{"id":48122,"date":"2021-05-17T11:12:28","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T15:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=48122"},"modified":"2022-09-01T14:43:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T18:43:38","slug":"asian-american-ownvoices-artfully-narrated-middle-grade-ya-and-crossover-audiobooks-in-school-library-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/asian-american-ownvoices-artfully-narrated-middle-grade-ya-and-crossover-audiobooks-in-school-library-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian American #OwnVoices: Artfully Narrated Middle Grade, YA, and Crossover Audiobooks [in School Library Journal]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. The year remains somber, as the APA community combats dramatically increasing anti-Asian violence around the country and continues to mourn the eight people, including six women of Asian descent, killed in a Georgia mass shooting.<\/p>\n

Despite a U.S. presence older than the nation itself \u2013 Filipino sailors landed in California in the 16th century \u2013 and centuries of contributions that have shaped both American industry and daily life, including railroads, agriculture, technology, and more, Americans of Asian descent continue to be attacked for being foreign. For being \u201cother.\u201d While books can be antidotes to the disturbing, tragic, horrifying headlines, audiobooks can often make those experiences more immediate. This month \u2013 and beyond \u2013 take the time to listen, learn, and share our stories.<\/p>\n

\"\"MIDDLE GRADE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Boys in the Back Row<\/a><\/strong>. Mike Jung. Dreamscape. 2020. Read by Keong Sim.
\nNewbie narrator Sim\u2019s effervescent energy enhances Jung\u2019s rollicking, heartwarming epic about two bffs whose rule-breaking plans make sixth grade a memorable year.<\/p>\n

When You Trap a Tiger<\/a><\/strong>. Tae Keller. Listening Library. 2020. Read by Greta Jung.
\nJung effectively helms the 2021 Newbery Medal winner\u2019s #OwnVoices aural enhancement. A widowed mother and her two mixed-race daughters move in with their glamorous, unconventional, magic-making Korean grandmother. Transformations happen.<\/p>\n

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!<\/a><\/strong> Jessica Kim. Listening Library. 2020. Read by Greta Jung.
\nEleven-year-old Yumi Chung\u2019s evolution from quiet odd girl out to feisty stand up comedian in the making gets a spot-on audio boost for even the most reluctant readers.<\/p>\n

Red, White, and Whole<\/strong>. Rajani LaRocca. HarperAudio. 2021. Read by Priya Ayyar.
\nThirteen-year-old Reha navigates being a weekday American at school and a weekend Indian at home. Her longing to fit in stops mattering so much when her mother falls seriously ill. Narrator Ayyar shines in portraying Reha\u2019s burgeoning independence and courageous resolve.<\/p>\n

Prairie Lotus.\u00a0<\/strong>Linda Sue Park<\/a>. Listening Library. 2020. Read by Emily Woo Zeller.
\nHanna Edmunds and her merchant father arrive in 1880 LaForge, in the Dakota Territory. Hanna\u2019s immediate difference \u2013 her late mother was Chinese \u2013 is an additional challenge to gaining acceptance. Newbery Medalist Park explains how Lotus was \u201can attempt at a painful reconciliation\u201d between her childhood love for Laura Ingalls Wilder\u2019s \u201cLittle House\u201d series and her adult knowledge of its racism.<\/p>\n

Three Keys<\/a><\/strong>. Kelly Yang. Scholastic. 2020. Read by Sunny Lu.
\nFront Desk<\/em>\u2019s cast returns with lively narrator Lu. The year is 1994, and Prop 187 looms on the California gubernatorial ballot, threatening undocumented immigrants. Mia \u2013 and her extended motel family \u2013 must figure out how to keep everyone safe. At the end, Yang, who was 10 in 1994, recounts how she channeled her own racism-fueled trauma and fear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

YOUNG ADULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

We Are Not Free<\/strong><\/a>. Traci Chee<\/a>. HMH Audio. 2021. Read by full cast.
\nFourth-generation Japanese American Chee gets personal, infusing her own family\u2019s stories into a tight-knit group of Japanese American youth in San Francisco\u2019s Japantown. Sixteen interlinked stories follow the teens through incarceration in prison camps for Americans of Japanese descent during WWII to the scattered restart of their postwar lives three years later.<\/p>\n

Yolk<\/a><\/strong>. Mary H.K. Choi. S. & S. 2021. Read by Joy Osmanski.
\nSudden, serious illness forces two Korean American sisters \u2013 once as close as twins \u2013 to confront their estrangement and rediscover the empowering strength of their bond.<\/p>\n

If I Tell You the Truth<\/strong>. Jasmin Kaur. HarperAudio. 2021. Read by the author.
\nFirst introduced in\u00a0When You Ask Me Where I\u2019m Going<\/em>, mother Kiran and daughter Sahaara return in this hybrid prose\/verse novel that deftly addresses the combined perils of being undocumented and surviving sexual assault. Punjabi Canadian Kaur returns to voice her sophomore title.<\/p>\n

