Hypable / January 15, 2019

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee combines science-fiction and mythology to tell the story about a young fox trying to find her missing brother. When I say Dragon Pearl has it all, I mean it has it all. It’s difficult to place this book in a singular box, but rather than that being a deterrent, it seems to be one of its biggest strengths. Kids (and adults!) looking for something a little different will certainly find exactly that in Yoon Ha Lee’s novel.

BuzzFeed News / May 13, 2021

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu (Gallery/Saga Press) These melancholy and gorgeous short stories infused with Chinese history and culture have won many awards. The title piece became the first work of fiction to win all three of SFF's major awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award. In it, a boy's Chinese mother makes him origami animals that move after she breathes into them. In “The Literomancer,” a young girl with big dreams of becoming a bullfighter moves to China in the 1960s with her military family and has trouble adjusting. “Mono No Aware,” my favorite piece in the collection, describes an Earth nearing destruction. Countries hurriedly build spaceships to save themselves, but the US is the only one to complete a ship in time, and the young narrator is chosen as the only Japanese member of its crew. The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom; out June 1) Nghi Vo’s stunning and subversive retelling of The Great Gatsby subtly infuses the world with magic. Jordan Baker is a queer, adopted Vietnamese American raised in America’s wealthiest social circles. She can make cut paper come to life — though it's a skill she has little opportunity to hone as it comes from her Vietnamese ancestry, and she knows no other person of her heritage. She befriends Daisy as a child, and Daisy becomes the epitome of white wealth and privilege. Immersed in Jazz Age culture, Vo expertly draws out the white patriarchal racism and sexism of The Great Gatsby.

Omaha World Herald / May 16, 2022

Omaha Public Library wants to help readers find new books — or at least books new to them. Every month in this space, OPL employees will recommend reading based on different writing genres, themes or styles. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — a time for paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success. OPL staff selected some titles by or about AAPI individuals. Find these titles and more at one of OPL’s locations or omahalibrary.org.