Library staff Brianna and Miranda gave recommendations for Asian American Pacific Islander Month on Instagram! Below is what they recommended. All titles can be found in our catalog, on Libby, or on Kanopy.
Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series by Gigi Pandian
In this series, we follow Professor Jaya Jones- a typical new professor at a University in California- who is balancing teaching, researching, and playing the tabla at a local restaurant. One day, Jaya receives a long-thought fabled ruby from her recently- and mysteriously- dead ex-boyfriend. Figuring out the mystery of the ruby and her ex’s death takes her around the world. She meets the mysterious and handsome Lane Peters who turns out to be a world-renowned art thief- don’t worry, he left that life behind or did he- that helps her along the way. This is such a fun series with six books that you can fly through and still want more. The cast of characters is so endearing. There is Jaya’s golden retriever, magician, best friend, Sanjay aka The Hindi Houdini. Sanjay also makes an appearance in another of Gigi Pandian’s series, connecting the worlds. There is Tamarind, the coolest fictional librarian (maybe.) We have Jaya’s slightly surly, and overprotective land lady, the academic rival who isn’t as bad as he seems, and the weird by harmless poet who is obsessed with Jaya.
The mysteries Jaya uncovers have lots of creative licenses taken but are not the super famous cases and things that Indiana Jones chases after. Many of the cases connect to Jaya’s Indian American heritage. Again- lots of creative license is taken in her adventures.
This series is available on audio through Libby and Miranda highly recommends if you love a fun adventure that will get your heart pumping but isn’t too intense or scary.
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
Vuong’s second poetry collection explores the aftermath of his mother’s death. Going back and forth between earlier memories of his mother and more recent experiences as Vuong cared for her at the end of her life, Time is a Mother carries universal themes. While Vuong and his mother did not often see eye to eye, this tender book offers a glimpse at how relationships can shift towards the end of someone’s life and how grief and resilience manifest once a loved one is gone.
In the background of all of Vuong’s writing is the fact that his mother was a Vietnamese refugee. While Brianna does not usually gravitate towards poetry, she did enjoy spending time with Vuong’s work. There’s both a relatability to his writing and a poignant glimpse at a new perspective. Brianna often found herself struck by particular turns of phrase Vuong employed. She recommends this book for anyone interested in engaging with poetry but feels unsure where to start.
Painted Nails: A Vietnamese Salon Worker Fights for Safe Cosmetics
Companion documentary to Time is a Mother
The subject of this documentary, available on Kanopy, is the health of nail salon workers and the hazards of their profession. Vietnamese nail salon owner Van Hoang owns her business with her husband. Through her eyes, we see the heart and dedication behind many nail salons in the United States of America. Van testified before Congress and the EPA, advocating the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act.
Brianna learned a lot about a popular industry, thanks to this documentary! At just under an hour, this is a quick watch but the message stays with the viewer. Vietnamese immigrants comprise a significant percentage of nail salon staff but the environment that they spend their shifts in– often from sunrise to long past sunset– is linked to a variety of serious ailments. Vuong’s own mother worked in a nail salon and eventually died from illness that can linked directly to the years she spent breathing in and surrounded by the toxic chemicals of her profession.
To Have and To Heist by Sara Desai
Simi Chopra is a true ride or die. She is the friend you want when things go awry. When her best friend, Chloe, is set up to take the fall for a museum theft, Simi doesn’t hesitate to come to her rescue. When the mysterious Jack offers her a solution- find and re-steal the multi-million-dollar necklace to prove Chloe didn’t steal it- Simi reluctantly agrees. But to pull off this heist, they are going to need a crew. Jack and Simi pull together a rag tag group of (mostly) not criminals to steal the necklace from the head of the Chicago branch of The Mob, all while planning a lavish wedding. Somehow Simi was able to do the seemingly impossible task of procuring an elephant for the ceremony. The wedding being the cover for the heist. This heist goes wrong at nearly every turn in the funniest ways. The crew is made up of (mostly) not criminals. The crew is one of Miranda’s favorite found families in fiction.
If you love romystery, noncriminals trying to commit crimes, and funny books, Miranda highly recommends. This is an adult book and recommended for adults. It is available digitally and physically from the library.
Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee
This YA romance is an enemies-to-lovers tale between Theo and Gabi. Theo is looking forward to leaving his small town and heading to college but until then, he spends a lot of time working at his parents’ Asian American café. Gabi, meanwhile, is stuck playing soccer to conceal the fact that he’d rather be doing something that actually interests him– namely dancing. Miserably stuck in the closet, things are even worse for Gabi since Theo, the only out guy at school, can’t stand him. The only real solace Gabi has is working at his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery. However, when a trendy new fusion café opens in town and threatens both Theo and Gabi’s parents’ businesses, they become unlikely allies. From there, an unwitting friendship develops between the two boys, and the romance naturally takes off from there.
This is a cute, fun YA romance! Brianna really enjoyed the author’s writing style and humor and found the enemies-to-lovers trope done well in this book. She’d recommend this book for anyone looking for a breezy read this summer!
My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon
Hana Yang Lerner is a fixer at her elite Washington D.C. private school- think Olivia Pope for high schoolers. She just can’t seem to fix her own life. This YA thriller follows Hanna two years after the Catastrophic Event that upended her life.
We follow Hana’s POV as she is given a case to “fix” by a person only going by the name Three. As she uncovers the case, we learn about the Catastrophic Event- her senator father hit and ran a woman, leaving her paralyzed. He lost his senate seat, and the family lost their way of life. Hana’s friends abandoned her and she becomes a social pariah. Three’s case leads to an investigation that uncovers a crazy cheating scandal- rich kids hiring body doubles to take the SATs, write essays, and help them get into college. It also forces Hana to face the truth: it was her driving that night, and her father took the fall and has actually been in jail this whole time. Hana is revealed to be an unreliable narrator until she is finally able to face the truth. In her investigation, she partnered with her childhood best friend, James, who broke the cheating scandal in the school paper. With Three’s pushing and James’s encouragement, Hana is able to come to terms with what she did and make amends.
