BookDragon Parent/child relationship Tag

The Story of Lee (vol. 1) by Seán Michael Wilson and Chie Kutsuwada

05 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Chinese, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hong Kongese, Young Adult Readers

The greatest strength of this series debut is, without a doubt, the art: the first spread, for example, captures the eponymous Lee gliding along on her bike, then the shock of a narrowly-missed collision with an elderly woman, and the embarrassed apology as she picks...

The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Michael Emmerich

01 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

Balanced with deft reminders of impermanence –from vivid dreams and outdoor art to once-a-year cherry blossoms and death – Banana Yoshimoto’s latest is a love story with a higher-than-usual satisfying-sigh factor. Chihiro, an artist, and Nakajima, a graduate student in genetics, finally meet after watching and...

I’ll Give It My All … Tomorrow (vol. 2) by Shunju Aono, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

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

Shizuo Oguro's definitely getting older, although not quite yet better. Having quit the corporate life at age 40 determined to become a manga artist in volume 1, Oguro is now 42 and facing creative rejection, trying to convince himself that "Great talents bloom late." His friend – the angry...

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

20 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Jewish, Nonethnic-specific

Everything about this multilayered title shouts fraud ...

Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, introduction by Craig Thompson

16 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, South American

Daytripper is a gift of unexpected brilliance. That's all you really need to know. And just as I soooooo appreciated knowing almost nothing about this title before I opened its enticing pages, I will try not to spoil a moment for you. If you're not ready to...

Cinnamon Baby by Nicola Winstanley, illustrated by Janice Nadeau

13 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Canadian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race

Miriam is a magical baker who makes her cinnamon bread last because it's her favorite. When Sebastian bicycles by her Alchemy Bakery with his violin, he's drawn in by her "sweet-smelling voice," and after a year of buying a loaf every single day, asks Miriam...

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung + Author Interview

10 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Cambodian, Cambodian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American

For someone who has experienced hell, Loung Ung is a bright, welcoming voice filled with inviting laughter. She’s warm: “I just had dinner with my writing group last night. They’re my PenGals. I just love them! I don’t know what I would do without them.” She’s practical:...

Author Interview: Xinran [in Bookslut]

07 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, British Asian, Chinese, Nonfiction, Repost, Translation

People, even complete strangers, feel compelled to tell Xinran their personal stories, from the simple happiness of sweet everyday lives to the most horrific memories of shocking abuse. Something in her soothing voice, the wordless encouragement to keep talking, exudes a sense of undeniable comfort...

My Mom Is a Fob: Earnest Advice in Broken English from Your Asian-American Mom by Teresa Wu and Serena Wu, foreword by Margaret Cho

28 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Nonfiction, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Young Adult Readers

For those of you searching for an antidote to the Tiger Mom brouhaha, this is it! I kid you not. Picture this ...

Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi, translated by Erdağ M. Göknar

25 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Afghan, Fiction, Translation

With the latest ongoing violence in *fill in the blank here, alas*, Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi's tight, sharp novella is a timely reminder of how the highest price of war is paid by innocent bystanders who by some luck escape death, but are mired in...

Incendiary by Chris Cleave

21 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction

For awhile, before it became an international bestseller, Chris Cleave's debut novel was known not so much for the actual details of its content, but for the fact that the book was generally about a London bombing and that the surreal timing of its publication...

Nobody’s Son: Notes from an American Life by Luis Alberto Urrea

15 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Hapa/Mixed-race, Latina/o/x, Memoir, Nonfiction

This third and final installment of Luis Alberto Urrea's Border Trilogy is unmistakably his most personal. His "good Republican" mother from Staten Island never accepted his Mexican identity. His "devil on the dance floor"-father was once on Mexico's presidential staff, becoming a bowling alley janitor...

Peeled by Joan Bauer

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

Sleepy little Banesville, New York is famous for its delicious apples ...

Half Spoon of Rice: A Survival Story of the Cambodian Genocide by Icy Smith, illustrated by Sopaul Nhem

09 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Cambodian, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Southeast Asian

Tragically, death and destruction are very much a part of human reality ...

Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan [in Christian Science Monitor]

07 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Memoir, Nepali, Nonfiction, Repost

Two warnings: 1. Don’t read Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal in public unless you enjoy making a spectacle of yourself, wiping your eyes and blowing your nose every few pages; 2. Skip the middle photo insert until...

Author Interview: Anjali Banerjee [in Bookslut]

06 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, South Asian American

With her past seven published novels – written for audiences that range from middle-grade readers on up – Anjali Banerjee didn’t particularly mention male body parts in any great detail. Maybe a twinkling eye here, capable hands there, but she certainly didn’t dwell. But as...

Saturn Apartments (vol. 2) by Hisae Iwaoka, translated by Matt Thorn and Tomo Kimura

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

Wherever the ALA – the American Library Association, the mother of all library associations in the world! – leaves its stamp of approval, you're guaranteed some great reads. In 2007, the ALA even hopped on the manga bandwagon when their young adult division, YALSA (Young Adult...

Becoming Naomi León by Pam Muñoz Ryan

19 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Latina/o/x, Middle Grade Readers

"I always thought the biggest problem in my life was my name, Naomi Soledad León Outlaw, but little did I know that it was the least of my troubles, or that someday I would live up to it." So opens Pam Muñoz Ryan’s swiftly moving coming-of-age...

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

15 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

If it's Saturday, it must be time to head to a court, field, gym, pool, or some sort of athletic facility ...

Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

10 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center 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 ...