From the Librarian's Desk
May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. Listed here are some book recommendations for learning more about the Asian-Pacific American experience in the United States.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Kimberly and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn, New York, in the early 1980s. While Kimberly works to learn English and thrive in school, her mother works to provide a meager living for the two of them. Themes perseverance, family, and coming-of-age make this a beautiful novel about the Chinese-American experience.
Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen
Nguyen's family escapes from Vietnam in 1975 and relocates to Michigan. The author explores themes of identity and the desire to assimilate into American culture through passages about American food.
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
Twelve-year-old Sumiko and her family are sent to relocation camps after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II. Based on the experiences of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, Kadohata explores life in the camps, the separation of families, and themes of loss and identity. Historical fiction, for young adults.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
Fadiman explores the intersection of Hmong and American cultures through the true story of a young child with epilepsy. While the Hmong parents and the American doctors try to do what they think is right for the young girl, tragedy lies in misunderstandings on both sides.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri's third book is a collection of eight short stories that explore the lives of Bengali families in the United States.
Bold Words: A Century of Asian American Writing by Rajini Srikanth
An anthology of Asian American writing from throughout the twentieth century. Includes memoir, fiction, poetry, and drama by Chinese, Filipino, South Asian, Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian American authors.
Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans by Ronald Takaki
A history of Asians in the United States, revised and updated. Based on primary sources.
