period in Chinese history.

An ordinary Pakistani girl is shot by the Taliban while fighting for her right to an education. Co-written with Patricia McCormick, in this memoir, Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, tells her story.

Dimple Shah is thrilled to be spending her summer studying web development at Stanford University — but she doesn't know that her traditional parents are planning for her to meet (and eventually marry!) fellow student Rishi Patel.

Kingston integrates mythology into this memoir about growing up as a Chinese immigrant in California.

In this companion novel to When Dimple Met Rishi, Ashish Patel allows his parents to set him up on a series of dates with Sweetie Nair, an athlete who wants to prove to her traditional mother that she can be happy at any size.

Keiko has always counted on her best friends, Audrey and Jenna — but the girls' friendship is tested as they navigate seventh grade.

Shy Yumi Chung dreams of being a stand-up comedian — and when a mix-up gives her access to a summer comedy camp, she might finally get her chance to shine.

This semi-autobiographical novel recounts the story of a Japanese family attempting to flee Korea and return home at the end of World War II.

This collection of engaging stories was inspired by Chinese folklore and legend.

In this nonfiction narrative, told in graphic form, Gene Luen Yang follows the Bishop O'Dowd High School basketball team during one eventful season and reflects on his own work as a storyteller.

Twelve-year-old Mai travels to Vietnam to find her grandfather and learn about her heritage.

Eighteen-year-old Hằng makes a difficult journey to America to find the brother from whom she was separated during the Vietnam War.

In this memoir, told in graphic form, Robin Ha recounts her experiences as a young immigrant from South Korea.

College freshman Mei struggles to live up to her parents expectations and figure out what kind of future she truly wants.

When 15-year-old Samantha, a Chinese-American girl living in Missouri in the mid-19th-century, finds herself on the wrong side of the law, she and her best friend embark on a journey westward, following the Oregon Trail.

In this novel that draws on Malaysian folklore, Suraya's grandmother gives her a "pelesit" — a ghost or spirit — named Pink. But Suraya finds it difficult to control Pink's dark side.

Living in her grandmother's cramped home, thirteen-year-old Lou longs for a private space. But her plans to build a tiny house of her own are jeopardized when she must fight to save the land she inherited from her father.

This novella tells the story of a young survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

Two students who are struggling to fit in at school must contend with a bully.

Cici enters a cooking contest in hopes of winning enough money to buy her grandmother a plane ticket from Taiwan to the U.S.

In order to get the chance to meet her favorite pitcher, Lupe Wong must get an A in gym class — which means conquering the dreaded square dancing unit.

In this graphic novel, which draws on the author's family history, a teenage girl is transported back in time to a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans.

In order to restore her grandmother's health, Lily makes a bargain with a magical tiger.

Growing up in a nomadic community in Pakistan, Shabanu must make difficult choices between her own desires and her obligations to her family.

Kaia spends her summer making a movie influenced by Filipino folklore, while trying to convince her beloved grandfather not to return to the Philippines.

When Junie interviews her grandparents about their experiences during the Korean War, she is inspired to take a stand against racism at her middle school.

A princess must use her magical abilities to free her brothers from a curse.

A Japanese-American boy and a French girl become unlikely pen pals during World War II.

In 15th-century Korea, brothers Kee-sup and Young-sup impress the king with their ability to construct and fly kites.

In this reimagining of Romeo and Juliet set in Shanghai in the 1920s, two teens from rival gangs must work together to end a feud.

In this magical adaptation of the tale of Paul Bunyan, a young Chinese immigrant works at a logging camp in the late 1800s.

This powerful nonfiction book explores the murder of Vincent Chin and the growth of the Asian American civil rights movement.

Seventh graders Julia and Patrick try to win a prize at the state fair by raising silkworms.

During World War II, a Japanese-American boy must rely on his baseball teammates when his father and grandfather are arrested.

After a magic spell goes awry, Riley must try to find a fallen star in order to save her sister's life.

This award-winning book chronicles the experiences of families living in an impoverished settlement in Mumbai, India.

After spending the first nine years of his life in prison with his mother, Kabir learns to survive on the streets of Chennai, India, while looking for a way to prove his mother's innocence.

Beth, Sunny, Grace, and Brandon make a vow to protect their friend Jason, but tensions strain their relationships with one another.

In this verse novel, 13-year-old Reha grapples with her identity as an Indian-American while trying to cope with her mother’s illness.

Summer is a twelve-year-old Japanese-American girl who learns more about her family, her heritage, and herself during a harvest season filled with bad luck.

Anna Chiu is a high-schooler who tries to hold her family together as her mother struggles with mental illness.

A sequel to Amina's Voice, this novel follows Amina as she tries to help her friends understand the beauty of Pakistan after her presentation on Malala Yousafzai goes awry.

Thirteen-year-old Sikander Aziz must join forces with the legendary hero Gilgamesh to stop an ancient god from destroying New York City.

In a small Bangladeshi village where only boys are expected to earn money, ten-year-old Naimi disguises herself as a boy so she can get a job to help her struggling family.

