BookDragon Chinese American
Deceit and Other Possibilities by Vanessa Hua [in Booklist]
08 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost, Short Stories
Journalist Vanessa Hua’s debut in fiction is an intriguing collection of 10 stories with personal resonance from being the child of Chinese immigrants and a two-decade, continent-hopping career. Each of her protagonists is never quite grounded, caught between multiple cultures and countries. Each hides beneath layers...
The Boat Rocker by Ha Jin [in Library Journal]
01 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost
*STARRED REVIEW When Fen Danlin first landed in New York to join his wife, Yan Haili, she delivered him to a "seedy" Chinatown inn with $500 and instructions to stay – alone – within walking distance of an arranged restaurant job. She returned the next day...
The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies [in Booklist]
11 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Hong Kongese, Repost, Young Adult Readers
*STARRED REVIEW British-born of Welsh and Chinese parentage, Peter Ho Davies (The Welsh Girl, 2007) has lived stateside since 1992, but this is his first U.S.-set title. In it he explores the history of his adopted home in four sections. In “Gold,” he links the completion of...
A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu, illustrated by Christina Forshay
17 May, by in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Latina/o/x
Welcome to Gong Gong and Mei Mei’s backyard where movement flows. The elderly Gong Gong “sends good energy through [his] body” with a martial art called tai chi. His feisty young granddaughter Mei Mei hears “martial art” and instantly thinks karate – “HI-YAH”s included –...
Avatar: The Last Airbender | Smoke and Shadow (Part Three) created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, script by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru, lettering by Michael Heisler
01 Apr, by in Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Young Adult Readers
Sibling rivalry threatens to destroy the Fire Nation when a frustrated Zuko reveals the kemurikage leader on the first page: "I know that's you ...
Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee [in Shelf Awareness]
30 Mar, by in Chinese American, Fiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers
Even as Mercy Wong's father expects that she will marry the herbalist's son and be a "meek" wife, he also insists that she never stop learning because she must "be as smart as the white ghosts." In San Francisco's Chinatown in 1906, 15-year-old Mercy's graduation from...
Dear Yeti by James Kwan
10 Feb, by in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction
Ready for an adventure with big bad beasts in a battle to the death against the fiercest elements? What? Not tonight? How about something a bit more ...
The Year of the Monkey: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Kenji Ono
08 Feb, by in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Japanese American
Today is Lunar New Year ...
Avatar: The Last Airbender | Smoke and Shadow (Parts One and Two) created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, script by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru, lettering by Michael Heisler
22 Jan, by in Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Young Adult Readers
Avatar Aang takes a temporary narrative back seat to his Fire Lord buddy Zuko in Part One of the newest Last Airbender three-part installment. Now that Zuko has been reunited with his long-lost mother Ursa [you'll need to read The Search for the full backstory], he's bringing...
Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth (Book 1) by Judd Winick
08 Jan, by in Black/African American, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific
Given all the anti-immigrant hubbub in the news, Hilo is an absolutely surprising standout, least of all because the blonde, sometimes blue-eyed (not on the cover, but check pages 8 and 33, for example) hero here turns out to be the alien. Yup, Hilo (as in 'high-low')...
Bird & Diz by Gary Golio, illustrated by Ed Young
31 Dec, by in Biography, Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Nonfiction
Text and art find a perfect pairing between two hard covers that stretch out to reveal a 10-foot, double-sided spread of popping colors, swirly lines, and infectious energy. Captured within is the story of two friends "who play together just like kids." They joyously romp through...
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael López
28 Dec, by in Biography, Black/African American, Caribbean, Caribbean American, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Cuban, Cuban American, Hapa/Mixed-race, Latin American, Latina/o/x, Nonfiction
Thank the stars for all the women who never succumbed to 'you can't' and 'you're not allowed,' and the constant cacophony of insistent 'no's. Meet another such hero: drum dream girl. In spite of her strikingly diverse heritage – Chinese, African, and Cuban! – all her elders agree...
Author Interview: Yiyun Li [in Asian American Literary Review]
15 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost
To become a writer, Yiyun Li left behind everything familiar: her birth country (China), her first language (Mandarin), her family (parents and sister), her scientific training (immunology), and her PhD degree (University of Iowa). On the other side of the world, she switched into the...
The Story I’ll Tell by Nancy Tupper Ling, illustrated by Jessica Lanan
03 Dec, by in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
A mother and her toddler son, cuddled together in a cushy chair, are surrounded by soft summer breezes and warm fading light. Together, they read their bedtime book, as the boy is about to drift off to slumberland. While the mother reads aloud, her heart promises...
Ling & Ting: Together in All Weather by Grace Lin
02 Dec, by in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers
Grace Lin’s 'not exactly the same’-twins debuted in 2010, then 'shared a birthday’ a couple of years later, and had 'twice as silly’ adventures together. Five years since they arrived on bookshelves everywhere, they're still Together in All Weather – and yes, they're as whimsically captivating as...
Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart [in Booklist]
18 Nov, by in Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers
*STARRED REVIEW Says a grateful admirer to Joseph and his unlikely traveling companion, “You boys. You got some kind of courage.” In the Wild West of 1890 Washington State, Joseph, not yet 13, has lost his mother and sister to typhoid and his father to a...