Southeast Asia & Pacific Islander
Empress of a Thousand Skies
Author: Rhoda Belleza
Description: Empress of A Thousand Skies is a fantasy Science Fiction novel about a girl who is the only surviving heir to a dynasty. She has lost her family and now will claim her thrown and her revenge. The book is based on Filipino elements.
Includes: #filipino #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander #femaleprotagonist #fantasy #sciencefiction #magic
Citation: Belleza, R. (2017). Empress of a thousand skies. Razorbill.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
500 Words or Less
Author: Juleah Del Rosario
Description: 500 Words Or Less is a verse novel about a girl who is writing her college admissions essay for an Ivy League school. The author is Chamorro (an indigenous community from Guam) and Filipina.
Includes: #filipino #guam #indigenous #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander
Citation: Del Rosario, J. (2018). 500 words or less. Simon Pulse.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
In The Key of Nira Ghani
Author: Natasha Deen
Description: In the Key of Nira Ghani is about a Guyanese girl who has always dreamed of becoming a musician despite her parents’ dreams of her becoming a doctor or scientist. The story deals with the internal struggle of being a child growing up between two worlds, that of her parents and their cultural upbringing and that of the community and country she grew up in.
Includes: #guyanese #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander
Citation: Deen, N. (2019). In the key of Nira Ghani. Running Press Kids.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns
Author: Julie C. Dao
Description: Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns is a retelling of the evil queen story from Snow White. It is a dark read set in a fictional country and is based on Asian folklore.
Includes: #asianamerican #fantasy #magic #femaleprotagonist
Citation: Dao, J.C. (2017). Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns. Philomel Books.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
The Girl From Everywhere
Author: Heidi Heilig
Description: The Girl From Everywhere is the magical story of a biracial Chinese/Hawaiian girl who lives on a ship that can travel through space and time.
Includes: #asianamerican #biracial #alternativehistory #magic #fantasy #bipolar #mentalhealth #timetravel #femaleprotagonist
Citation: Heilig, H. (2016). The Girl From Everywhere. Greenwillow Books.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
The Ship Beyond Time
Author: Heidi Heilig
Description: The Ship Beyond Time is the sequel to The Girl From Everywhere. It is the magical story of a biracial Chinese/Hawaiian girl who lives on a ship that travels through space and time. In this sequel, however, the story alternates between the original protagonist’s point of view, and that of her male companion.
Includes: #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander #biracial #hawaiian #chinese #alternativehistory #magic #fantasy #bipolar #mentalhealth #timetravel #femaleprotagonist #maleprotagonist
Citation: Heilig, H. (2017). The Ship Beyond Time. Greenwillow Books.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
Fake It Till You Break It
Author: Jenn P. Nguyen
Description: Fake It Till You Break It is a contemporary young adult love story. It follows a Vietnames American girl and boy whose mothers are best friends and are convinced that they should be together. The two pretend to date to get their mothers off their backs, but will they actually fall in love?
Includes: #vietnamese #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander #contemporary #femaleprotagonist
Citation: Nguyen, J. P. (2019). Fake it till you break it. Swoon Reads.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
After the Shot Drops
Author: Randy Ribay
Description: After The Shot Drops is a contemporary sports novel about two boys who are navigating both what friendship means and what we owe to one another. The book is written by a Filipino American writer and alternates perspectives between a biracial Filipino and African American boy and an African American boy.
Includes: #asianamerican #filipino #africanamerican #black #contemporary #maleprotagonist #sports #class #biracial
Citation: Ribay, R. (2018). After The Shot Drops. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
Patron Saints of Nothing
Author: Randy Ribay
Description: Patron Saints of Nothing is a contemporary young adult novel about a Filipino American boy. After the death of his cousin because of the Philipinan president’s war on drugs, he travels to the Philippines to try to find out answers about his cousin’s death.
Includes: #filipino #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander #contemporary #maleprotagonist
Citation: Ribay, R. (2019). Patron saints of nothing. Kokila.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.
Telesa
Author: Lani Wendt Young
Description: Telesa is grounded contemporary fantasy novels based on Samoan folklore. It follows a girl who has to begins to realize that the cultural stories about guardian women that she always heard about, are actually true and she is destined to become one of them. She must decide between her legacy and the boy she loves. The story is part thriller, part love story.
Includes: #samoan #asianamerican #southeastasian #pacificislander #fantasy #lovestory #contemporary #femaleprotagonist
Citation: Wendt Young, L. (2012). Telesa. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Image retrieved from: Goodreads.