Monthly Collection Spotlight
May 2026
Asian Pacific Islander Voices & Stories
You know what you did : a novel by K. T. Nguyen
You know what you did : a novel
by K. T. Nguyen

When her mother, a Vietnam War refugee, dies suddenly, Annie Shaw finds her OCD coming back with a vengeance, and when the investigation zeroes in on her, her mind increasingly fractures and the only thing she knows is this: she will do anything to protect her daughter even if it means losing herself.
Crying in H Mart : a memoir by Michelle Zauner
Crying in H Mart : a memoir
by Michelle Zauner

The Japanese Breakfast indie pop star presents a full-length account of her viral New Yorker essay to share poignant reflections on her experiences of growing up Korean-American, becoming a professional musician and caring for her terminally ill mother. 
The school for good mothers : a novel by Jessamine Chan
The school for good mothers : a novel
by Jessamine Chan

After one moment of poor judgment involving her daughter Harriet, Frida Liu falls victim to a host of government officials who will determine if she is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother's devotion. 
Our missing hearts : a novel by Celeste Ng
Our missing hearts : a novel
by Celeste Ng

From the number one bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, a deeply suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child in a society consumed by fear Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard University's library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve "American culture" in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic-including the work of Bird's mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old. Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn't know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn't wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is drawn into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change. Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It's a story about the power-and limitations-of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng: A Darkly Funny, Gory, and Ghostly Horror Novel by Kylie Lee Baker
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng: A Darkly Funny, Gory, and Ghostly Horror Novel
by Kylie Lee Baker

In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.
Staff Picks
The Leavers : a Novel by Lisa Ko
The Leavers : a Novel
by Lisa Ko

An award-winning debut novel follows the experiences of a Chinese youth who when his undocumented worker mother fails to return home is adopted by a family that attempts to make him over as an American teen while he struggles to reconcile his new life with memories of the family he left behind.
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
Homeseeking
by Karissa Chen

Separated by war and reunited after 60 years, Haiwen and Suchi navigate decades of love, loss and survival across continents, as their shared past clashes with their hopes for a second chance at life.
I leave it up to you : a novel by Jinwoo Chong
I leave it up to you : a novel
by Jinwoo Chong

Jack Jr. awakens from a coma to an unfamiliar world, so he returns to Korean American enclave Fort Lee, New Jersey, to work at his parents' restaurant Ioja, spar with alcoholic brother James, connect with the male nurse who cared for him, and become underqualified sage to his teenage nephew.
Not your China doll : the wild and shimmering life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury
Not your China doll : the wild and shimmering life of Anna May Wong
by Katie Gee Salisbury

Set against the glittering backdrop of the Jazz Age and the rise of Hollywood, this celebration of the first Asian American movie star who graced Oscar-winning films shows how she moved away from being typecast as a China doll or dragon lady and worked towards reshaping Asian American representation in film.
American flygirl by Susan Tate Ankeny
American flygirl
by Susan Tate Ankeny

This story of the first Asian American woman to earn a pilot's license details how she overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles of prejudice and sexism to fly for the United States military during World War II. Illustrations.
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