May is AAPI Heritage Month, and we’re celebrating by sharing stories written by the AAPI community. Here are our book recommendations for whatever mood you're in, whether you're looking for something historical, a novel that speaks to your quarter-life crisis, or a romance to make you blush.

When you want to fill in the blanks from history class:

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Sympathizer, shows the Vietnamese perspective of the Vietnam War. The book shows the effect of the war on the South Vietnamese and their refugee journey and their life in America, as well as giving perspective to the Viet Cong. Growing up, I heard many stories from my parents, particularly my mom, talking about their experience in Vietnam and how they escaped, but in movies and books, the stories were always Western-centered with the Vietnamese either portrayed as the victims or the enemy. In this book, through great storytelling and interesting plot, Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee himself, puts the Vietnamese at the center of the story with their own experience and their own perspective which I really loved as it represented the story that my parents told me since I was little. ~Luke

When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe

I first read this in middle school, and it was the first time I read a novel set in the Philippines. It challenged my idea of who literature could be about. Set during World War II, the novel follows different members of a Filipino family in the days leading up to the Japanese surrender. The horrors of war are interwoven with magical-realist family stories. The characters are so vivid and brave that they inspired my own short story for a creative writing class. (Reader be warned: this is not a light-hearted book and includes sexual assault and torture) ~Katrina

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

This mystery novel revolves around the Japanese American experience during and following the Second World War, and follows the main protagonist through their incarceration in Manzanar. Hirahara presents her crime fiction story based on personal historical stories and brings forth her depiction of the setting and time period based on her research and archival works in Japanese American history. Like Sympathizer, Hirahara expertly mixes historical reality in its setting with a fictional story. Hirahara’s crime mystery is enticing and expertly woven to create interesting characters and plot while also being able to show a realistic interpretation of how Japanese Americans were treated and seen during that time. ~Luke

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker

This graphic novel follows George Takei’s experience in the Tule Lake Segregation Center. Takei discusses the hardships and struggles he experienced while incarcerated and how they shaped his life and politics. This graphic novel does well in illustrating the experience of Japanese American while in incarceration camps and through his own telling, Takei expertly shows his story through the dialogue and narration. I really like the art and how it has a very dark feeling and puts you in the environment in the incarceration camp. ~Luke

When you feel stuck in the supporting role:

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu.

Charles Yu’s novel shares the experience of an Asian American actor who continues to get background character roles and follows his decision to rise above the box he is placed in. Written as a screenplay script, this novel shows the experience of racism shared by Asian Americans and Asian immigrants of being looked over and passed to the side, and how the main character overcame the discrimination. This novel really highlights the early Asian American experience in entertainment and the unique writing style of Yu is great in presenting the world of the main character as an actor and his experience in the larger screenplay as a generic character but being placed in the forefront. ~Luke

When you want a blend of fantasy, folktale, and family history:

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston

This novel mixes Kingston’s personal experience and identity as a first-generation Chinese American woman with traditional Chinese folklore. Kingston’s novel represents and shares the cultural and social experience and representation of being Chinese. Kingston illustrates how being Chinese shaped her perspective with herself and her own gender and racial identity. I really like the variety in voices and style that is used with the different stories. I enjoyed each story and I think Kingston really did well to make them all unique and tell their own story while also tying them together. ~Luke

When you need a gift for a cousin feeling caught between cultures:

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel that follows three different storylines that tie together in the end. The graphic novel showcases Chinese folklore and literature, such as a retelling of the Monkey King in the Journey to the West, and also shows a coming-of-age story of a Chinese American child and their struggle at home and in school. I found the art style very similar to children's Chinese comics which I really like. As someone who watched Journey to the West cartoons growing up, I loved how Yang incorporated the characters from the story into his story and I think he did really well with doing that, making the “real life” characters connect with these folklore characters. ~Luke

When you're having a quarter-life crisis, want to quit your job, and your parents don't approve:

Chemistry by Weike Wang

This book follows its protagonist, a chemistry Ph.D. student, as she figures out her place in life. On paper, she seems to be on track for a life of success and prestige—in fact her boyfriend just proposed. But she struggles with an overall ambivalence toward her life and faces enormous pressure from her Chinese parents, who are strict, but not stereotypical. They are also eager for her academic career to take off. The book has a unique train-of-thought narration style as the unnamed protagonist goes through an identity crisis. It is also has lots of chemistry jokes (it will come as no surprise that Weike Wang has a chemistry degree from Harvard) ~Katrina

