Our friends at Asians for Collective Liberation (ACL Spokane) put together a book list for you to browse featuring reads for a variety of ages that share about Asian American experiences and perspectives on diversity and intentionality.
A Map Into the World by Kao Kalia Yang
In this quietly profound picture book, a young Hmong girl listens deeply to the lives around her and leaves behind gifts of remembrance and hope. Her gentle acts become echoes—small but meaningful gestures that link past and future, showing how even the youngest among us can shape the world with compassion and care.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Told through a letter from a son to his mother, Vuong’s novel is a lyrical echo across generations—unearthing trauma, tenderness, and identity as inherited through language and silence. It reminds us that writing can be both remembrance and resistance, shaping a future where our truths are finally spoken aloud.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Spanning four generations, Pachinko captures the resilience of a Korean family in Japan, whose survival and strength ripple forward through time. Their story is an echo of displacement and belonging—a powerful testament to how family history, even when fractured, can become a legacy that speaks to new tomorrows.
To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen, illustrated by Minnie Phan
No Neutral by Shin Yu Pai
Ma and Me by Putsata Reang
East Side Solitude by Asyia Gover
Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
It weaves Indigenous wisdom, science, and personal story in a way that makes you feel connected to the Earth and your ancestors at the same time. It’s like sitting with an elder who’s also a botanist, reminding you that care and reciprocity aren’t just ideas, they’re practices.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
This one’s soft, weird, and full of heart. It takes place in a future where humans finally learned to live in balance with nature. A monk and a robot go on a journey just asking big questions like: “What do people need?” It’s cozy but deep and makes you think about how we rebuild with intention.
As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
If you’re looking for the real history behind environmental justice, especially from an Indigenous perspective, this one lays it down. It connects colonization to land theft to climate fights today, but it’s not just about harm, it’s about resistance, survival, and the power of remembering.
Silent Majority by Wang Xiaobo (《沉默的大多数》 王小波)
Wang Xiaobo’s essays woke us up to the power of independent thinking. With sharp wit and fearless clarity, he questions conformity, mocks blind obedience, and urges us to resist the comfort of silence. It gave me the courage to speak up, to think critically, and to protect my own voice—especially when it feels like the world prefers us quiet.
Not Blown Over by the Gale by Mo Yan (《不被大风吹倒》 莫言)
In a world where chaos and pressure can shake our sense of self, his writing offers resilience, grounded in the reality of rural life and personal hardship. He doesn’t offer easy hope, but he shows how staying rooted in integrity and purpose can keep us upright. It reminded me that strength doesn’t always roar—sometimes it just quietly refuses to fall.
Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book holds the kind of innocent curiosity that makes you feel like a child again, seen through Klara’s eyes. Klara, an AI robot purchased to be the companion of a young girl, tells the story with a voice that is gentle, observant, and full of wonder. Through her lens, Ishiguro explores what love and connection mean in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence—and what it truly means to be human. It made me wonder how often we overlook the quiet ways we show care—and what it truly means to see one another.
