Contemporary Asian-American Fiction for Young Readers
Discover the best Contemporary Asian-American Fiction for young readers! Explore our curated list of engaging and diverse books that celebrate Asian-American voices and stories.
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Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo
by Greg Leitich Smith
Honoria, Shohei, and Elias, who are "united together against That Which Is The Peshtigo School," face conflict over their budding romantic interest and a science project gone awry.
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Honeysuckle House
by Andrea Cheng
From the author of "Marika" comes this story of alienation, longing, prejudice, and cultural differences. This immigrant tale of two ten-year-old girls blends tears and games, drama and play.
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Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time
by Lisa Yee
After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer-school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisy his academically demanding father.
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The Year of the Dog
by Grace Lin
Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.
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Mina's Spring of Colors
by Rachna Gilmore
Mina invites her classmates to her family's annual Holi spring party. But her excitement is dampened when her friends make fun of her newly immigrated grandfather.
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The Gold-Threaded Dress
by Carolyn Marsden
"A fine novel for early independent readers that conveys lots of information about Thailand and making friends." — New York Times Book Review In Thailand she was named Oy, but here in America the teachers call her Olivia. Other things are not so easy to change, however. When Oy draws a portrait of herself with brown hair and eyes as round as coins, her classmate Frankie makes fun of her and calls her Chinese. And the popular girl Liliandra barely speaks to her, until she learns that Oy has something very special: a Thai dancing dress from her grandmother, shimmering with pink silk and golden threads, that makes her look like a princess. Will Oy risk shaming her family to win Liliandra’s approval — and be part of the club she has envied from afar? With compassion and rare insight, Carolyn Marsden tells a simple tale about a young girl who searches for acceptance in a complex culture, while learning to treasure all that she is.
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Home is East
by Many Ly
After her mother moves out, a ten-year-old Cambodian American girl and her old-fashioned father leave their home in Florida to begin a new life in San Diego, experiencing turmoil and change as they slowly adjust to their new circumstances.
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The Amah
by Laurence Yep
But now she's living it. Amy feels like one of the evil stepsisters when her mother becomes an amah (a nanny) for Miss Stephanie. While her mother's at work, Amy has to watch her younger brothers and sisters. That means missing ballet practices, which jeopardizes Amy's role in the recital. And when Amy's mother is home she can't stop talking about how perfect Stephanie is-and how less than perfect Amy is. All Amy wants is for things to go back to the way they were before her father died, before her mother had to work. But maybe the solution to Amy's problems lies not in changing the circumstances of her life, but in changing herself. Book jacket.
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Blue Jasmine
by Kashmira Sheth
When twelve-year-old Seema Trivedi learns that she and her family must move from their small Indian town to Iowa City, she realizes she'll have to say good-bye to the purple-jeweled mango trees and sweet-smelling jasmine, to the monsoon rains and the bustling market. More important, she must leave behind her best friend and cousin, Raju. Everything is different in Iowa City, where Seema feels like an outsider to the language and traditions. As she begins to plant roots in the foreign soil, however, her confidence starts to bloom, and she learns she can build a bridge between two homes. With lyrical language and poignant scenes, Kashmira Sheth unearths the meaning of "home" and "family" in this tender debut novel. Kashmira Sheth's own experiences as a teenager who moved by herself from India to America inspired her to write this novel. She is a microbiologist and lives with her family in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Meow Means Mischief
by Ann Whitehead Nagda
A stray kitten turns out to be the perfect way to help Rana make friends in her new school and to feel more comfortable with her grandparents, who are visiting from India while her parents are away. A companion to DEAR WHISKERS.
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Tae's Sonata
by Haemi Balgassi
Tae, a Korean American eighth grader, tries to sort out her feelings when she is assigned a popular cute boy as a partner for a school report and later has a falling out with her best friend.
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Stella
by Lauren Lee
Hoping to be accepted by a popular seventh-grade clique, a Korean-American girl is embarrassed by her family's heritage--until a series of events gives her a better sense of who she is.
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Fresh Off the Boat
by Melissa de la Cruz
When her family emigrates from the Philippines to San Francisco, California, fourteen-year-old Vicenza Arambullo struggles to fit in at her exclusive, all-girl private school.
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The Tiger's Apprentice
by Laurence Yep
Tom Lee's life changes forever the day he meets a talking tiger named Mr. Hu, and discovers he is the latest in a long line of magical Guardians. From two–time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep comes the first book in an action–packed fantasy series that has recently been optioned for film by Miramax! Ages 10+
