BookDragon Young Adult Readers

Itsuwaribito (vol. 1) by Yuuki Iinuma

14 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Living in the "Village of Orphans," Utsuho is constantly in trouble. He doesn't do his chores, he disappears when needed, but worst of all, he lies. "Lying is the worst thing ...

Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica

13 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

As much as this time of the year makes me sooooo cranky with too much focus on the frantic buy-buy-buy messages all around us, it also makes me a total mushpot for...

Brain Camp by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan, art by Faith Erin Hicks, color by Hilary Sycamore

08 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Checking my inbox yesterday, I received quite a flurry of emails highlighting the latest announcement that Chinese students are outscoring all other students in international standardized testing, with their U.S. counterparts ranked 23 or...

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

02 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Jewish, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Given the somber subject matter of this title, I realize this probably verges on sacrilegious, but no disrespect is intended in any way ...

MAOH: Juvenile Remix (vol. 1) original story by Kotaro Isaka, story and art by Megumi Osuga, translated by Stephen Paul

26 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Ando, now in 11th grade, is more or less going through the motions of fitting in: "If I said I didn't feel empty inside for putting up an act ...

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long

24 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Biography, Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Yes, President Obama's first picture book is, of course, a gorgeous gift to his two young daughters. But it's also quite a legacy for every child anywhere as it reminds us that...

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

22 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

I fully admit that had Mockingbird not won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature last week, I probably wouldn't have read it. I'll also tell you that by page 9, I...

Toriko (vol. 1) by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, translated by Christine Dashiell, adapted by Hope Donovan

21 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

We've all heard the stories of palate-adventurers willing to go to extreme lengths to try some of the most ...

Bakuman 1 by Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata, translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki

18 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

At 14, Moritaka Mashiro figures he's "just going to live a normal life." For a teenager, that translates into "getting into a good high school, a good college and a good company to work...

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden

16 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Jewish, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Having grown up Catholic (I'm still in recovery), nothing works better than leftover Catholic guilt to get me to do something I'm whinge-ing about. The supreme irony about my former Catholicism is...

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

12 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Australian, Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Moroccan, Young Adult Readers

The simplicity of Australian author/artist Jeannie Baker's latest title makes it simply stupendous. Open the book and you have two halves on either side, the left which begins in English, and right which...

Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry edited by Neelajana Banerjee, Summi Kaipa, and Pireeni Sundaralingam

11 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Bangladeshi American, Indian American, Nepali American, Pakistani American, Poetry, South Asian American, Sri Lankan American, Young Adult Readers

The title – Indivisible – the editors explain, is "a word taken from the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance." Through the 49 diverse American voices represented here with roots in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and...

Dengeki Daisy (vol. 1) by Kyousuke Motomi, translated by JN Productions

10 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Teru Kurebayashi is pretty much all alone in the world. Her parents are gone, and her beloved older brother is dead … but before his tragic too-early passing, he left her with a...

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

09 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, Myanmarese (Burmese), Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Inspired by three years of living in Thailand with her family and visiting refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, Mitali Perkins’ latest novel follows the lives of two boys on...

What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney

07 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

The final title of Caroline B. Cooney's award-winning Janie Johnson quartet begins with a newspaper article that marks the anniversary of the "Missing Child Milk Carton Campaign" that – for better...

The Voice on the Radio by Caroline B. Cooney

07 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

If you haven’t read the first two titles of the Janie Johnson quartet, then skip this post for sure … no fun knowing too much! And, as the third volume proves, knowing...

Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney

06 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Award-winning author Caroline Cooney never intended to write a sequel to The Face on the Milk Carton, which she ends with an uncertain telephone call: "I wanted you...

It’s a Book by Lane Smith

01 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Delighted guffawing is inevitable as soon as you open the pages. And most especially fitting if you are a proud, obstinate Luddite like me! Move over Kindles, Nooks, iPads, Vooks, and whatever other...

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

31 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

As today is Halloween, here's a story that promises to scare, chill, and thrill you ...

Saturn Apartments (vol. 1) by Hisae Iwaoka, translated by Matt Thorn

25 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Since all of earth has been declared a nature preserve, mankind now inhabits a "giant apartment complex," which orbits 35,000 meters above the deserted planet. Society is literally stratified, with the upper level residents afforded greater privileges while the basement dwellers live with limited resources. Five...