Zara Hossain Is Here<\/strong>.\u00a0Sabina Khan. Scholastic. 2021. Read by Richa Moorjani.
\nMoorjani affectingly channels high school senior Zara, who stands up to a racist bully only to face unimaginable consequences: Her pediatrician father is shot, and their anticipated green card approval is threatened after 14 years in Corpus Christi, TX. Her parents can\u2019t imagine feeling safe ever again and are ready to return to Pakistan. Zara refuses to stop fighting for justice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Darius the Great Deserves Better<\/strong>. Adib Khorram. Listening Library. 2020. Read by Michael Levi Harris.
\nAfter a family visit to Iran, self-described \u201cfractional Persian\u201d Darius has a much better life than he did in\u00a0Darius the Great Is Not Okay<\/em><\/a>: His depression is under control, he\u2019s close to Dad, and he\u2019s got best friend Sohrab and boyfriend Landon. But the challenges are growing: Dad\u2019s away, his third grade sister\u2019s being called a terrorist, his Kellner grandmothers move in, and former bully Chip is getting… too close?<\/p>\n

A Ph\u1edf Love Story<\/a><\/strong>. Loan Le. S. & S. 2021. Read by Ryan Do and Vyvy Nguyen.
\nAudiobook newbies Do and Nguyen are just what debut novelist Le must have ordered. All together, the trio offers an #OwnVoices treat combining a never-meant-to-be love story, family feuds, and drool-worthy Vietnamese cuisine.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Be the One<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Lyla Lee. HarperAudio. 2020. Read by Greta Jung.
\nLee\u2019s YA debut features Skye Shin, a Korean American performing powerhouse poised to claim the stage and be her own hero. Jung enhances this #OwnVoices win.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Finding My Voice<\/strong><\/a>. Marie Myung-Ok Lee. Recorded Books. 2020. Read by Jaine Ye.
\nTwo decades ago, Lee made pioneering APA literary history with a multi-book\/major-press deal to become one of the earliest bestselling APA children\u2019s writers. Her debut is new again with an anniversary edition and first-time audiobook featuring high school senior Ellen\u2019s journey to finding her voice and speaking out against blatant racism in her tiny hometown.<\/p>\n

More Than Just a Pretty Face<\/strong>. Syed M. Masood. Hachette. 2020. Read by Ariyan Kassam.
\nKassam\u2019s audiobook debut is an energetic, entertaining success, embodying 19-year-old Desi Danyal \u2013 a charmer to some (who\u2019s also culinarily gifted), an incompetent joker to others. When he\u2019s chosen for the Renaissance Man academic competition, exposing Winston Churchill\u2019s racist colonialism and choosing the right girl just might make him the biggest winner after all.<\/p>\n

Parachutes<\/a><\/strong>. Kelly Yang. HarperAudio. 2020. Read by Cassie Simone and Karissa Vacker.
\nYang alternates chapters between wealthy Claire, a Shanghai \u201cparachute\u201d \u2013 an unaccompanied Chinese child who \u201cdrops in\u201d seeking a U.S. education \u2013 and scholarship student Dani, who helps her Filipina American single mother clean houses. Tragically, trauma binds the unlikely pair. Yang draws on her own sexual assault at Harvard Law School and the scarring aftermath of the school\u2019s negligent response.<\/p>\n

A Taste for Love<\/strong>. Jennifer Yen. Listening Library. 2021. Read by Josephine Huang.
\nLiza\u2019s model older sister couldn\u2019t be more perfect, leaving Liza to often face their immigrant mother\u2019s angry disappointment. The only thing mother and younger daughter seem to share \u2013 superb baking skills \u2013 will finally ensure sweet victories. Pride and Prejudice<\/em> gets a Taiwanese American Houston summer makeover.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ADULT CROSSOVERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

America Is in the Heart<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Carlos Bulosan. Blackstone. 2019. Read by Ram\u00f3n de Ocampo.
\nBulosan\u2019s 1946 autobiographical novel gets a debut audiobook, following his Filipino boyhood, his U.S. arrival, and the challenges he survived as a migrant laborer. Despite the prejudices and racism that confronted him every day, Bulosan remained determined to live a life filled with dignity and respect. A Filipino American authorial and academic trio enrich Bulosan\u2019s classic with historic and literary context.<\/p>\n

