Author Archives: Lily

About Lily

East Coast Chinese American. I like thick-skinned dumplings and hard-covered books.

8Books Review: “The Leavers” by Lisa Ko

Lisa Ko’s debut novel, The Leavers, follows a mother and son separated by immigration agents, borders, and new families. Deming Guo wakes up one day in the Bronx to find that his mother Polly has disappeared. Soon, he is Daniel Wilkinson … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Deceit and Other Possibilities” by Vanessa Hua

Vanessa Hua’s debut collection of short stories, Deceit and Other Possibilities, guides readers through a “deceit” to provide a compelling portrait of human nature. The spotlight falls on a range of individuals, a Hong Kong celebrity, a Korean American pastor, a … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “The Hope of Another Spring: Takuichi Fujii”

The Hope of Another Spring: Takuichi Fujii, Artists and Wartime Witness brings Fujii’s art to a broader audience with the stunning pages from a diary he kept while incarcerated during World War II. Written by Barbara Johns and with an … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Heroine Worship” by Sarah Kuhn

Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn is the riveting sequel to Heroine Complex, starring not just one, but two badass Asian American superheroines. You may or may not recall that I loved Heroine Complex when it came out last summer. The first book in … Continue reading

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Giveaway: The Little Exile by Jeanette Arakawa

8Asians and Stone Bridge Press are teaming up to give away two copies of Jeanette Arakawa’s The Little Exile. It’s the story of a Japanese American middle school girl sent to an internment camp during World War II. As Koji put … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire” by Susan Tan

Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire is the debut novel from author Susan Tan about a spunky and spirited half-white, half-Chinese eight and half year old with grand visions for her future and astute insight into her past. Cilla is our … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” by Lisa See

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, the latest novel from author Lisa See, is a story of mothers and daughters. Li-Yan is a member of an ethnic minority in the tea mountains of Yunnan, China, growing up in a time of immense … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui

The Best We Could Do is a beautifully drawn and beautifully narrated memoir by Thi Bui. It is the story of her family and how she reckoned with their past, flight from Vietnam, family members lost and found again…and all the … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee’s second novel Pachinko follows several generations of a Korean family living under Japanese colonialism. In the 1930s in a small town in colonial Korea, a young woman named Sunja is abandoned by her wealthy lover, but saved by … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Lucky Boy” by Shanthi Sekaran

Shanthi Sekaran’s novel Lucky Boy is the bewitching story of two mothers and their love and expectations for themselves and the one boy each calls their own. Young Solimar Castro Valdez braves the border crossing in pursuit of a better life … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember” by Christine Lee

Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee is a compelling memoir about the author’s reinvention after a life-changing stroke at the age of 33. Eloquently written, Lee guides readers through the … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “The Refugees” by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s newest book, The Refugees, is a luminous collection of eight short stories that takes piercingly intimate looks at the lives of refugees, of those caught between worlds, of those caught in a moment. The Pulitzer Prize winning author’s … Continue reading

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