When it comes to literature, teaching the classics is important. But it’s a good idea to add contemporary titles to your curriculum, too, especially if your students sometimes have trouble connecting with older texts.
That’s why we created the Discovering Literature collection, a curated selection of noteworthy books that are capturing the attention of teachers and students across the country.
May 1st marks the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a commemoration of the cultural and historical achievements of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. This month’s Discovering Literature Digest highlights four bestselling books by Asian authors, all of which offer unique perspectives on identity, family, and resilience.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown at the height of the Red Scare, this novel offers a powerful exploration of identity. Despite acting like the perfect Chinese daughter and all-American teenager, Lily Hu struggles with understanding her feelings towards women. But everything becomes clear when she and her friend Kath Miller visit a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Between her secret relationship with Kath and the threat of deportation looming over her family, Lily must decide whether to hide her true self or stand up against prejudice and fear.
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Girl in Translation
Not long after she and her mother arrive in Brooklyn from Hong Kong, Kimberly Chang begins leading a secret double life. By day, she is an ambitious schoolgirl; by night, a Chinatown sweatshop worker. Kimberly knows the way to better opportunities is through education, but between overcoming the language barrier and fulfilling obligations to her family, she is under immense pressure to succeed.
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The Mountains Sing
In her first novel in English, Vietnamese poet Nguyen Phan Que Mai weaves a multigenerational story about the Viet Nam War. In the 1950s, Tran Dieu Lan fled from her family farm during the infamous Land Reform program led by the Communist government. Decades later, her granddaughter Huong watches as her country and family are torn apart by the continued conflict. Despite its grim subject matter, The Mountains Sing offers readers an inspiring story about the power of hope and the human spirit.
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The Legend of Auntie Po
History and folklore merge in this colorful graphic novel for middle-grade readers. It’s 1885, a few years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and thirteen-year-old Mei and her father work in a Sierra Nevada logging camp. Around the campfire, Mei tells stories of Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), a giant, elderly Chinese matriarch reminiscent of Paul Bunyan. With Auntie Po and her blue water buffalo, Pei Pei, as guides, Mei must navigate rising racial tensions among the workers and her budding romantic feelings for Bee, the foreman's daughter.
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Find even more exciting books in the Discovering Literature collection!