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

Pachinko may be Min Jin Lee’s most well-known work, but I have a soft spot for Free Food for Millionaires.  Set in 1990s NYC, the book has a full cast of complex characters that show a rich depiction of the Korean diaspora. The Korean-American protagonist Casey Han is a second-generation immigrant who likes nice things but hates working corporate jobs. Her immigrant parents, who’ve sacrificed everything for stability, can’t understand why she’s so entitled or why she won’t just go to law school. What makes this novel so compelling is Casey’s internal tug-of-war: caught between the values she was raised with and the glittering ideals of individualistic success she absorbed at Princeton, she feels like she doesn't fully belong in either world. ~Katrina

When you’re looking for a beach read with some family drama:

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

This romantic comedy novel follows the story of a couple of two NYC professors who travel to Singapore to meet the boyfriend’s family. The novel discusses family relationship and duty and social status and wealth, particularly in the Asian community. The novel also approaches the expectations and responsibility of individual members in the family. Kwan creates a fun and hilarious dynamic between the different relationships he sets up and as a romance story, Kwan set up a really interesting path between his two main characters and their relationship with each other as well as with their family. ~Luke

When you're untangling generational trauma:

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

This novel follows four Chinese immigrant families in San Francisco who create a mahjong club called the Joy Luck Club. The novel goes through the multigenerational history of the family from the time in China to their time in the United States. The novel shows the story of Chinese immigrants, the themes of family and highlights Chinese culture and traditions. This novel was really enjoyable with its very great dynamic relationship between daughters and mothers and very funny as well. ~Luke

When you're untangling generational trauma but want pictures:

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

In this illustrated memoir, Thi Bui reflects on how well she can really know her parents, given all they have suffered as well as her reluctance to ask about it. Through illustrated panels, the book takes us through her parents’ life before and during the Vietnam War, their escape from Vietnam, and migration to the US. It’s a visually beautiful story about giving grace to our families, and ourselves. ~Katrina

When you want something short and poignant to quietly break your heart:

Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Lahiri has a beautiful way of capturing the quiet moments in her short stories—the things left unsaid between family members, the aches of displacement. It’s been years since I read it, and I still remember certain phrases from “A Temporary Matter” because the language is that beautiful. ~Katrina

"The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu

With a length of only 15 pages, this magical realism short story still managed to make me cry. I don’t want to spoil the experience of reading it for the first time. It’s short; just read it. ~Katrina

When your family’s love language is food:

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

In this memoir, Zauner writes about her relationship with her Korean mother who she lost to cancer. As the title might suggest, food is the love language at play, not just between Zauner and her mother but also between Zauner and her Korean heritage. Her journey is an incredibly personal exploration of grief while also very relatable (I too learned Korean cooking from Maangchi). I found myself grieving Zauner’s mother with her by the end of the memoir. ~Katrina

When you want to blush:

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Author Helen Hoang loves romance novels as a way to understand and experience emotions; she read her first romance book in the eighth grade. When Hoang was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder later in life at age 34, she was inspired to write the first book in her romance trilogy, The Kiss Quotient. Its sequel, The Bride Test, follows Esme, a hotel maid in Vietnam, to the US to accompany the autistic Khai, who has never had a girlfriend, to a series of family weddings. The book was inspired by Hoang’s mother's immigrant story, with Esme's story coming directly from their conversations about her life in Vietnam and emigrating to the US. There’s a lot to learn and also a lot of sexy scenes! ~Ivy

When you want inspiration to find your own voice:

The Body Papers by Grace Talusan

This is a powerful memoir about living undocumented, surviving childhood abuse, and navigating illness and identity as a Filipino immigrant in the U.S. Told through a series of essays, Talusan uses a non-linear structure to explore what it means to carry trauma in both body and paperwork. It’s a book about what it takes to reclaim your own narrative, and it’s a story that feels more urgent than ever with the current villainization of undocumented communities. ~Katrina

A Burning by Megha Majumdar

This novel follows three characters after a terrorist attack at a Kolkata train station. Jivan, a young Muslim woman, is accused of the crime after a Facebook comment criticizing the government. PT Sir, her former gym teacher, sees an opportunity to rise in a right-wing political party. Lovely, a hijra aspiring actress, might hold the key to Jivan’s innocence, but speaking up could ruin her future. It’s a powerful, beautifully written novel about justice, ambition, and complicity in modern India that also holds a mirror up to the U.S. ~Katrina