Add These to Your TBR: AAPI Authors You Need to Read—Curated Book Reviews
Curated by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books)
One of the greatest joys of reading is discovering voices that open windows into experiences, cultures, and communities beyond your own—and the authors featured in today's post do exactly that. This month, we're spotlighting books by Asian-American, Pacific-Islander (AAPI) authors across a range of genres, all of which would meet the category in this year's Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge. Whether you're in a reading funk, craving something laugh-out-loud fun, or hunting for your next literary obsession, we think you'll find something here worth adding to your TBR. (I've added some new books, which are marked with an asterisk.)
Julie Tieu's THE DONUT TRAP - A Sweet Romance Full of Heart (Ashley's review):
"I absolutely loved this beautiful story, which I listened to thanks to Libro.fm and their ALC program. I've been in a little bit of a reading funk, but this one helped me along with my progress and left me ready to pop in my earbuds to do some more listening! (I was so surprised to see that this was a DEBUT! I can't wait to read more by Julie Tieu!)
The Donut Trap (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org) centers 22-year-old Jasmine Tran, a daughter of Cambodian refugees of Chinese descent who fled Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge genocide and found their way to America, where they own a donut shop. While their shop has a steady stream of locals and a solid business, they have not raised prices, included fancier options, or found their footing in the social media world. So with rent costs rising, Jasmine begins to worry that she'll never find her way out of helping her parents at the shop. She feels adrift after college, wondering how she will meet new people and find her way into a career outside of donuts. When Alex, a meet cute crush from college, reappears in Jasmine's life, she finds herself hopeful for the possibility of romance and more outside of the donut shop that has become her whole world." Click to read the full review.
"After reading and absolutely loving Dial A for Aunties and Four Aunties and a Wedding, I was eager to read more by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I was thrilled when my library hold came in for Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), but I also had some trepidation as it seemed unlikely that it could hold up to the expectations I had based on the other series.
"However, I shouldn't have worried at all! This murder mystery novel is full of quirky, complicated, lovable characters, all of whom do some rash things in the face of hard circumstances." Click to read the full review.
Jessie Q. Sutanto's FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING--Good, Campy Fun (Sara's review):
"I was delighted when Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Four Aunties and a Wedding (Book 2 in the Aunties series) came out in March. I really enjoyed the audio of Dial A for Aunties, and I just knew Four Aunties and a Wedding was going to be just what I needed. I also knew I had to get the audiobook–Risa Mei, the narrator, brings these characters to life.
We last left Meddy, her mom, and the Aunties in book one with a brand new engagement between Meddy and her boyfriend, Nathan. So, we pick up with the wedding planning in book two and then the wedding day. Let me just tell you—SO MANY hijinks ensue. Like the first in the series, in Four Aunties and a Wedding, you must suspend all disbelief and just enjoy this fun, campy story. If you can do this, this is a wild, hilarious ride. These are just a few of the hijinks: mafia ties, kidnapping, giant fascinators shaped like komodo dragons…and I am just getting started. I really don’t want to say anything beyond this because it is a mystery, and I don’t want to spoil a thing!" Click to read the full review.
*Elizabeth Lim's SIX CRIMSON CRANES - A Young Adult Fantasy Fairy Tale Retelling (Ashley's review):
"This brilliant YA fantasy read focuses on Princess Shiori, who at the beginning of the story is worried about her upcoming betrothal to one of the lords of the kingdom. However, as forbidden magic latent within her suddenly blooms, she finds herself in a much more precarious situation than a simple unwanted betrothal.
"When Kiki, Shiori's beloved paper crane that came to life thanks to Shiori's magic, winds up at the bottom of a lake, Shiori dives in to get her and encounters a dragon." Click here to read the full review.
*Emiko Jean's TOKYO EVER AFTER - Discovering Japan and the World (Ashley's review):
"I don't want to spoil anything from Book 1, so for today's review, I am circling back to Book 1, Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), which we read as an Unabridged buddy read pick in February of [2022].
"Tokyo Ever After centers on Izumi Tanaka, a Japanese American teenager living in Mount Shasta, a small town in northern California. Izumi, who goes by Izzy because it's "easier" for her mostly white community, struggles to find her place and is unsure about her identity and her future." Click to read the full review.
"I listened to Jen Sookfong Lee's Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart: A Memoir (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) thanks to Libro.fm's ALC program. I'm so happy that I experienced this one via audio since the author reads it herself, communicating the tenderness, humor, and outrage she feels with great resonance.
"The book is a series of essays, meditations that weave together a particular pop-culture focus with the author's thoughts on different parts of her life.
"There's a gorgeous tribute to Anne of Green Gables as she considers the impact of her father's death when she was a child and of her subsequent feelings of abandonment by her mother." Click to read the full review.
*Sumi Hahn's THE MERMAID OF JEJU - Love and Bravery in a Time of War (Ashley's review):
"This beautiful historical fiction novel explores the situation in Jeju during World War II as Japanese occupation ended and American soldiers came to occupy the island. Many thanks to Libro.fm for access to the audio of Sumi Hahn's The Mermaid of Jeju, which just came out in December! I loved this audiobook, but I am sure I would have enjoyed the print version as well.
"This book opens with the present time and shows Junja's moment of death as an older woman in America surrounded by her husband and two daughters. From there, we go back to the 1940s on Jeju island in Korea where young Junja is a haenyeo (a female diver) like her mother and grandmother. Early on in the story, Junja offers to take her mother's place to venture from their village up to the nearby mountain village to barter the abalone they caught for a pig. On that journey, she meets Suwol, who becomes an important part of the events that follow."
Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere - Backlist Excellence (Sara's review):
"Are you looking for some great backlist reading? Well, do I have a suggestion for you. I read Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere a while ago, and thought it was amazing. More recently, I watched the limited series on Hulu. I enjoyed the series, but there is no standing in for Ng's words on the page.
"First, Ng's masterful writing is truly something to behold. She has the ability to capture a feeling in words that I just haven't found in a lot of the books I have read." Click to read the full review.
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Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
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