Neel, a young Bengali boy, searches his island home to find a tiger cub and rescue it from a man who hopes to sell it on the black market.

Noor and Sal — two Pakistani American teenagers living in a small town — are falling in love as they struggle with difficult family issues.

After receiving a curse that causes her to slowly transform into a demon with a deadly touch, Miuko embarks on a quest to find a cure so that she can return to her normal life.

After her grandfather becomes sick, eleven-year-old Maizy moves from Los Angeles to Last Chance, Minnesota, where she struggles to fit in as her family's Chinese restaurant is targeted with racist attacks.

Moving back to California from Hong Kong, ten-year-old Knox, his older brother Bowen, and younger sister Lea, must deal not only with the coronavirus but also the separation from their father and fearful suspicions of their background.

In this third book of the Front Desk series, seventh-grader Mia Tang and her parents return from a vacation to discover that they are in danger of losing the Calivista Motel.

Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Safiya Mirza comes across a dead body in a Chicago park. Because it belonged to another Muslim teenager, the haunting sight guides her to uncover the truths behind the murder of Jawad Ali.

This companion novel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club takes place fifty years later and follows eighteen-year-old Aria Tang West who spends the summer with her artistic grandmother in California.

In the Kingdom of Mangkon, twelve-year-old Sodsai Mudawan lies about her family's background so that she could have a chance at a bright future.

When riots break out in Los Angeles, sixth-grader Jordan Park decides he must go to his family's store to protect his father.

This fictionalized version of the experiences of the author's family focuses on four nameless Japanese American characters during World War II, when they were forced to relocate to internment camps.

While struggling to deal with the death of her grandfather and the separation from her friends, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu decides to ditch school and ends up spending time in both detention and her grandmother's apartment in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Renamed "Monkey" by Samir, who bought him from murderous monks, twelve-year-old Omar struggles to repay the debt by serving and protecting the trader as they travel from China to Uzbekista

Descended from Chinese immigrants who'd settled in California, high school junior Maybelline Chen struggles against both cultural and racist stereotypes, especially after her older brother commits suicide.

In this graphic memoir, the author recounts the struggles of middle school and how a three-week European group trip transformed his life in positive ways at the age of thirteen.

Nicknamed Minni Meow, a twelve-year-old girl in India discovers that there are powerful criminals who are stealing from her Mumbai neighborhood's water supply.

At a summer theater camp in Kansas, twelve-year-old Aoi Inoue decides to change her name to Annie Enoway, hoping that it would be the first step towards star-filled accomplishments.

On the island of Serendib, twelve-year-old Razi has not been in the water since his father died in a fishing accident, but then he meets a young stranded sailor who needs his help.

Possessed by the two-thousand-year-old spirit of the First Emperor Ying Zheng, twelve-year-old Zack must travel from Maine to China to save both his mom and the mortal realm.

Needing money for college tuition, seventeen-year-old Jade Nguyen agrees to spend the summer in Vietnam with her father, who is restoring a house that is still under the control of its former French owner.

Set in the 1860s, this third book of the Golden Mountain Chronicles focuses on teenage Otter Young, who dreams of saving China from the destructive Manchus and British by joining his father and uncle's Great Work in America.

Sophomore Janna Yusuf must navigate faith, family, and a complicated crush, all while struggling with a devastating secret.

After a minor run-in with the police, eighteen-year-old Naeem is offered a terrible choice: go to court or spy on members of his community.

During World War II, a group of Japanese-American teens and their families are incarcerated in an internment camp.

Kira-Kira tells the unforgettable story of sisters Katie and Lynn Takeshima. After their Japanese-American family moves to Georgia in the 1950s to build a new life, Katie and Lynn find hope through their unique way of seeing the world. But when Lynn develops lymphoma, Katie must help keep her family from falling apart while remembering everything her sister taught her.

Darius has always struggled to fit in: he suffers from depression, he is bullied at school, and he can never seem to meet his father's high expectations. When Darius's family travels to Iran to visit his grandparents, Darius finds a place where he belongs, and a true friendship, for the first time.

In the 1950s, a Chinese-American teenager falls in love while members of her San Francisco community face threats of deportation.

When Fadi's family flees Afghanistan for the United States, his younger sister Mariam is accidentally left behind. Fadi enters a photography contest in the hopes that his winnings will allow him to find Mariam.

Moon is unlike anyone Christine has ever met — but jealousy and an unexpected emergency test their friendship.

This first book of the series introduces a twelve-year-old Californian who dreads the seventh-grade social scene, until the discovery that she is the daughter of a Shintō goddess who needs her help to fight demons on the Japanese Island of Mysteries.

When eleventh-grader Eliza Quan loses the election for editor in chief to a less qualified male candidate, she starts a protest at her California high school.

The daughter of a sushi chef whose Californian restaurant has been featured in magazines, twelve-year-old Susannah Mikami wants to prove to her father that she is worthy of a place in his kitchen.