While this is a YA thriller, it can be enjoyed by both teens and adults and is available on Libby and physically from the library.
Finding Kukan: Uncovering the Story of An Asian-American Female Producer from the 1940’s
This documentary tells the story of Chinese American Li Ling-Ai during WWII and her quest to improve America’s perception of China in the aftermath of Japan’s invasion. Kukan was the first ever American feature documentary to receive and Academy Award in 1942 and was considered lost for decades. As filmmaker Robin Lung discovers a badly damaged copy, she unearths the untold story of Li.
Brianna chose this documentary because she didn’t know as much about Chinese Americans’ perspective during WWII as Japanese Americans’ and because Li Ling-Ai’s accomplishments are extraordinary! This film does a wonderful job providing context for Li and Kukan. Brianna particularly liked the pieces of interview shown with Li when she was in her eighties!
Read Dangerously: The Subversive Plot Power of Literature in Troubled Times by Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi is an Iranian American writer and professor. In Read Dangerously, she writes five letters to her late father discussing how certain books she’s read act as an almost guiding light/beacon/road map of how to navigate troubling times. This book looks at literature’s impact on a person from macro-level influences. Miranda really appreciated this perspective, and it made her reflect on times when books helped her navigate situations on a more micro level. If you want a nontraditional way of navigating difficult times- whether personal, professional, or on a larger scale, this book is for you.
Wish Upon a K-Star by Kat Cho
Another YA romance! This one is set in Seoul, South Korea particularly the K-pop industry. We have Hyeri, a singer-turned-actress who is facing rumors that threaten to ruin her career. On the other side is Minseok– a member of one of the world’s most popular boy groups– who is also facing his own career jeopardization. Minseok and Hyeri can’t stand each other but after they work together for a television program and fans react to their outstanding chemistry, the two find themselves appearing on one of Korea’s most popular variety shows, Our Celebrity Marriage, where celebrities pretend to get married and compete in newlywed challenges. From there, these two childhood enemies are forced to form an uneasy alliance to protect both their careers. As a Kpop fan, it was clear to Brianna that Cho is familiar with the industry, and she appreciated all the easter eggs that fans will notice! Both Hyeri and Minseok are characters that the reader will find themselves rooting for and while this is also an enemies-to-lovers story like Café Con Lychee. The stakes are higher in this book and Brianna loved seeing the trope used in a different way.
The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee by Ellen Oh
Mina Lee is starting her Senior Year of high school, which of course comes with college applications. Mina wants to apply to art schools, but her father wants her to go a more practical route. Mina’s web comic that she wants to include in her portfolio is falling flat and at the encouraging of her friends, she revamps it. It starts to pick up and she is sucked into the world she created. She meets her characters and must work through the plot she created. When things are not as they seem, she realizes her web comic is really an alternate universe where her childhood best friend, Jin, didn’t die. She unconsciously wrote Jin as a character and Jin remembers everything Mina does up until their timeline’s diverged. Mina must save everyone in the webcomic to return to her world.
This is a YA book but can be enjoyed by adults as well.
Asian Americans
This five- episode docuseries explores the history of Asian Americans. Moving chronologically, each episode is a specific time period– from the start of immigration in the 19th century to the model minority myth that was popularized during the Cold War and beyond.
Presented by PBS, this docuseries is comprehensive yet easy to follow. While Brianna often recommends standalone documentaries, having access to a series that explores a given topic in-depth is a treat! Especially since Asian Americans are integral to this country’s history. Brianna encourages anyone who is interested in learning more about this community to dive into this series.
Best Offer Wins by Maris Kashino
This thriller is an absolutely crazy ride. Margo is tired of house hunting so when she gets a tip on the perfect house, she stops at nothing to get it. Miranda read this book in a day because she couldn’t put it down.
Margo hears about the perfect house. First, she convinces her husband to do a drive by- innocent enough. Until she breaks into the backyard for a better look. When one of the owners catches her, she just pretends she was on a run. But THEN she shows up at his yoga class after some intense stalking. She pretends she’s interested in adoption (because him and his husband have an adopted daughter) to get closer. When at dinner, it slips that Margo had been stalking the couple, they kick them out and Margo is furious. She crashes out worse than Regina George. She tracks down a former student of one of the husbands to blackmail him into selling her the house. One thing leads to another, and she winds up committing a couple murders. Margo’s actions grow more and more unhinged that murder is not even a surprise. Because this book is so new, Miranda won’t spoil it further than that.
This book is crazy and absolutely hilarious. Margo is unhinged but not an unreliable narrator. She is telling you exactly what she is doing, she just does not see anything wrong with her actions. Miranda highly recommends this book.
Boys Don’t Fry by Kimberly Lee and illustrated by Charlene Chua
This children’s picture book tells the heartwarming story of Jin. It’s the Lunar New Year and all of Jin’s aunties are over, cooking up a feast for everyone! The thing is, Jin wants to help them in the kitchen but his female cousins are asked to help instead. His aunts give reasons why he doesn’t really want to help, but Jin knows the truth. He would thrive in the kitchen, if only given the chance, a chance he gets when his grandmother hears him and guides him to her side to help. By the end of the day, Jin is happy and all of his relatives are proud and happy for him, too!
This picture book is cute, tells an important story, and Jin is adorable in his efforts to show all the adults around him what his passion is! This book includes a recipe, more information on Jin’s community, and drawings of ingredients mentioned in the book that might be unfamiliar to western readers.
