Children's books by or about Asian Americans: Young adult
This guide lists children's books and young adult literature in Cubberley Education Library by or about Asian Americans.
Young adult
And break the pretty kings by Lena Jeong
Publication Date: 2023Ages 13 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Inspired by Korean history and myths, the first book in the Sacred Bone series is a rich and evocative high-stakes fantasy. Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear.
2022
An arrow to the moon by Emily X. R. Pan
Publication Date: 2022Ages 14 and up, Gr. 9 and up.
Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He's sick of being haunted by his family's past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.Café con lychee by Emery Lee
Publication Date: 2022Ages 13 and up; Gr.8 and up.
Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses--an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery--and Gabi's lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count. Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his family's shop as his future. Stuck under the weight of his parents' expectations, Theo's best shot at leaving Vermont means first ensuring his parents' livelihood is secure. So when a new fusion café threatens both shops, Theo and Gabi realize an unfortunate truth--they can only achieve their goals by working together to cook up an underground snack operation and win back their customers.This place Is still beautiful by Xixi Tian
Publication Date: 2022Ages 13 and up; Gr.9 and up.
A sweeping debut novel about first love, complicated family dynamics, and the pernicious legacy of racism. The Flanagan sisters are as different as they come. Seventeen-year-old Annalie is bubbly, sweet, and self-conscious, whereas nineteen-year-old Margaret is sharp and assertive. Margaret looks just like their mother, while Annalie passes for white and looks like the father who abandoned them years ago, leaving their Chinese immigrant mama to raise the girls alone in their small, predominantly white Midwestern town. When their house is vandalized with a shocking racial slur, Margaret rushes home from her summer internship in New York City. As the sisters navigate this unexpected summer, an explosive secret threatens to break apart their relationship, once and for all.A thousand steps into night by Traci Chee
Publication Date: 2022Ages 12 and up; Gr.8 and up.
When a girl who's never longed for adventure is hit with a curse that begins to transform her into a demon, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life, but along the way is forced to confront her true power within.
2021
Counting down with you by Tashie Bhuiyan
Publication Date: 2021Ages 13 and up; Gr.8 and up.
In this sparkling and romantic YA debut, a reserved Bangladeshi teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her school's resident bad boy.From a whisper to a rallying cry: the killing of Vincent Chin and the trial that galvanized the Asian American movement by Paula Yoo
Publication Date: 2021Ages 13 and up; Gr.8 and up; National book award longlist, 2021.
America in 1982: Japanese car companies are on the rise and believed to be putting U.S. autoworkers out of their jobs. Anti-Asian American sentiment simmers, especially in Detroit. A bar fight turns fatal, leaving a Chinese American man, Vincent Chin, beaten to death at the hands of two white men, autoworker Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz. Paula Yoo has crafted a searing examination of the killing and the trial and verdicts that followed. When Ebens and Nitz pled guilty to manslaughter and received only a $3,000 fine and three years' probation, the lenient sentence sparked outrage.Himawari house by Harmony Becker
Publication Date: 2021Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up; winner Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Fiction Literature 2023.
A young adult graphic novel about three foreign exchange students and the pleasures, and difficulties, of adjusting to living in Japan.Last night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Publication Date: 2021Lexile measurement 900L; Ages 14-20.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root--that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.The ones we're meant to find by Joan He
Publication Date: 2021Ages 12-17; Gr.10-12.
The Ones We're Meant to Find is a gripping and heartfelt YA sci-fi with mind-blowing twists. Set in a climate-ravaged future, Joan He's beautifully written novel follows the story of two sisters, separated by an ocean, desperately trying to find each other. Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it's up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her.Tokyo ever after by Emiko Jean
Publication Date: 2021Ages 12 and up; Gr.8 and up.
Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After is the story of an ordinary Japanese American girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.When we were infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Publication Date: 2021Lexile measure 910; Ages 13 and up; Gr.9 and up.
All Beth wants is for her tight-knit circle of friends--Grace Nakamura, Brandon Lin, Sunny Chen, and Jason Tsou--to stay together. With her family splintered and her future a question mark, these friends are all she has--even if she sometimes wonders if she truly fits in with them. Besides, she's certain she'll never be able to tell Jason how she really feels about him, so friendship will have to be enough. Then Beth witnesses a private act of violence in Jason's home, and the whole group is shaken.
2020
Dragon hoops by Gene Luen Yang
Publication Date: 2020Lexile measure HL550L; Ages 14-18; Gr.8 and up.
In his latest graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches. Gene understands stories--comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn't get sports. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about.This light between us: a novel of World War II by Andrew Fukuda
Publication Date: 2020Ages 11-18.
This Light Between Us is a powerfully affecting story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals--a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl--as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war.
2019
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhà Lai
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3612 .A465 B88 2019Ages 12 and up; Gr.9 and up.
A Vietnam War refugee in Texas partners with a city boy with rodeo dreams to track down the younger brother she was separated from six years before when he was evacuated by American troops during the waning days of the Vietnam War.The Girl King by Mimi Yu
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3625 .U163 G57 2019Ages 12 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Sisters Lu and Min have always known their places as the princesses of the Empire of the First Flame: assertive Lu will be named her father's heir and become the dynasty's first female ruler, while timid Min will lead a quiet life in Lu's shadow. Until their father names their male cousin Set his heir instead, sending ripples through the realm and throwing both girls' lives into utter chaos.Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3618 .I233 P38 2019Ages 14 and up; Gr.10 and up.
Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3619 .U377 T45 2019Gr.9 and up
Katsuyamas never quit--but seventeen-year-old CJ doesn't even know where to start. She's never lived up to her mom's type A ambition, and she's perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family's flower shop. She doesn't buy into Hannah's romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had.
2018
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3616 .A3577 A88 2018Lexile measure HL670L; Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up; Asian/Pacific American award for literature Award Honor, 2019.
When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird.Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3604 .A6 K56 2018Gr.9 and up.
Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as Empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn't want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the Empress and set the world right.Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3601 .H5822 L68 2018Lexile measure HL660L; Ages 14 and up: Gr.9 and up.
17-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There's the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: a good school, an arranged marriage. And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school, living in New York City, pursuing the boy she's liked for ages.Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3607 .I423235 P53 2018Lexile measure 890; Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Danny Cheng has always known his parents have secrets. But when he discovers a taped-up box in his father's closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realises there's much more to his family's past than he ever imagined.Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3611 .A339 S48 2018Gr. 9 and up.
One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish--and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3607 .O56267 W39 2018Lexile measure HL670L; Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the Honeycut, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad.
2017
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3604 .A6 F67 2017Gr.10 and up.
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future.It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3619 .U375 I87 2017Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up, Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, 2018 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2018 Rainbow Book List. This charming and bittersweet coming-of-age story featuring two girls of color falling in love.The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3611 .H665 L53 2017Lexile measure HL720L; Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up
No one is entirely certain what brings the Emperor Sikander to Shalingar. Until now, the idyllic kingdom has been immune to his many violent conquests. To keep the visit friendly, Princess Amrita has offered herself as his bride, sacrificing everything-family, her childhood love, and her freedom-to save her people. But her offer isn't enough.The Takedown by Corrie Wang
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3623 .A4566 T35 2017Lexile measure HL740L; Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Kyla Cheng doesn't expect you to like her. For the record, she doesn't need you to. On track to be valedictorian, she's president of her community club, a debate team champ, plus the yummy Mackenzie Rodriguez has firmly attached himself to her hip. She and her three high-powered best friends don't just own their senior year at their exclusive Park Slope, Brooklyn high school, they practically define the hated species Popular.You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3566 .E6914832 Y68 2017Lexile measure HL720L; Ages 12 and up; Gr.9 and up.
This elegant young adult novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse.
2011-2016
Nora and Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PR9619.4 .T388 N67 2015Gr.9 and up.
Set in 1953, NORA AND KETTLE explores the collision of two teenagers facing extraordinary adversity. Kettle, an orphaned Japanese American, is struggling to make a life in the aftermath of an event in history not often referred to: the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the removal of children from orphanages for having "one drop of Japanese blood in them." Nora, the daughter of a civil rights lawyer who is building a compensation case for the interned Japanese Americans, is barely surviving her violent home and dreams of a life outside of the brownstone walls.The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang; Sonny Liew (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6728 .S4565 Y36 2014Lexile measure GN420L; Ages 12 and up; Gr.8-12.
In the comics boom of the 1940s, a legend was born: the Green Turtle. He solved crimes and fought injustice just like the other comics characters. But this mysterious masked crusader was hiding something more than your run-of-the-mill secret identity... The Green Turtle was the first Asian American super hero.Strike! : the farm workers' fight for their rights by Larry Dane Brimner
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » HD5325 .A29 B75 2014Ages 12-18; Gr.9-12.
A history of César Chávez and the farm workers movement.
2001-2010
Everything Asian by Sung J. Woo
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3623 .O6225 E94 2009You're twelve years old. A month has passed since your Korean Air flight landed at lovely Newark Airport. Your fifteen-year-old sister is miserable. Your mother isn't exactly happy, either. You're seeing your father for the first time in five years, and although he's nice enough, he might be, well--how can you put this delicately?--a loser.Wait for Me by An Na
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3614 .A16 W35 2006Lexile measure 670; ages 12-18; book level 4.3; gr. 8-11.
Mina is the perfect daughter. Bound for Harvard, she's Honor Society president and a straight-A student, even as she works at her family's dry-cleaning store and helps care for her hearing impaired little sister. On the outside, Mina does everything right. On the inside, Mina knows the truth. Her life is a lie. Then, the summer before her senior year, Mina meets someone to whom she cannot lie.Motherland by Vineeta Vijayaraghavan
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3572 .I345 M68 2001Lexile measure 980; ages 11-up; book level 6, gr. 9-12.
Born in Kerala, Maya spent the first four years of her life there, cared for mainly by her grandmother, Ammamma, until she was sent to live with her parents in New York. At 15, with her parents' marriage undergoing a rough patch, she is sent back to India to stay with her Aunt Reema and Uncle Sanjay, their 10-year-old daughter, Brindha, and Ammamma at their house in the tea hills above Coimbatore.
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