May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We want to lift their voices up and into the literary canon. We invite you to explore our extensive list of popular Asian and Pacific Islander titles, in genres ranging from humor, classic literature, fiction, nonfiction, history, and graphic memoirs.
We hope more Asian and Pacific readers see themselves in these books. We simultaneously hope those not of this heritage will read, learn, and grow by understanding life from their perspectives.
“I had spent my adolescence trying to blend in with my peers in suburban America, and had come of age feeling like my belonging was something to prove. Something that was always in the hands of other people to be given and never my own to take, to decide which side I was on, whom I was allowed to align with. I could never be of both worlds, only half in and half out, waiting to be ejected at will by someone with greater claim than me. Someone whole.”― Michelle Zauner, Crying in H Mart
“Look at these wildflowers.” Hannah sweeps her arm around. “They’re not fancy, they’re not prizewinning orchids or roses. But they don’t care. They’re just wildflowers, doing their thing, and they’re beautiful. Be like them, sweet pea. Just be you and be happy.”― Misa Sugiura, This Time Will Be Different
“In the popular imagination, Asian Americans are all high-achieving professionals. But in reality, this is the most economically divided group in the country, a tenuous alliance of people with roots from South Asia to East Asia to the Pacific Islands, from tech millionaires to service industry laborers. How do we speak honestly about the Asian American condition—if such a thing exists?”― Cathy Park Hong, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
“I feel like I need to speak out, because if no one speaks out, if no one says, this is me, this is what I believe in, and this is why I'm different, and this is why that's okay, then what's the point? What's the point of living in this beautiful, great melting pot where everyone can dare be anything they want to be?”― Sandhya Menon, When Dimple Met Rishi
"'Just a word of advice,' Cora says. 'If you cover up a bit more, she might give you an easier time.' Donita's expression hardens again, and with a defiant upwards tilt of her chin, she says, 'This is who I am. If she doesn't like it, that's her problem.'" ― Balli Kaur Jaswal, Now You See Us
“It's hard to cope when simultaneously drunk and hungover.”― Lily Chu, The Comeback
“She’s having a hard time right now because you’re not what she expected. But we’re never what our parents expected. They have to learn that lesson.”― Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club
