The Bookish Mutant’s Books for AAPI Heritage Month (2025 Edition)

Happy Monday, bibliophiles! I’m not fully back on schedule yet (still in the process of cleaning up my dorm), but I figured I would put out this post for the occasion.

Here in the U.S., May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Among the many histories that America has been attempting to erase is that of the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community, even though they are a critical part of our country’s history. We’re so quick to dismiss the discrimination of Chinese immigrant laborers in the late 1800’s, the Japanese internment camps, and the bigotry faced by South Asian Americans, whether or not they were Muslim, as part of the rampant Islamophobia post-9/11. This history may not be in the spotlight as far as discrimination targets, but just because it’s getting less press doesn’t mean it’s there. Just look at Maggie Tokuda-Hall, who received requests from her publisher to remove specific mentions of racism from the author’s note of her picture book, Love in the Library, which takes place in the Japanese internment camps. (Good on her for not taking the licensing deal. Another reason to love Tokuda-Hall, who appears on this list!) Erasing the horrors of discrimination and racism from our shelves only serves to raise an uneducated, uncritical generation—the opposite of what we need right now.

Looking back on my previous lists, I noticed something. I’ve neglected the PI in AAPI, and that’s a mistake on my part. Books by Pacific Islanders rarely seem to get the spotlight, even during AAPI Heritage month, but that still doesn’t excuse me overlooking that part of the acronym—and the world. This is the first year that I actually do have a few great recommendations from Pacific Islander authors, but please let me know if you have any more recommendations! I’m on the lookout.

For my past lists, click below: 

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021

Let’s begin, shall we?

THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR AAPI HERITAGE MONTH (2025 EDITION)

FANTASY:

• Water Moon – Samantha Sotto Yambao | Adult, magical realism | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• The Teller of Small Fortunes – Julie Leong | Adult, cozy fantasy, high fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• Tidesong – Wendy Xu | Middle grade, fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Water Outlaws – S.L. Huang | Adult, fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• Dragonfruit – Makiia Lucier | YA, fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Worst Ronin – Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Faith Schaeffer | YA, fantasy, alternate history | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• The Cat Who Saved Books – Sosuke Natsukawa | Adult, magical realism, books in translation | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• Empire of Sand – Tasha Suri | YA, fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• The Last Bloodcarver – Vanessa Le | YA, fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

FICTION:

• If You Still Recognize Me – Cynthia So | YA, romance, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Traveling Cat Chronicles – Hiro Arikawa | Adult, contemporary, books in translation | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SCIENCE FICTION:

• Hammajang Luck – Makana Yamamoto | Adult, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
• The Infinity Particle – Wendy Xu | YA, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
• Road to Ruin – Hana Lee | Adult, LGBTQ+, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei | Adult, LGBTQ+, space opera | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Ministry of Time – Kailene Bradley | Adult, time travel, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Camp Zero – Michelle Sterling | Adult, dystopia | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
• Rakesfall – Vajra Chandrasekera | Adult, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Ocean’s Godori – Elaine U. Cho | Adult, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NONFICTION:

• Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time – Natalie Hodges | Music, physics | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
• Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life – Alice Wong | Feminism, disability justice | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of the books on this list, and if so, what did you think of them? What are some of your favorite books by AAPI authors?

Today’s song:

That’s it for this list! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!