BY ALEXA DUNCAN
Welcome from a safe social distance, everyone! Today marks the inaugural entry in AOPLD’s brand new series: YA RECS THURSDAY! No, the name isn’t very creative, but we’re all doing our best here, aren’t we?
Anyway, without further ado, here is a list of ten YA books written by East Asian authors that I whole-heartedly recommend, all of which can be downloaded (or at least sampled) on your Kindle, and may even be available on our Overdrive App!:
- TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by JENNY HAN
(Love the Netflix movie? Read the book! Lara Jean and her family are half-Korean while Jenny Han herself is Korean American.) - WICKED FOX by KAT CHO
(A YA contemporary fantasy set in Seoul, South Korea, steeped in Korean folklore
and mythology. What more could you want in a book?) - WARCROSS by MARIE LU
(Think of this as Ready Player One meets Akira for the YA section. Warcross is set in futuristic Japan against the backdrop of a virtual reality game. It’s thrilling, and a little romantic to boot!) - FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS by JULIE C. DAO
(Set in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a Snow White retelling…from the point of view of the Evil Queen. Yes, it’s as cool as it sounds.) - EMERGENCY CONTACT by MARY H.K. CHOI
(Emergency Contact is an incredibly compelling YA novel set in college, and it tackles everything from racism to the perils of first love, as well as classism and teen pregnancy.) - LOVEBOAT, TAIPEI by ABIGAIL HING WEN
(Set in Taipei, Taiwan, Loveboat is based on the actual concept of “loveboats,” also known as language schools where Internationale students enroll to learn a language and maybe find a boyfriend along the way. This book is a fun, romantic romp and the perfect escape for these trying times.) 
SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by MAURENE GOO
(Another book set in a foreign city, Somewhere Only We Know follows an internationally famous K-pop star and her paparazzi maybe-boyfriend over the course of a day in the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong.)- DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by JOAN HE
(This is pitched as Chinese-inspired Game of Thrones. How cool is that? Filled with intricate court politics, Descendant of the Crane is the perfect choice for those looking to inject a little more fantasy into their lives.) - THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL by STACEY LEE
(This historical fiction novel is set in Atlanta, Georgia and is full of social politics and in intrigue, exploring themes of race, class, and gender in a time when not many people wanted to talk about those things.) - AMERICAN PANDA by GLORIA CHAO
(American Panda is another YA novel set in college. Like Emergency Contact, American Panda unflinchingly explores the nuances of family, love, and life on your own , all the while remaining laugh-out-loud funny.)