Hate has no place at Helen Plum Library. Our organization stands with Asian American & Pacific Islander communities and condemns all acts of violence, hatred, and racism. We want to continue to feature inclusive titles, a project that began in earnest last summer, by sharing these recommendations focusing on the AAPI experience. We hope these suggested reads will continue to foster learning and empathy in our homes and our community.
Adult Reads
- We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang (305.8 CHANG)
- The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee (973.0495 LEE)
- Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong (305.895 HONG)
- The Leavers: A Novel by Lisa Ko (FICTION KO)
- The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (FICTION NGUYEN)
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (FICTION NG)
- The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (FICTION LAHIRI)
- Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao (FICTION RAO)
- All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung (BIOG CHUNG)
- Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu (FICTION SINDU)
- Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia (951.042 ZIA)
- Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America by Sharmila Sen (BIOG SEN)
- The Magical Language of Others: A Memoir by E.J. Koh (BIOG KOH)
- In the Absence of Sun: A Korean American Woman's Promise to Reunite Three Lost Generations of Her Family by Helie Lee (951.93 LEE)
- My Chinese-America: Essays by Allen Gee (973.04951 GEE)
Teen Reads
- American Panda by Gloria Chao
- The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
- Frankly in Love by David Yoon
- Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
- Parachutes by Kelly Yang
- Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung
- Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- Warcross by Marie Lu
Youth Reads
- Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
- The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang
- A Map into the World by Kao Kalia Yang
- Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho
- Home is in Between by Mitali Perkins
- Drawn Together by Minh Lê
- Bee-Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park
- Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade by Lyla Lee
For more recommendations, check out our Anti-Racism All Ages Recommended Reading from last summer:
Our librarians have curated a list of materials focused on creating a dialog on social justice and the BIPOC experience in America. Whether you are having a conversation with your family, colleagues, neighbors, or learning more on your own, we hope these selections will continue to foster learning.