Greetings, and Happy Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!
In the month of May, we recognize the many generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have dedicated their lives and contributed to the success of America’s history, present, and future. These witnesses and descendants bring in enriching stories that enlighten all moments in history.
May is a special month to recognize their contributions to the voice of history that continues to shape cultures and communities in today’s time.
The titles listed below highlight Asian Americans’ and/or Pacific Islanders’ stories.
Click on the title to request from the library catalog.
A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
“A story of family identity and belonging follows an Indian family through the marriage of their daughter, from the parents' arrival in the United States to the return of their estranged son.” (From the DCL Catalog)
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
“Follows a Viet Cong agent as he spies on a South Vietnamese army general and his compatriots as they start a new life in 1975 Los Angeles.”
(From the DCL Catalog)
Malaya: Essays on Freedom by Cinelle Barnes
This collection of essays follows Cinelle Barnes, a Filipina immigrant who moves to America and has to survive with little opportunity. She grows up as an undocumented teenager in New York, marries a southern White man, and has to navigate and learn about this new phase of her life. These stories showcase Barnes’ journey to finding her identity as it unfolds race, class, identity, womanhood, and what it means to be an American.
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui
Bui explores the identity and experiences of being a young Vietnamese immigrant after the fall of South Vietnam in the late 1970s. She also walks readers through her family’s transition to the United States and the effects of immigration on a family whose lives have been torn apart.
I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib; coloring by Toby Leigh
I Was Their American Dream is a graphic memoir that explores the immigrant experience of Malaka Gharib and the ideas of freedom, dreaming, cultural values, and identity. Readers will get to see Gharib’s immigrant family as they transition to life in America and strive to reach the American dream.
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong explores the Asian American identity through compiling essays of her own racial identity experiences from a family of Korean immigrants. Why are well-performing Asian American professionals still economically divided in this nation? What really is the truth behind the Asian American identity?
No One Can Pronounce My Name by Rakesh Satyal
No One Can Pronounce My Name is about two individuals in a Cleveland suburb and their identities as Indian American immigrants. Each comes with their own burdens and stories and when their paths cross, they develop a friendship that speaks truth to their passions, fears, and identities.
America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
This story explores three generations of a Filipino-American family as they uncover family histories, face cultural clashes, transition to new lifestyles, and discover what it truly means to reach the American dream.
Staring Down the Tiger: Stories of Hmong American Women edited by Pa Der Vang
“Hmong American women reclaim the phrase tsov tom or "tiger bite," showing in prose and poetry that they are strong enough and brave enough to stare down the tiger. Contributors celebrate the power of bonds between daughter and mother, sister and sister, and grandmother and granddaughter. These writers bring life and character to the challenges of maintaining identity, navigating changes in gender roles, transitioning to American culture, and breaking through cultural barriers.”
(From the Publisher)
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Interior Chinatown is about Willis Wu who sees himself as a normal Asian man but aspires to be something more: a "Kung Fu Guy", which is a role that people who look like him could attain. However, in this process, he discovers more of what his true identity is, the legacy of his family, and how he truly fits into America’s society.
All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
Chung explores her roots, identity, and family history as a Korean-American adoptee. As she grew up in a sheltered, white family, she begins to recognize prejudices that she experienced, which leads her to explore where she really came from, and to question if that was even the truth.
Harmless Like You by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
Harmless Like You is about a Japanese woman named Yuki Oyama who is making a living as an artist. She explores what identity means and what it means to be an artist and a friend. She also explores what family and motherhood really are, as she is confronted with her adult son whom she left when he was a young toddler.
They Called Us Enemy written by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott; art by Harmony Becker
This graphic memoir highlights the childhood and experiences of George Takei and his family as Japanese prisoners of American concentration camps in World War II. Takei explores racism, discrimination, and his parents’ hopes and dreams and faith in democracy. These experiences get readers pondering what it really means to be American, and what it really means when the world is against you.