The Year of the Horse: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Jennifer Wood
31 Dec, by in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction
Get ready to ring in the new year ...
BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader
Razia’s Ray of Hope: One Girl’s Dream of an Education by Elizabeth Suneby, illustrated by Suana Verelst
30 Dec, by in Afghan, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
The newest title in Canada’s Kids Can Press' vital CitizenKid series – "books that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens" – is also quite possibly the best thus far. "'This is where my school once stood ...
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
29 Dec, by in Audio, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
What a year Benjamin Alire Sáenz has had: in the adult market, he made literary history last May as the first Latino writer to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his seven-story collection, Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club; his latest young adult title...
pink by Kyoko Okazaki, translated by Vertical, Inc.
27 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation
Well, goodness gracious, looks sure can be deceiving: here's your official warning – this dressed up girl is anything but saccharine-sweet, that pink-toned cover comes printed with an "18+" warning, although those turned-in toes actually do belie a twisted sort of innocence ...
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
24 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
What a year 2013 has been for Rainbow Rowell, beginning and ending with two bestsellers (!) – eleanor & park (oh, be still my heart) and Fangirl (a virtual world I never even knew about!). How lucky for me to have discovered a third Rowell title, her...
If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman
21 Dec, by in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers
That the film version of If I Stay is currently in production is reason enough to read the book before Hollywood leaves its indelible imprint too soon. Trust me: 99.9% of the time, the book is better. The intensity and ferocity that author Gayle Forman offers with...
Barbara by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Ben Applegate, foreword by Frederik L. Schodt
20 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation
For readers familiar with Astro Boy, Buddha, or Black Jack – a few of 'godfather of manga' Osamu Tezuka's signature titles – Barbara might present quite the surprise. This is definitely not your kiddie fare: the front cover warns "explicit content"; the back cover is marked with...
Yokohama Yankee: My Family’s Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan by Leslie Helm
17 Dec, by in Adult Readers, European, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese, Japanese American, Memoir, Nonfiction
'Sprawling' barely begins to describe journalist/editor Leslie Helm's ambitious family history that spans nearly a century-and-a-half, three continents, and the titular five generations of a German Japanese American family with current branches spread throughout the rest of the world. Prompted by the death of his difficult...
Line 135 by Germano Zullo, illustrated by Albertine
15 Dec, by in Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Translation
Clearly this image is not doing justice to the book's spirited cover with its bright lime green train and fluorescent orange doors. To appreciate its vibrancy is reason enough to go find the real book! See that jauntily ponytailed, smiling little girl? She's definitely inviting...
Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger
13 Dec, by in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, French, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Translation, Young Adult Readers
From the very first page, you'll learn that one lover is dead, while the other survives: "My love, when you read these words I will have left this world." Emma is in transit to Clementine's childhood home to retrieve Emma's diaries: "I asked my mother...
The Savage Fortress [Ash Mistry Chronicles, Book 1] by Sarwat Chadda
12 Dec, by in Audio, British, British Asian, Fiction, Indian, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
Well, I seem to be totally out of order here: so I read The City of Death (Book 2) first because I had a judging deadline, then backpedaled to catch up by sticking this Fortress (Book 1) in the ears (Bruce Mann narrates well enough, although I...
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
11 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Iranian American, Korean American, Nonethnic-specific
A few months ago when I came upon this fascinating article, "The One Thing White Writers Get Away With, But Authors of Color Don't" by PolicyMic's Gracie Jin, I started trolling around for authors venturing into unexpected 'color'-ful fictional territory. I was fascinated to find two bestselling writers...
Gone to the Forest by Katie Kitamura
10 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese American
Spare, lean, restrained, dare I say ...
The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941 by Kirby Larson
07 Dec, by in Fiction, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers
How’s this for new math: the first 286 pages hold about the same weight as the final 25 pages. The fictional diary expounds and entertains, revealing a 13-year-old’s West Coast experiences during World War II; the ending “Life in America in 1941” section illuminates and...
The City of Death [Ash Mistry Chronicles, Book 2] by Sarwat Chadda
05 Dec, by in British, British Asian, Fiction, Indian, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
Okay, so we're skipping ahead here, because I had to read this for a book judging requirement – and, in reading out of order, also confirm that it can narratively stand alone even without its prequel. I can't reveal any trade secrets, but I can...
Recipe by Angela Petrella and Michaelanne Petrella, illustrated by Mike Bertino and Erin Althea
04 Dec, by in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
In case you weren't already aware, whenever you happen upon a McSweeney's McMullens title, get ready for unpredictable high-jinks and not a little guffawing. Also, always remember to start with the cover: go ahead, it's made to come off ...
The Translator by Nina Schuyler [in Bloom]
02 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Nonethnic-specific, Repost
In just her protagonist's name alone, author Nina Schuyler imbues linguistic magic in her latest novel about language, communication, understanding, and ultimately, the bonds of family. Schuyler's leading lady is Hanne Schubert, a 53-year-old woman who speaks seven languages including Japanese, German, along with her...
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman
01 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction
My older teenager tells me the series of the same name is what 'everyone' is watching: "It's the new favorite show," she insists. So when I found the book ("there's a book?" the daughter asks with surprise; there's almost always a book first!) available to...
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
30 Nov, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
Even though the Yoko Ono comment made by an angry daughter about her hapless father's extramaritally knocked-up girlfriend gets apologized for some 40 pages later – "'I called her Yoko Ono that night because she was the one who broke up the Beatles. Not because she's...
A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher
29 Nov, by in Adult Readers, Canadian, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Translation
After traveling and drawing the world – Pyongyang, Shenzhen, Burma, Jerusalem – comic master extraordinaire Guy Delisle turns inward to his own family with a tongue-in-cheek look at the challenges of being a parent trying to keep his kids safe, supported, loved ...
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