Fil-Am books for young readers on AANHPI Heritage Month
SAN FRANCISCO – Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month is always a good time of the year to explore what books are out there that have been written or illustrated (or both!) by Filipino American authors.
It’s a timely way to get a head start on not just a summer reading list but even for the rest of the year. Be it graphic novels, mysteries, romance, cookbooks, history, thrillers, you name it – a Fil-Am author or illustrator has most likely created a story in that genre.
It’s also never too early to begin building your year-end gift list for the holiday season. If scrolling through online bookselling retailers is not your thing, your friendly neighborhood librarian or independent bookstore owner might be able to offer suggestions.
In the meantime, here are some randomly selected titles by Fil-Am authors for young (and young-at-heart) readers.
It Won’t Always Be Like This: A Graphic Memoir
By Malaka Gharib
It’s hard enough to figure out boys, beauty and being cool when you’re young, but even harder when you’re in a country where you don’t understand the language, culture or social norms. Nine-year-old Malaka arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation. Then her father shares news that changes everything. Over the next 15 years, Malaka reevaluates her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness!
Rick Riordan Presents: The Spirit Glass
By Roshani Chokshi
From the author of the best-selling Aru Shah series. Corazon yearns to finally start training as a babaylan (a mystical healer and spirit guide). She has been visiting her dead parents’ ghosts using a soul key. When a vengeful ghost steals the key, Corazon embarks on a quest through the spirit realms with her bloodthirsty gecko Saso. They must move quickly before the ghost gets through the spirit glass.
By Shannon C. F. Rogers
Filipino American teenager Marisol Martin and her mom were forever locked in an argument with no beginning and no end. Clothes, church, boys, no matter the topic. When her mother dies suddenly, Marisol is left with no one to fight against, with nothing but a burning anger, and nowhere for it to go. As a new friendship begins to develop with someone who just might understand, Marisol reluctantly starts to open up.
By Jason Tanamor
Jamie Santiago is just an ordinary high school teenager. He has a huge crush on a girl from school, he watches a ton of sitcoms, and he is constantly trying to keep his dad from feeding egg rolls to his white friends. He also aspires to be the next tinikling folk dance master. When the last ever Asian Folk Festival falls on the same day as Homecoming, he is forced to make an important decision between honoring his heritage and salvaging what’s left of his social life.
By Erin Entrada Kelly
When Orchid Mason arrives at Fawn Creek Middle School from Paris, the other seventh graders don’t know what to think. The school might be small, but it has its tightly knit groups: the self-proclaimed “God Squad,” the jocks, the outsiders. In this small factory town where everyone knows everything about everyone, that’s not necessarily a great thing. Who will claim Orchid? Who will save Orchid? Or will Orchid save them?
By Randy Ribay
Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.
Walter Ang is the author of Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater. Available at Amazon, Bookshop and other online booksellers.
