Category Archives: Books

8Books Review: “American Sutra” by Duncan Ryuken Williams

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Lily

American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War by Duncan Ryuken Williams revisits Japanese American internment through the lens of Buddhism. Williams begins as World War II breaks out and Japan becomes an enemy of … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: “The Lonesome Bodybuilder” by Yukiko Motoya

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Guest Writer

By Timmy Pham The Lonesome Bodybuilder, by Yukiko Motoya, contains eleven stories wrapped in a dark fantasy. Drawn from a collection of stories originally in Japanese, the work was only last year translated to English by Asa Yoneda, and published … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: “Blame This on the Boogie” by Rina Ayuyang

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Guest Writer

By Timmy Pham There are many things to love about Rina Ayuyang’s Blame This on the Boogie, but one that stands out to me is her waxy, crayon depiction of skin tone. In her first autobiographical comic, Ayuyang captures snippets … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: Half Gods by Akil Kumarasamay

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Lily

Half Gods is a fascinating set of intertwined short stories spanning Sri Lanka and America, charting a story about family, survival, and home. Akil Kumarasamay’s debut collection is captivating and engaging. Two brothers, named after characters in the Mahabharata, lie … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: “The Bird Catcher and Other Stories” by Fayeza Hasanat

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Lily

Fayeza Hasanat’s debut short story collection, The Bird Catcher and Other Stories, is set in the Bangladesh and the United States. It is filled with questions about identity and belonging, about those who are seeking answers under the weight of … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: Heroine’s Journey by Sarah Kuhn

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Lily

Heroine’s Journey brings an end to Sarah Kuhn’s delightful Asian American superheroine trilogy. In the first of the series, Heroine Complex, we meet Evie Tanaka, assistant to superheroine Aveda Jupiter. In the second, Heroine Worship, we explore Aveda Jupiter aka Annie … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: “Emergency Contact” by Mary H.K. Choi

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Lily

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi is such a delightful YA novel, I can’t even tell you. Penny is starting college in Austin, TX hoping to be a writer. Sam works at a cafe and sleeps there too, stuck on … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: “Bury What We Cannot Take” by Kirstin Chen

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Lily

Bury What We Cannot Take, the latest novel from author Kirstin Chen set in Mao’s China, is a doozy. After 12-year-old Ah Liam reports his grandmother to the Communist Party, the family must flee their little island off the mainland. … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: Though I Get Home by YZ Chin

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Lily

Though I Get Home by YZ Chin is an intricate series of short intertwined vignettes following a small host of characters tied to Malaysia. Isabella Sin’s time in a notorious prison. Grandfather’s stories about working for a white man when … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: “The Prince and the Dressmaker” by Jen Wang

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Lily

The Prince and the Dressmaker is a delightful graphic novel about friendship and secrets and identity and love. Prince Sebastian is supposed to be looking for a bride. But at night, he secretly dons fashion forward dresses and emerges as … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: Go Home!

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Lily

This is a review for Go Home! a new anthology out from Asian American Writers Workshop and Feminist Press, edited by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, with a foreword by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Ok that was for the SEO. Now let’s begin … Continue reading →

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8Books Review: Secrets We Kept by Krystal Sital

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Lily

Krystal Sital’s debut memoir, Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad, is an intimate and powerful memoir about three generations of her family — their stories, their traumas, their secrets, and their relationship to the author’s grandfather. Eloquently written and deeply personal, … Continue reading →

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