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Reading Lists: Asian and Asian-American Cultures
This is a "mixed-bag" of stories that have something to do with Asian cultures. Some are set in the United States, others are set in other countries such as Korea, China, or India. Some are historical fiction. These novels are generally suited for ages 12 and up.
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Balgassi, Haemi. Tae's Sonata. 1997. 123p. Tae, a Korean-American eighth-grader, tries to sort out her feelings when she is assigned a popular, cute boy as a partner for a school report and later has a falling out with her best friend. |
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Bell, William. Forbidden City: a novel of modern China. 1990. 199p. 17 year old Alex Jackson is thrilled when his father asks Alex to join him on assignment in China. Alex and his dad will become part of the great historical events that sweep China in the spring of 1989. A students and civilians demonstrate in Tian An Men Square for changes in the government, Alex and his father have to face being outsiders during a time of political upheaval. |
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Bennett, Jack. The Voyage of the Lucky Dragon. 1981. 149p. A young Vietnamese boy recounts the perils and hardships endured by his family as they journey to Indonesia, Singapore, and finally to Australia seeking political asylum. |
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Chin, Frank. Donald Duk. 1991. 173p. On the eve of the Chinese New year in san Francisco's Chinatown, twelve-year-old Donald Duk attempts to deal with his comical name and his feelings for his cultural heritage. |
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Crew, Linda. Children of the River. 1989. 212p. Having fled Cambodia four years earlier to escape the Khmer Rouge army, seventeen-year-old Sundara is torn between remaining faithful to her own people and adjusting to life in her Oregon high school as a "regular" American. |
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Garland, Sherry. Shadow of the Dragon. 1993. 314p. High school sophpmore Danny Vo tries to resolve the conflict between the values of his Vietnamese refugee family and his new American way of life. |
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Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. Translated by Hilda Rosner. 1951. 122p. As a youth, the young Indian Siddhartha meets the Buddha himself, then alive on earth, but he cannot be content as a disciple; he must work out his own destiny and solve his own doubts. Best for 10th grade and up. |
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Kim, Helen. The Long Season of Rain. 1996. 275p. When an orphan boy comes to live with her family, eleven-year-old Junehee begins to realize that the demands placed on Korean women can destroy their lives. This story is set in 1960s Korea. Best for ages 12 and up. |
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Kipling, Rudyard. Kim. 1901. 345p. Kimball O'Hara, son of an Irish sergeant, and raised in the streets of Lahore, India, becomes chela to an old Tibetan lama and then a spy for the Secret Service. This novel is considered by many to be Kipling's finest book. This is storytelling at its best, with all the vitality and color and appeal it first offered 100 years ago. |
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Mori, Kyoko. Shizuko's Daughter. 1993. 223p. Set in Japan. After her mother's suicide when she was twelve years old, Yuki spends years living with her distant father and his resentful new wife, cut off from her mother's family, and relying on her own inner strength to cope with the tragedy. |
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Namioka, Lensey. Den of the White Fox. 1997. 216p. In medieval Japan, two out-of-work samurai warriors must use their fighting skills when they join a group of local boys, led by the mysterious White Fox, in resistance to a cruel occupying force. |
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Okimoto, Jean Davies. Molly By Any Other Name. 1990. 276p. A teenage Asian girl who has been adopted by no-Asian parents decides to find out who her biological parents are. |
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