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Asian Voices

Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth.

(2005 [1949]) A humble farmer's struggles with the forces of nature as well as Chinese traditions bring him success as wealthy landowner, while his selfless wife suffers.

Chin, Frank. Donald Duk.

(1991) On the eve of the Chinese New Year in San Francisco's Chinatown, twelve year old Donald Duk attempts to deal with his comical name and his feelings for his cultural heritage.

Choi, Sook Nyul. Year of Impossible Goodbyes.

(1991) A young Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940s, to later escape to freedom in South Korea.

Crew, Linda. Children of the River.

(1989) Having fled Cambodia four years earlier to escape the Khmer Rouge army, seventeen year old Sundara is torn between remaining faithful to her own people and enjoying life in her Oregon high school as a "regular" American.

Dalkey, Kara. Little Sister.

(1998) Thirteen-year old Fugiwara no Mitsuko, daughter of a noble family in the imperial court of twelfth century Japan, enlists the help of a shape-shifter and other figures from Japanese mythology in her efforts to save her older sister's life.

Garland, Sherry. Song of the Buffalo Boy.

(1992) Loi, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier, has been an outcast among her people for most of her seventeen years. Her romance with Khai, a buffalo tender, is opposed by his family, because they consider her to be inferior. She escapes an arranged marriage by faking her death and running away to Ho Chi Minh City.

Haugard, Erik Christian. The Samurai's Tale.

(2000) In turbulent sixteenth century Japan, orphaned Taro is taken in by a general serving the great warlord Takeda Shingen and grows up to become a samurai fighting for the enemies of his dead family.

Hoobler, Dorothy The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn.

(1999) While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth century Japan.

Lee, Marie G. Finding My Voice.

(1992) As she tries to enjoy her senior year and choose which college she will attend, Korean American Ellen Sung must deal with the prejudice of some of her classmates and pressure from her parents to get good grades.

Lee, Marie G. Necessary Roughness.

(1998) Sixteen year old Korean American Chan moves from Los Angeles to a small town in Minnesota, where he must cope not only with racism on the football team but also with the tensions in his relationship with his strict father.

McCaughrean, Geraldine. The Kite Rider: A Novel.

(2002) In thirteenth-century China, after trying to save his widowed mother from a horrendous second marriage, twelve year old Haoyou has life changing adventures when he takes to the sky as a circus kite rider and ends up meeting the great Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.

Mori, Kyoko. One Bird.

(1995) After her mother abandons them, fifteen year old Megumi tries to understand her father's need for his mistress while dealing with her own aching isolation.

Mori, Kyoko. Shizuko's Daughter.

(1993) After her mother's suicide when she is twelve years old, Yuki spends years living with her distant father and his resentful new wife, cut off from her mother's family, and relying on her own inner strength to cope with the tragedy.

Na, An. A Step From Heaven.

(2000) A young Korean girl and her family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.

Namioka, Lensey. April and the Dragon Lady.

(1994) Feeling confined by the traditional family attitudes of her strong-willed, manipulative grandmother, sixteen year old April Chen fights for her independence.

Namioka, Lensey. An Ocean Apart, a World Away: A Novel.

(2002) Despite the odds facing her decision to become a doctor in 1920's Nanking, China, teenaged Yanyan leaves her family to study at Cornell University where, along with hard work, she finds prejudice and loneliness as well as friendship and a new sense of accomplishment.

Namioka, Lensey. Ties that Bind, Ties that Break.

(1999) Ailin's life takes a different turn when she defies the traditions of upper class Chinese society by refusing to have her feet bound.

Paterson, Katherine. The Sign of the Chrysanthemum.

(1973) A teen-ager comes to know himself through contacts with social ills and political unrest while searching for his father in Japan's capital, centuries ago.

Platt, Randall Beth. The Likes of Me.

(2000) In 1918, having run away from the Washington State lumber camp she calls home, a fourteen year old half Chinese albino named Cordy makes her way to Seattle and finds work in a carnival.

Robinson, Mei Li. The Kitchen God's Wife.

(1991) Winnie Louie, an aging Chinese woman convinced that she will die soon, decides to unburden herself by divulging the secrets of those closest to her and to her suspicious, Americanized daughter.

Son, John. Finding My Hat.

(2003) Jin-Han describes his life growing up with his mother and father, immigrants from Korea, and his little sister as they move to different cities with his parents' business.

Soto, Gary. Pacific Crossing.

(1992) Fourteen year old Mexican American Lincoln Mendoza spends a summer with a host family in Japan, encountering new experiences and making new friends.

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club.

(1989) Encompassing two generations and a rich blend of Chinese and American history, the story of four struggling, strong women also reveals their daughters' memories and feelings.

Whitesel, Cheryl Aylward. Rebel: a Tibetan Odyssey.

(2000) Although he rebels against life in the Tibetan Buddhist monastery where he had been sent, fourteen year old Thunder comes to some amazing realizations about himself.

Yep, Laurence. Mountain Light.

(1985) Swept up in one of the local rebellions against the Manchus in China, nineteen year old Squeaky loses his home and travels to America to seek his fortune among the gold fields of California.

Yep, Laurence. Star Fisher.

(1991) Fifteen year old Joan Lee and her family find the adjustment hard when they move from Ohio to West Virginia in the 1920's.

Non-Fiction

Ishizuka, Kathy. Asian American Authors.

(2000) Profiles the lives of ten famous Asian-American writers.

Perl, Lila. Behind Barbed Wire: The Story of Japanese-Americans Internment During World War II.

(2003) Discusses the forced internment of Japanese-Americans in camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II.

Yep, Laurence. American Dragons: Twenty-Five Asian American Voices.

(1993) A collection of short stories, poems, and excerpts from plays that relate what it is like growing up Asian American.