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BookDragon Australian Asian

All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien [in Booklist]

11 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Repost, Southeast Asian

Denny died at the Lucky 8 restaurant after his high school formal, his “Most Likely to Succeed”-sash still tucked into his borrowed suit. In 1996 small-town Cabramatta, populated by children of Southeast Asian refugees coming of age amidst drug-related violence, Denny was that perfect kid:...

Gunk Baby by Jamie Marina Lau [in Shelf Awareness]

14 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Repost

Melbourne author Jamie Marina Lau was the same age as her 24-year-old protagonist when Gunk Baby, her second novel, was published in Australia in 2021. Following the success of Lau's 2018 debut, Pink Mountain on Locust Island, which was shortlisted for Australia's Stella Prize, Gunk Baby arrives Stateside...

Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser [in Booklist]

30 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW The monsters here are, of course, people, made terrifying by what Michelle de Kretser labels “three scary monsters – racism, misogyny, and ageism.” Subtitled “A Novel in Two Parts,” the notable Sri Lankan-born Australian de Kretser’s (The Life to Come, 2018) latest is indeed...

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai [in Booklist]

24 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW Athena-like, Lee Lai bursts onto the graphic scene fully formed and utterly realized with this jaw-dropping debut. Her stunning artistry and complex narrative skills prove inextricably stupendous in a story about all kinds of love – between lovers, of course, but also between complicated...

Best World Literature 2020 [in Library Journal]

02 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Australian, Australian Asian, Caribbean, European, Fiction, French, Japanese, Korean, North Korean, Persian, Repost, Short Stories, Translation

For three years, I've been reading along with two fabulously erudite co-horts – my Library Journal editor Barbara Hoffert and fellow LJ reviewer Lawrence Olszewski – to recognize and celebrate the best translated world literature. This year, we had well over 100 titles to discuss, debate, negotiate,...

Fly on the Wall by Remy Lai [in Shelf Awareness]

18 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Indonesian, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Singaporean

Duplicating the prose and graphic hybrid format of her award-winning debut, Pie in the Sky, Indonesia-born Remy Lai presents Fly on the Wall, another pitch-perfect middle-grade book about the longing to belong. As the youngest Khoo, 12-year-old Henry is "FORBIDDEN from Doing Anything on His Own...

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar [in Booklist]

03 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Iranian, Persian, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW Although the page facing the title of Azar’s first novel to be translated into English clearly states, “Translated from the Farsi,” the linguistic enabler remains anonymous; the publisher’s official line is, “the translator of this book has asked not to be named out of...

Cicada by Shaun Tan [in Shelf Awareness]

12 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Australian, Australian Asian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers

In 2011, author/artist/filmmaker Shaun Tan won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and received an Oscar for the animated adaptation of his book The Lost Thing. What initially brought him to international acclaim was the publication of The Arrival in 2006 (2007 in the U.S.). A...

Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan

28 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Australian, Australian Asian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction

Argh! Here where I'm stuck for another month, three or four inches of snow greeted me this morning (so much for almost May!). But if anyone can convince me summer is coming, that would be the inimitable Shaun Tan. This, his latest title, immediately pulls...

Look Who’s Morphing by Tom Cho

03 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult Readers

Each of Tom Cho's 18 stories in his just-over 100-page-debut is a surprise waiting to happen to you. Already lauded and awarded in Cho's native Australia, his Stateside arrival is sure to elicit gasps, guffaws, and more. Welcome to half a century of pop culture icons – before you...

The Bird King: an artist’s notebook by Shaun Tan

08 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Whenever I open a Shaun Tan book, my face just gets a goofy grin. It's a Pavlovian reaction, guaranteed. Although his latest doesn't come with a straightforward narrative, it does manage to cleverly include tidbits and reminiscences from his entire oeuvre to create a whimsical portrait...

Captain Long Ears by Diana Thung

02 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Indonesian, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

So enthralled by Diana Thung's August Moon earlier this week, I immediately ordered Captain (her first and only other title thus far), and was delightfully tickled to find a blurb on the back cover from Gene Luen Yang (of first-ever National Book Award graphic novel finalist-fame for American Born Chinese): "Goofy and endearing...

August Moon by Diana Thung

28 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Indonesian, Middle Grade Readers, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Get ready for surreal delight. When a mysterious creature with an imbedded bullet turns up, Fi and her scientist father head to the town of Calico – linked "to the rest of the country! and the world!" by a single bridge. They'll be staying with Fi's Uncle...

The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang

01 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Australian, Australian Asian, Chinese, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers

At school, 12-year-old Mimi Lu is better known as Smelly-Loo because "[h]er parents forced her to drink all sorts of smelly brews" – concocted by her herbalist doctor father – that lingered on her clothes, pigtails, skin, and even her breath. "[Y]ou are Chinese. Be...

Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

08 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

The literati around the world have surely got the memo that 2011 is Shaun Tan's year. Every few weeks, he seems to be back in the news with new accolades (all well-deserved, I must add ...

Unpolished Gem: My Mother, My Grandmother, and Me by Alice Pung

08 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Cambodian, Memoir, Nonfiction, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Already a many-time-many-variety award-winner in her native Australia, Alice Pung's debut memoir arrives Stateside filled with humor and bittersweet grace. Born one month after her family arrived in Melbourne, Australia, after fleeing the killing fields of Cambodia, Pung's father chooses her name for "a story...

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Australian, Australian Asian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Short Stories

From the genius mind that brought you the wordlessly breathtaking bestseller, The Arrival, comes a collection of 15 short stories for all ages, uniquely illustrated in Tan's signature enigmatic style. The second story, "Eric," about the visit by a foreign exchange student like no one has...

The Arrival by Shaun Tan [in Bloomsbury Review]

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

arrivalA spectacular book-without-words that traces one family’s immigration story with brilliant imagination. In an unnamed troubled land, a man leaves his wife and young daughter behind in search of freedom in a new country. His adjustments...

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SmithsonianAPA brings Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences and digital initiatives.

About BookDragon

Welcome to BookDragon, filled with titles for the diverse reader. BookDragon is a new media initiative of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), and serves as a forum for those interested in learning more about the Asian Pacific American experience through literature. BookDragon is inhabited by Terry Hong.

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