Discover the best books about Asian American identity to understand their unique experiences.
The Asian American experience in literature offers themes of immigration, racism and discrimination, generational trauma, biracial experience, assimilation, and intergenerational conflict.
You’ll find my favorite books on these themes in various genres from young adult to mystery, suspense, comedy, romance, historical fiction, and literary fiction for Asian American History Month (May) and beyond. Let’s get literary!
Best Asian American Books (Own Voices)
TOP PICKS
The best books about Asian Americans include these popular bestsellers: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, a memoir about generational differences; Little Fires Everywhere, historical fiction about diverse biological motherhood; and Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, a thriller about theft of an AAPI story.
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Popular Fiction Novels
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (historical fiction)
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (contemporary romance)
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (historical fiction)
- Real Americans by Rachel Khong (literary fiction)
- Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok (mystery)
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (young adult)
- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (thriller)
Insightful Non-Fiction Books
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (memoir)
- Dear Girls by Ali Wong (comedy)
- Know My Name by Chanel Miller (memoir)
My Reviews of Diverse AAPI Books to Read
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Crying in H Mart is the emotional memoir of the indie rockstar in the band Japanese Breakfast about growing up Korean American, grieving her mother’s death, and forging her own identity.
She openly talks, with no reservations, about growing up as one of the few Asian American kids at her school and struggling with her mother’s high expectations of her. Family is complicated, and she’s not afraid to admit any of their flaws, including hers.
As she grew up and her Koreanness began to feel more distant, her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. While coping with her mother’s illness and death, she faced her identity with a new appreciation for the culture her mother gave her.
It’s an unforgettable portrait of grief and self-reflection that leaves nothing off the table and keeps the mother’s memory alive in rich anecdotes and life lessons.
Dear Girls by Ali Wong
In Dear Girls, comedian Ali Wong writes letters to her daughters about everything from how to be a working mom in a male-dominated profession to how to live as an Asian American woman.
While heartfelt and humorous, they are also shockingly open and raw. They also touch upon the AAPI experience in unique ways.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Joy Luck Club is the haunting character-driven story of four Asian American mothers, their daughters, and their stories.
It started in 1949 when four Chinese women, each of whom was a recent immigrant to San Francisco, began to meet, sharing their collective tragedies and hopes.
Their backstories intertwine in the present in the lives of their four daughters in ways that are both heartfelt and heartbreaking. This book is a tour de force that packs a lot of power. It’s one I still think about years later.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
The Kiss Quotient is a modern rom-com with a unique heroine — a female economist on the spectrum. To “practice” dating, she hires a Vietnamese male escort.
Things get both romantic and very physical in this steamy love story that offers diverse representation.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Know My Name is the memoir of the Stanford sexual assault victim, whose victim impact statement at her assailant’s sentencing went viral.
Know My Name doesn’t just name the victim — it offers the most profound insights into her heart and mind, including her AAPI experience. It’s one of the most thought-provoking non-fiction books I’ve ever read. She makes you question everything you thought you knew about sexual assault. It’s especially impactful in her own voice, as an audiobook memoir.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Little Fires Everywhere by author Celeste Ng is full of a cast of women who are all experiencing motherhood differently and making different decisions for their children, including a Chinese American woman. This occurs as their lives interconnect in a suburban American neighborhood in the 1990s.
This is one of the most powerful book about motherhood and the AAPI experience I’ve read. The themes of class and race are portrayed so thoughtfully in each mother’s story. It makes you think about what it means to be a mother.
Related Posts: Little Fires Everywhere Discussion Questions
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Real Americans begins during Y2K in New York City when a young, unpaid intern named Lily falls in love with Matthew, the heir to a pharmaceutical empire.
Fast-forward to 2021, when Lily’s 15-year-old son Nick feels out of place and sets out to find his biological father. However, this raises questions rather than answers, as Nick’s family is more intertwined with Lily than ever expected. It’s complicated.
Told in three parts, this leads to the story of Lily’s immigrant mother, who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution, and what led them all to this convoluted place and time in each other’s lives. What’s better than one messy family?! Two.
This propulsive novel ultimately explores the question of destiny and free will through a very scientific lens. And, it does so amidst the backdrop of the American Dream, touching upon issues of class, race, and family.
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
Searching for Sylvie Lee is both poignant and suspenseful, unraveling the mystery — and secrets — of the missing eldest daughter of a Chinese immigrant family.
Sylvie had traveled to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother, and then vanished. A distant relative had raised Sylvie and didn’t rejoin her poor family in America until age 9. Her naive younger sister Amy is determined to figure out what happened to Sylvie and, in the process, she learns difficult secrets about their family.
It’s both a suspenseful page-turner and a gripping family drama simultaneously, with culture woven throughout. It blew me away!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is among my favorite young adult books and love stories. Charming Asian American teen Lara Jean wrote a stack of love letters for all five boys she loved. When her precocious younger sister mails them out, all the drama of teenage love ensues.
Lara Jean is the most lovable of characters, drawing upon her Asian culture in dealing with the death of her mother, as she navigates high school relationships.
Reading Tip: If you already read and loved this book series, then check out Han’s popular The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Yellowface takes the typical modern thriller and pushes it to the next level. As the suspense builds, it goes beyond gratuitous crime and tackles topics like AAPI diversity through the lens of copyright infringement.
Yellowface is about a struggling (non-AAPI) writer who adapts the work of her successful author friend, an AAPI woman, after her unexpected death. It weaves in thought-provoking themes about who owns a cultural story, as it also gives you a behind-the-scenes look at book publishing and internet scandals.
It’s a book that makes you think about diverse storytelling in different ways. I couldn’t put it down.
Recap
The best books about Asian American identity allow you to step in another person’s shoes and learn about common themes of assimilation, racism, heritage, and more.
START HERE
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
