On this episode, we discuss our March 2023 Book Club Pick, Front Desk by Kelly Yang, a middle grade coming of age novel about young Mia Tang who helps her immigrant parents run a motel in Southern California while dreaming of ways to help her parents achieve their American Dreams. Along the way, Mia encounters many challenges that modern day minorities face, including micro-aggressions from teachers, exploitation from business owners, and prejudices from law enforcement.

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On this episode, we chat with author Rachel Heng about her new novel, The Great Reclamation , a sweeping historical fiction novel (with magical realism elements) about Lee Ah Boon, a boy with the ability to locate magical transient islands, as he and his family survive through decades of turbulence in Singapore, first under British colonization, then Japanese occupation, then British colonization again, before playing a role in the island’s self actualization as an independent nation.

Follow Rachel on instagram at @rachelhengqp and check out her novel The Great Reclamation on sale now!

*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*

On this episode, we check out the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for our March 2023 mid-month check-in, including catching up with the Harper Collins publishing announcements we missed during the strike.

New books and authors mentioned in our publishing news:

• Shanghailanders by Juli Min
• Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar
• Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan
• Love Me Tomorrow series by Emiko Jean
• The Gift of Eid by Shifa Saltagi Safadi; illust by Aaliya Jaleel
• Stay With My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan
• Champion of the Rose series by Cat Aquino & Dominique Duran
• Kindling by Traci Chee
• Copy Cat by Elyse Martin & Sean Rubin
• Kaho’olawe by Kamalani Hurley; illust by Harinani Orme
• The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee
• And Then Comes July by Sarah Jung
• New by Niña Mata
• Better Catch Up, Krishna Kumar by Anahita Karthik
• Celestial Banquet by Roselle Lim
• No Place Like Home by Linh S. Nguyễn
• I Lived Inside a Whale by Xin Lee
• Living Bridges by Sandhya Acharya; illust by Avani Dwivedi
• Do You Even Know Me? by Reem Faruqi; illust by Ani Bushry
• Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*

On this episode, we chat with author Kathryn Ma about her latest novel, The Chinese Groove, about the adventures of a Chinese immigrant who moves to American to pursue his American dream, armed only with his optimism and his in depth knowledge of “The Chinese Groove.”

Follow Kathryn on twitter at @Kathryn_E_Ma and check out her novel The Chinese Groove on sale now!

*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*

On this episode, we discuss our February 2023 pick, The Charmed List by Julie Abe, a YA romantic comedy about a teen wallflower (who happens to be part of the magical community of Palo Alto) who wants to break out of her shell by taking an epic summer road trip with her bff, but ends up being forced to take that trip with her ex-best friend/boy next door instead. The best part is, this book includes a special cameo from Books & Boba (thanks Julie)!

*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*

For this author chat episode, we chat with author Gloria Chao about her latest novel, When You Wish Upon a Lantern, a YA rom-com about a girl who tries to save her family’s lantern business by granting her Chinese American community’s wishes, and has to rely on her ex-best friend for help. We chat with Gloria about her long journey to becoming a prolific author of Asian American YA romances, as well as her inspirations for her new book.

Follow Gloria on instagram at @gloriacchao and check out her novel When You Wish Upon a Lantern on sale now!

*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop *