10 Canadian books to read during Asian Heritage Month
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month 2023, CBC Books is highlighting 10 works of fiction, nonfiction, comic and children's literature by Canadians of Asian descent.
The Story of Us by Catherine Hernandez
The Story of Us follows Mary Grace Concepcion, a Filipino worker who has left her family behind to build a new life in Canada. In Toronto, Mary Grace lands a job as a personal support worker for Liz, an elderly woman living with dementia. Through their relationship, Mary Garce's beliefs are challenged and they grow to have an unlikely friendship. Told through the perspective of Mary Grace's infant daughter, The Story of Us represents the heartfelt experiences of migrant Filipino workers.
Catherine Hernandez is a Canadian writer and playwright. She is the author of several books, including the novels Scarborough and Crosshairs and the children's books I Promise, M is for Mustache and Where Do Your Feelings Live?. She is also the creator and star of the Audible Original sketch comedy podcast Imminent Disaster. Scarborough was championed by actor Malia Baker on Canada Reads 2022. It was also adapted into a feature film that premiered at TIFF in 2021 and won eight awards at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Hernandez.
A History of Burning by Janika Oza
An intimate family saga about colonialism and migration, A History of Burning is author Janika Oza's debut novel. Beginning in India in 1898 and spanning 100 years, A History of Burning tells the story of Pirbhai and his family in India, East Africa, England and eventually Canada. Pirbhai is taken at thirteen years old to labour for the East African Railway under British colonial rule. Later following the lives of his descendents, the novel marks many historical events of survival and displacement.
Janika Oza is a writer from Toronto. She won the 2020 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Award, the 2022 O. Henry Award and made the 2019 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for her story The Gift of Choice, which is a chapter in A History of Burning.
On the Ravine by Vincent Lam
In a follow up of sorts from the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning story collection Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, On The Ravine follows two medical students from Lam's previous story collection. Lam continues on with Chen and Fitzgerald's stories several years later into their medical careers. Having dedicated themselves to the treatment of opioid addiction, their friendship becomes tested when Chen begins to treat Claire, a violinist. Combining Lam's experience as a physician with his writing, On The Ravine portrays a devastating story of addiction.
Vincent Lam is a writer, novelist and medical doctor. His bestselling books include the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning story collection Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures and The Headmaster's Wager, a 2012 novel that was shortlisted for the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction and the 2013 Commonwealth Book Prize.
Skim by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
Skim, written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki is a coming-of-age graphic novel about a girl stuck in a private girls' high school in Toronto. Kimberly "Skim" Keiko Cameron is 16 and navigating all of the complex facets of teen life, from depression, crushes, sexual identity, body image and friendship. When a classmate's boyfriend kills himself because of his rumoured sexuality, the student body enters a period of intense mourning. During this confusing time, Skim becomes closer to her English teacher as she grasps for connection and belonging.
Mariko Tamaki is a YA novelist and graphic novel writer of Japanese and Jewish descent. She writes for DC Comics, Darkhorse and Marvel. And was the recipient of the Eisner Award for best writer in 2020. She is also launching a publishing imprint focused on LGBTQ creators called Surely Books.
Jillian Tamaki is a comic artist and picture book writer of mixed Japanese and Egyptian heritage. She has published the graphic novels Supermutant Magic Academy and Boundless as well as the picture book They Say Blue and Our Little Kitchen. They Say Blue won the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — illustrated books.
Cousins Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki are co-creators of the graphic novels Skim, and This One Summer. Their next graphic novel, Roaming is set to be published on Sept. 12, 2023.
Coconut Dreams by Derek Mascarenhas
Coconut Dreams is the debut short story collection by Toronto writer Derek Mascarenhas. The book follows the fictional Pinto family through a series of 17 linked stories. As they migrate from India to suburban Canada; the book illuminates the experiences of a South Asian family as they create new lives for themselves.
Mascarenhas is a graduate of the University of Toronto SCS Creative Writing program and a finalist for the Penguin Random House of Canada Student Award for Fiction. His picture book 100 Chapatis is set to be released on Oct. 15, 2023 and he is currently working on a speculative novel.
The Doll by Nhung Tran Davies, illustrated by Ravy Puth
Inspired by the author's own childhood experience, The Doll is a picture book about Vietnamese refugees and an act of kindness between two young girls. The story is about a doll Davies was given when she first arrived in Canada, at the age of five, 40 years ago. Decades later in the book, the young girl has grown up and has the opportunity to gift another doll to another child refugee she is now welcoming.
The Doll was a finalist for the 2022 Blue Spruce Award.
Nhung Tran-Davies is an Alberta author, physician and advocate for social justice through education. Her family came to Canada as refugees from Vietnam in 1978.
Ravy Puth is a Montreal-based visual artist and illustrator of Cambodian-Chinese heritage.
Are You Sara? by S.C. Lalli
The thriller Are You Sara? revolves around a case of mistaken identity. When two women, each named Sara, get into separate rideshares one fateful night, one of them is murdered. But when the surviving Sara realizes that she might have actually been the target, it sets off a mystery involving race, class and ambition.
S. C. Lalli is a Punjabi and Bengali romance fiction author based in Vancouver. She's written the novels A Holly Jolly Diwali, Serena Singh Flips the Script, Grown-Up Pose and The Matchmaker's List under her full name Sonya Lalli. Her books have been spotlighted in publications including Entertainment Weekly, NPR, the Washington Post, the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. Lalli was a reader for the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize.
Superfan by Jen Sookfong Lee
Superfan is a memoir-in-pieces which examines the influences of pop culture at large. As a child of Chinese immigrant parents, pop culture was a form of escapism as well as a way to find community. As Jen grew up, she began to recognize the ways in which pop culture was not made for someone like her — Lee weaves together key moments in pop culture with stories of her own challenges that come with carving her own path as an Asian woman, single mother and writer.
Lee is a Vancouver-born novelist and broadcast personality. In 2009, she championed Brian Francis's novel Fruit on Canada Reads. She is the author of the novel The Conjoined, the nonfiction book Gentleman of the Shade and the poetry collection The Shadow List.
Berani by Michelle Kadarusman
Berani is a middle-grade novel told through the voices of three distinct voices: Malia is a young environmental activist determined to stay to preserve the rainforests in her home country of Indonesia, Ari who can tell what is right but fears what that path will cost him; and Ginger Juice, a caged orangutan whose former home was turned into a palm-oil plantation.
The Toronto-based author grew up in Melbourne and has also lived in Indonesia. Her previous works include The Theory of Hummingbirds, Music for Tigers and Girl of the Southern Sea, which was a finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text.
Made in Korea by Sarah Suk
Made in Korea is a young adult romantic comedy and the debut novel from Vancouver-based Sarah Suk. Valerie Kwon runs a secretive yet successful Korean skincare business out of her locker at school with the hopes of saving up for her dream city, Paris. Wes Jung is the new kid at school who wants to pursue music after graduation. He sees an opportunity to earn money for his tuition when his mom gives him K-pop branded beauty products to "make new friends". Tensions are high as Valerie and Wes become one another's stiffest competition.
Sarah Suk is a YA writer living in Vancouver. She was selected as one of the BIPOC writers in the Writers' Trust of Canada's Amplified Voices program in 2021. Made in Korea is her debut novel.
