Kenta and the Big Wave by Ruth Ohi
06 Aug, by in Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese
"When Kenta heard the warning siren, he ran to school ...
BookDragon Canadian Asian Pacific American
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
09 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American
Reading four novels, each set in a major Indian city, one after another over a single week or so, has made the stories feel as if they might overlap, dovetail, conflate, creating quite the enriching literary experience. In the midst of A Fine Balance, I...
Beyond the Moongate: True Stories of 1920s China by Elizabeth Quan
17 Jun, by in Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Memoir, Nonfiction
"Moongates dotted the landscape of Old China," the second of artist Elizabeth Quan's two-part childhood memoir begins. "Stepping through one of these doorways was to enter a world of peace and happiness ...
The Magic of Saida by M.G. Vassanji
10 Jun, by in Adult Readers, African, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian African, South Asian American
Poisoned and hallucinating, a Canadian doctor lies in a hospital in the remote town of Kilwa in Tanzania. A stranger happens to hear a few brief details of the man's outrageous story, and decides to introduce himself to this doctor with an Indian name – Kamal...
Escape to Gold Mountain: A Graphic History of the Chinese in North America by David H.T. Wong
30 Nov, by in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers
Canadian eco-architect David H.T. Wong's debut defies simple categorization: while clearly a graphic work for younger readers (much of the language is soooo totally tweenage vernacular), Escape covers some 200 years of history through the fictional story of a Chinese Canadian American family, also named Wong, whose experiences...
The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam
26 Nov, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Chinese, Fiction, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Vietnamese
Although Vincent Lam's first novel hit shelves months ago, I waited (and waited) to read it because I was afraid – seems to be my modus operandi for follow-up titles to books I've cherished, unable to move on for fear of grave disappointment. Lam's interconnected story...
Requiem by Frances Itani
15 Oct, by in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Japanese American
While I can hardly estimate the many, many books I’ve read about the Japanese American experience during World War II, I know few details about what happened to Japanese Canadians. The lone fact that looms is that like their Japanese American counterparts on the West...
Ru by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman [in Library Journal]
15 Aug, by in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Memoir, Repost, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Translation, Vietnamese, Vietnamese American
* STARRED REVIEW The recipient of international accolades – including Canada’s coveted Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction (2010) for its original Canadian debut in French – this extraordinary first novel unfolds like ethereal poetry. The enigmatic title means “a small stream and, figuratively, a flow, a discharge—of...
back alleys and urban landscapes by Michael Cho
30 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir
You could flip through Michael Cho’s new graphic title in just a few minutes and pronounce it 'read.' But you'd be missing the whole point of the book ...
Money Boy by Paul Yee
24 Jul, by in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Young Adult Readers
'Gritty' is the first word that comes to mind after finishing this slim young adult novel about a teenage Chinese immigrant's struggles with his conservative father over his sexuality. Ray Liu is new to the West. He's left behind half his family in China, including his...
Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
21 Feb, by in Biography, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Vietnamese, Vietnamese American, Young Adult Readers
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is one of those mega-award-winning Canadian authors (with more than a dozen titles) who hasn't crossed over our shared border (just yet!) with the same success. She's best known for her historical novels for younger readers about what must be one of...
The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje
04 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, European, Fiction, South Asian, South Asian American, Sri Lankan, Sri Lankan American
With utter certainty, I can claim that I've never ever been remotely disappointed by a Michael Ondaatje title. Until now, alas. Here's my very best advice to you about this, his long-awaited new title, The Cat's Table: read it page by page for yourself only;...
Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
24 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, South Asian, Sri Lankan
Before I let myself even open Michael Ondaatje's newest title, The Cat's Table, which hit shelves earlier this month, I was determined to read his previous novels that I had somehow missed. The realization that I have now earned access to Table is rather bittersweet as...
Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan
10 Jan, by in Afghan, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Pakistani American, Young Adult Readers
Sometimes even the saddest tragedies can eventually lead to happy new beginnings ...
The Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
05 Oct, by in Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Pakistani American, South Asian American
Pakistani Canadian writer Rukhsana Khan takes on sibling rivalry once again, but unlike her adorable 2005 title, Silly Chicken, this time, all her characters are all of the human variety ...
Watch This Space: Designing, Defending and Sharing Public Spaces by Hadley Dyer, illustrated by Marc Ngui
26 Feb, by in Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers
Coming from a family of urban planners and architects (Pops was head of urban planning graduate department at major university, baby bro is mega-award winning architect and professor at Harvard's GSD, middle bro used to make all his ex-girlfriend's architecture models when he got tired...
Egg on Mao: The Story of an Ordinary Man Who Defaced an Icon and Unmasked a Dictatorship by Denise Chong [in Christian Science Monitor]
21 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Chinese, Nonfiction, Repost
Denise Chong has built an award-winning career capturing ordinary people living extraordinary lives. The Concubine’s Children (1994) told of her own family’s fractured journey from China to Canada and The Girl in the Picture (2000) detailed the harrowing story of the young girl whose screaming,...
The Octonauts & the Great Ghost Reef by Meomi
26 Sep, by in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
First a little note about the creators: Meomi is a dynamic design duo made up of Vicki Wong, based in Vancouver, and Michael Murphy, who calls Los Angeles home. Together, they also happen to write adorable, colorful kiddie books ...
Claire and the Bakery Thief and Claire and the Water Wish by Janice Poon [in Bloomsbury Review]
08 Apr, by in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Repost
City-girl Claire reluctantly moves to the country, where her parents open an all-organic bakery. During her first summer in the country, she saves her kidnapped mother with the help of her new best friend Jet. When the school year begins, she helps expose toxic dumping...
Skim by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki [in Bloomsbury Review]
01 May, by in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers
Meet Kimberly Keiko Cameron, aka “Skim,” a wannabe witch navigating her angst-filled teenage life in a 1990s Toronto high school. In this book created by cousins Mariko and Jillian, making their fabulous collaborative debut, Skim manages...