Book Recommendations // Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

I can’t believe May has passed us by so quickly, and yet, here we are! Today is the second to last day of May (June is at our doorstep already??), which is the perfect time to wrap up Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Following my book recommendations from last Wednesday, in which I focused on mental health and mental illnesses, this week, in honor of May being Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I want to shine the spotlight on Asian authors, and books with Asian representation.

Like many friends of mine in the book community who are of Asian descent, I never cease to get excited, whenever I hear of a book that has an Asian main character—or an Asian character, at all. (I’m not even including the requisite of it actually being a well-written Asian character, which is a topic for a different day & blog post.)

And while it’s an amazing feeling to be able to bond over and scream about seeing ourselves represented in books in regard to our racial identity—since it so rarely happens, that when it does, it’s a pretty valid reason for lots of screaming and excitement—it’s also, well, sad.

Sad, that it’s something to get so immensely excited about, because reading about Asian characters in books, and seeing Asian characters in movies, TV shows, and in the media in general, shouldn’t be a novelty.

So, even though I’m not Asian-American, but Asian-European, here’s my tribute to APAHM.

The Legend Series by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu

Prodigy by Marie Lu

Champion by Marie Lu

Before I read these books, I thought I’d had enough of the dystopian genre—but the Legend series is too amazing to be reduced to merely being a dystopian book series.

I honestly love each book in this series with my entire being, and just talking about them makes my heart burst with so many emotions. I ended up crying more than once, while I was reading Prodigy and Champion—which is a very, very big deal, because crying over books is not something that happens to me very often.

Marie Lu has also written a short story that is set after book #3, but I’ve yet to find out how and where I can actually buy it … if anyone knows anything, please let me know, I’d be so grateful!! 💓

The Young Elites Series by Marie Lu

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu

I’ve already mentioned The Young Elites series in my all-time favorites blog post, so I’ll keep myself short now; I never thought I could ever, ever love another book series as much as I do the Legend series, but … I do.

Angelfall (Angelfall #1) by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee

This is the book that took my disinterest in angels, and turned it into a burning passion. For some reason, or no reason at all, I never saw the appeal of reading about winged creatures—until I read Angelfall. But then again, the angels in this book aren’t particularly angelic.

Even though the trilogy’s conclusion was ultimately a letdown for me, the first installment is amazing enough for me to recommend it, despite a disappointing third book.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Warcross by Marie Lu

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Young Adult Contemporary

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

Young Adult Fantasy

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Forest of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao

Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

Classics & Adult Fiction

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Have you read any of these books, or are any of them on your TBR?
Do you pay attention to Asian representation in books?
What are some books with Asian characters/written by Asian authors that you love?

(& If you’re Asian as well, say Hi in the comments down below!! 💗)

xx, Lily