Minor Feelings<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Cathy Park Hong. Random House. 2020. Read by the author.
\nTitle aside, nothing is minor about lauded poet Hong\u2019s National Book Critics Circle Award-winning collection. Hong\u2019s singular voice expresses both reclamation and declaration: \u201cFor as long as I can remember, I have struggled to prove myself into existence… Asian Americans inhabit a vague purgatorial status: not white enough nor black enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sigh, Gone: A Misfit\u2019s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0Phuc Tran. Macmillan. 2020. Read by the author.
\nTran makes both prose and narrating debuts with energy, empathy, and plenty of cursing as he shares his no-holds-barred coming-of-age journey in small-town Carlisle, PA: \u201cPoorly read. Very white. Collar blue.\u201d Immersing himself in great literature in high school provides a \u201cconnective and humanizing resonance,\u201d and his memoir manages to achieve the same.<\/p>\n

One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle over American Immigration, 1924-1965<\/a><\/strong>. Jia Lynn Yang. HighBridge. 2020. Read by Laural Merlington.
\nPulitzer Prize-winning NYT<\/em> editor\/journalist Yang\u2019s stupendous research, essential stories, and contextual insight \u2013 presented with layman\u2019s clarity \u2013 should be required reading or listening. Yang methodically exposes the absolute power of politics in who gets to be American.<\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>: “Asian American #OwnVoices: Artfully Narrated Middle Grade, YA, and Crossover Audiobooks,” School Library Journal<\/em>, May 6, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. The year remains somber, as the APA community combats dramatically increasing anti-Asian violence around the country and continues to mourn the eight people, including six women of Asian descent, killed in a Georgia mass shooting. Despite a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,81,9,21,6,1326,197,53,788,426,38,7243,107,30,20,1021,8219,6535,18,137,140,31],"tags":[8260,5223,9708,6608,9701,5224,9174,8892,22,58,9705,5940,10,5380,11,6520,24,9160,51,9646,25,9706,9645,9710,9185,9681,9711,5932,7641,8418,9459,2719,2100,9679,13,9161,3601,8112,8261,6994,8893,9707,9683,9240,39,9678,9189,8987,6104,9641,9640,432,9704,9676,9703,6704,9188,9186,8419,9624,7935,9709,9699,9164,9677,9165,9700,9493,9702],"class_list":["post-48122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adult-readers","category-audio","category-canadian-asian-pacific-american","category-chinese-american","category-fiction","category-filipinao-american","category-hapa","category-indian-american","category-iranian-american","category-japanese-american","category-korean-american","category-lists","category-memoir","category-middle-grade-readers","category-nonfiction","category-pakistani-american","category-persian-american","category-repost","category-south-asian-american","category-southeast-asian-american","category-vietnamese-american","category-young-adult-readers","tag-adib-khorram","tag-america-is-in-the-heart","tag-ariyan-kassam","tag-bookdragon","tag-boys-in-the-back-row","tag-carlos-bulosan","tag-cassie-simone","tag-cathy-park-hong","tag-civil-rights","tag-coming-of-age","tag-darius-the-great-deserves-better","tag-emily-woo-zeller","tag-family","tag-finding-my-voice","tag-friendship","tag-greta-jung","tag-historical","tag-ill-be-the-one","tag-identity","tag-if-i-tell-you-the-truth","tag-immigration","tag-jaine-ye","tag-jasmin-kaur","tag-jennifer-yen","tag-jessica-kim","tag-jia-lynn-yang","tag-josephine-huang","tag-joy-osmanski","tag-karissa-vacker","tag-kelly-yang","tag-keong-sim","tag-laural-merlington","tag-linda-sue-park","tag-loan-le","tag-love","tag-lyla-lee","tag-marie-g-myung-ok-lee","tag-mary-h-k-choi","tag-michael-levi-harris","tag-mike-jung","tag-minor-feelings","tag-more-than-just-a-pretty-face","tag-one-mighty-and-irresistible-tide","tag-parachutes","tag-parent-child-relationship","tag-pho-love-story","tag-phuc-tran","tag-prairie-lotus","tag-priya-ayyar","tag-rajani-larocca","tag-red-white-and-whole","tag-refugees","tag-richa-moorjani","tag-ryan-do","tag-sabina-khan","tag-school-library-journal","tag-sigh-gone","tag-stand-up-yumi-chung","tag-sunny-lu","tag-syed-m-masood","tag-tae-keller","tag-taste-for-love","tag-three-keys","tag-traci-chee","tag-vyvy-nguyen","tag-we-are-not-free","tag-when-you-trap-a-triger","tag-yolk","tag-zara-hossain-is-here"],"yoast_head":"\nAsian American #OwnVoices: Artfully Narrated Middle Grade, YA, and Crossover Audiobooks [in School Library Journal] - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/asian-american-ownvoices-artfully-narrated-middle-grade-ya-and-crossover-audiobooks-in-school-library-journal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Asian American #OwnVoices: Artfully Narrated Middle Grade, YA, and Crossover Audiobooks [in School Library Journal] - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. 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