Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where book bloggers are invited to share their top ten lists centered on a certain theme.
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! If you know me at all, you know I love promoting diverse books, so this week I’m sharing books about Asian & Pacific Islander characters! This list includes both favorites of mine and upcoming releases that I’m excited for.
1. The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar: I recently read and adored this f/f romance with #OwnVoices Bangladeshi rep! It’s a YA romance about two teen girls of color running rival henna businesses and is already one of my 2020 favorites.
2. The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park: I can’t wait to read this YA rom-com with Korean rep that involves a zombie-themed escape room!
3. The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf: This historical novel about the Malaysian race riots totally deserves more attention! In addition of Malaysian rep, it also has Muslim rep and OCD rep.
4. Any Day With You by Mae Respicio: I absolutely adored Mae’s debut, The House that Lou Built, and am so excited for another middle grade novel with #OwnVoiced Filipino rep from her!
5. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon: Sandhya is hands-down one of my favorite YA authors, and I’m so excited Pinky is getting a book! I can’t wait to read this one when it comes out later this year.
6. This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura: Misa is wonderful, and I really loved this YA contemporary about a teen girl trying to save her family’s flower shop, while her family still lives with the effects of the Japanese American Internment.
7. Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao: I’ve loved both of Gloria’s previous books and this fake-dating romance starring Taiwanese-Americans sounds super cute!
8. Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman: Akemi’s one of my favorite authors! Like all of her books, the main character in this one is a biracial Asian-American teen; it also takes place in Hawai’i so there are many other Asian & Hawaiian characters!
9. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay: I absolutely loved this YA novel about a Filipino-American teen traveling to the Philippines to find out the truth about his cousin’s death. I’m part Filipino-American and I really connected with the main character!
10. I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee: I’m beyond excited for this YA novel about a fat girl dreaming of being a K-Pop star! We definitely need more fat positive YA novels, and I know that the teens at my library are gonna adore this one.
What’s your favorite book by an Asian or Pacific author?
Books. Libraries. Also, cats. 
I’ve been meaning to read This Time Will Be Different, and really enjoyed The Henna Wars and The Weight of Our Sky. Great list, and I love all the cats on this blog, haha :).
My TTT: https://notprimadonna.blogspot.com/2020/05/top-ten-tuesday-my-dream-bookish-party.html
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This Time Will be Different was so good! Have you read Misa Sugiura’s other book, It’s Not Like It’s A Secret?
And thank you for your kind words! Gotta show off my cat lady pride, haha.
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Ooh I haven’t read any other books by Misa Sugiura, but It’s Not Like It’s A Secret looks good! Adding it to my TBR now 🙂
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Yay! Happy reading!
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Yes for 10 Things I Hate About Pinky! I could read a few others on this list too.
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Yessss! Have you read any of Sandhya Menon’s other books?
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I’ve add so many of these to my TBR. Can’t wait to read.
https://bookwormsanonymous.blog/2020/05/05/top-ten-tuesday-things-people-id-have-at-a-bookish-party/
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Yay! Glad to share. Happy reading!
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Great list! The Henna Wars and I’ll Be the One are two I’d like to check out, and The Perfect Escape sounds cute too. 😊
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Yay! I hope you get to read them soon!
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Henna Wars has been something that has caught my eye recently and I’m really intrigued. Thanks for the post!
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It was sooooo good! I hope you get a chance to read it soon!
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What a great list. I need to read The Henna Wars sometime.
My TTT .
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Thanks! I hope you love The Henna Wars!
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Patron Saints of Nothing has been on my radar.. will try it once quarantine is lifted..
My Top Ten Tuesday post
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Yay! Hope you get to read it soon. I really loved it!
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Great list and what a fun topic!
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Thank you! Happy reading!
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Great list! I definitely need to add a bunch of these to my TBR list.
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Thank you! Glad to share some book recommendations!
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Ooh all of these look so awesome 😍 I’m super excited for The Henna Wars and I can’t wait to pick it up after my next read! I’m really looking forward to also finally reading a book by Akemi Dawn Bowman. I’ve heard so many great things. Fab list 😀
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Omg I hope you love The Henna Wars! And all of Akemi’s books are amazing!
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SO many of these looks so fun for summer!! Great post!
My Top Ten
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Thank you! And yes, a lot of these are perfect summer reads!
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What a great and timely topic! I read an ARC of I’ll Be the One and LOVED it!
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Omg I’m so jealous you got an ARC! I cannot wait to read it!
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I got it off Eidelweiss/Above the Treeline.
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Oooh awesome! I’ll have to download a copy!
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Omg I see Summer Bird Blue! Akemi Dawn Bowman is also one of my favorite authors! If you liked that book a lot, then you should definitely check out The Astonishing Color of After by Emily XR Pan 🙂
My TTT
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The Astonishing Color of After is one of my all-time favorite books! And yessss Akemi Dawn Bowman is truly one of my favorites. Sounds like we have very similar tastes!
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10 Things I Hate About Pinky sounds really good! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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I’m so excited for it! Have you read any of Sandhya Menon’s other books?
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this is such a cool list, i absolutely adore the recommendations. i’ll be the one sounds like such an exciting read!!
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