Even More Contemporary Asian-American Fiction for Young Readers
Discover top contemporary Asian-American fiction books for young readers! Explore our curated list of engaging stories that celebrate diverse voices and modern experiences.
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Ask Me No Questions
by Marina Budhos
A Muslim immigrant teen struggles to hold her family together in the wake of 9/11 in this poignant novel from acclaimed author Marina Budhos. You forget. You forget you don’t really exist here, that this isn’t your home. Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal US citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous, a suspected terrorist. When Nadira’s father is arrested and detained at the US-Canada border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are told to carry on as if everything is the same. The teachers at Flushing High don’t ask any questions, but Aisha falls apart. Nothing matters to her anymore—not even college. It’s up to Nadira to be the strong one and bring her family back together again.
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Shine, Coconut Moon
by Neesha Meminger
Samar is an Indian-American teenager whose mother has kept her away from her old-fashioned family. It's never been a problem for Sam, until after 9/11. A man in a turban shows up at Sam's house and turns out to be her uncle, who wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage.
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Paper Daughter
by Jeanette Ingold
Past and present collide in a Chinese-American teen's search for identity amid family secrets.
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Roots and Wings
by Many Ly
After traveling back to Cambodia from Pennsylvania to bury her grandmother in a traditional ceremony, Grace takes the time to learn about her father, the reasons for the family's move from their native land, and the rich culture of a people of whom she is one.
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1001 Cranes
by Naomi Hirahara
“A contemplative story.”—Booklist When twelve-year-old Angela Kato arrives in L.A., the last thing she wants to do is spend the entire summer with her grandparents. But in the Kato family, one is never permitted to complain. Grandma Michi and Aunt Janet put Angela to work in their flower shop, folding origami and creating 1001-crane displays for newlyweds. At first, Angela learns the trade begrudgingly. But when her folding skills improve and her relationships with family and friends grow, Angela is able to cope with her troubles, especially her parents’ impending divorce. “A wonderfully engaging and poignant novel about a revered Japanese American custom that transforms the life of a lost young girl.”—Cynthia Kadohata, Newbery Award–winning author of Kira-Kira
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Outside Beauty
by Cynthia Kadohata
"My mother had four daughters by four different men." There's only one way Shelby and her sisters can describe their mother: She's a sexpot. Helen Kimura collects men (and loans, spending money, and gifts of all kinds) from all over the country. Sure, she's not your typical role model, but she's also not just a pretty face and nail polish. She is confident and brave; she lives life on her own terms, and her four daughters simply adore her. These girls have been raised outside the traditional boundaries. They know how to take the back exit. They know how to dodge crazed lovers in highway car chases. They do not, however, know how to function without one another. Then suddenly they must. A late-night phone call unexpectedly shreds the family apart, catapulting the girls across the country to live with their respective fathers. But these strong-willed sisters are, like their mother, determined to live life on their own terms, and what they do to pull their family back together is nothing short of beautiful. At turns wickedly funny and insistently thought-provoking, Outside Beauty showcases Cynthia Kadohata's unerring ability to explore the bonds that bind.
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Paris Pan Takes the Dare
by Cynthea Liu
Friendless because of her family's frequent moves, twelve-year-old Chinese American Paris Pan wants very much to fit in with the seemingly friendly girls in her new school, even if it means taking a dare to spend the night in a spooky woods, reputedly haunted by the ghost of a girl who died there years ago.
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Fly on the Wall
by E. Lockhart
"I think this might be the best YA novel . . . I've ever read." —John Green From E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars—the New York Times bestselling phenomenon—and the uproarious and heartwarming Ruby Oliver books, comes a fast-paced and hysterically funny novel that answers the question: What would it be like to be a fly on the wall in the boy's locker room? At the Manhattan School for Art and Music, where everyone is “different” and everyone is “special,” Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. She’s the kind of girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of Spider-Man, so she won’t have to talk to anyone; who has a crush on Titus but won’t do anything about it; who has no one to hang out with when her best (and only real) friend Katya is busy. One day, Gretchen wishes that she could be a fly on the wall in the boys’ locker room–just to learn more about guys. What are they really like? What do they really talk about? Are they really cretins most of the time? Fly on the Wall is the story of how that wish comes true.
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Celebrity Skin
by Liane Bonin
Two high school students, one a major television star and the other under constant academic pressure from her Korean-born parents, remain best friends in spite of loss, love, and the spotlight. Original.
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The Book of the Sword
by Carrie Asai
When I was six months old, I dropped from the sky -- the lone survivor of a deadly Japanese plane crash. The newspapers called me Heaven. I was adopted by a wealthy family in Tokyo, pampered, and protected. For nineteen years, I thought I was lucky. I'm learning how wrong I was. They say your life begins on your wedding day. Here's what happened on mine: I lost the person I love most. I learned that everything I knew about my family was a lie. Now I'm being hunted. I must fight back, or die. My life ended that day. The old Heaven is gone. I AM SAMURAI GIRL.
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Everlost
by Neal Shusterman
When Nick and Allie are killed in a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls, where although Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing--even skinjacking--to break free.
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Alvin Ho
by Lenore Look
A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything. Includes Alvin Ho's woeful glossary.
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Calvin Coconut
by Graham Salisbury
Nine-year-old. Calvin catches the attention of the school bully on the day before he starts fourth grade, while at home, the unfriendly, fifteen-year-old daughter of his mother's best friend has taken over his room.
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Minn and Jake's Almost Terrible Summer
by Janet S. Wong
There are a few things / about your best friend that you can only learn / when you see where he's from. Minn knew / that Jake was from the city. But she didn't know / that his grandmother was Korean. That he liked taking bubble baths. / That his brother, Soup, might be an eating champion. / That Jake was a cheater, and that he had a . . . / girlfriend?! There are some things / about your best friend that it's better not / to know. Bouncing free verse and playful black-and-white illustrations combine to make this a charming follow-up to Minn and Jake. Minn and Jake's Almost Terrible Summer is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
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Operation Redwood
by S. Terrell French
Clandestine e-mail exchanges, secret trips, fake press releases, and a tree-house standoff are among the clever stunts and pranks the kid heroes pull off in this exciting ecological adventure. "Sibley Carter is a moron and a world-class jerk!" When Julian Carter-Li intercepts an angry e-mail message meant for his high-powered uncle, it sets him on the course to stop an environmental crime! His uncle's company plans to cut down some of the oldest and last California redwood trees, and its up to Julian, and a ragtag group of friends, to figure out a way to stop them. This action-packed debut novel shows the power of determined individuals, no matter what their age, to stand up to environmental wrongdoing. F&P level: U
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Noodle Pie
by Ruth Starke
Meeting relatives for the first time isn't easy. Right from the start, Andy can tell this visit to Vietnam with his dad - a former refugee returning for the first time - is going to be a trip like no other! Talk about culture shock! Everyone calls him by his Vietnamese name instead of Andy, and he is stunned to discover the family restaurant is nothing like what he expected. Somehow though, Andy helps his Vietnamese family and his dad come to see things in a whole new way.
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The Moon Over Crete
by Jyotsna Sreenivasan
Eleven-year-old Lily travels back in time 3,500 years to ancient Crete, where women and men were equal.
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Daughter of Light
by Pam Walker
On her fourteenth birthday, Cassidy Chen receives five ancient and mysterious Chinese coins, which introduce her to the supernatural world known to her Chinese and Irish ancestors and which lead her to accept her destiny as a warrior princess.
