While picking up a feminist SFF, some might expect the men in these stories to find an independent place for themselves within these fictional worlds. Because that’s true feminism for many, right? We can’t have a heroine who drives the male protagonists’ arc by herself, with her strength, on her power. Of course, this isn’t…
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Retellings have been trending on book lists and for all the right reasons. Whether it’s Chloe Gong’s YA romantic historical fantasy, These Violent Delights, or CB Lee’s fresh exploration of Treasure Island, as part of the “Remixed Classics” series by BIPOC authors, A Clash of Steel. Even reimaginings of Hindu epics like Ramayana (Vaishnavi Patel’s…
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An exquisite collection from a breathtakingly new voice–centered on a constellation of Korean American families, these stories announce the debut of a master of short fiction. A long-married couple is forced to confront their friend’s painful past when a church revival comes to a nearby town . . . A woman in an arranged marriage…
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A Mystery at Lili Villa by Arathi Menon Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers meets Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew in this small-town mystery set against the beautiful backdrop of Kerala, India. For a desi kid, summer vacations are more than school holidays: they’re the perfect time for meeting up with distant family, delicious food, running wild while the elders napped in…
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January always brings a new wave of enthusiasm for a reader—you have a chance to leave behind last year’s goals, the disappointing reads, and the sadness of not getting a chance to pick up your most anticipated books the entire year. And while I did read quite a few books in this first month of…
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Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get…when you fall for your enemy. Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat…
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For Asian Heritage Month, this post lists twenty-six books by Asian authors — both, diaspora and homeland — according to the ABC challenge put forward by Books and Boba.
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Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles is an absolute favourite YA fantasy with themes of smashing sexism + rebelling against systems in the midst of romantic yearning and an air of mystery.
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These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong has easily become one of the best reads of the year and taken a place in my list of absolute favourites. It’s a historical fantasy romance set in 1926 Shanghai.
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The Poppy War is a story centred around war and the gruesome politics, violence, and dark themes that come along with it. Set during the Second Sino-Japanese War, it takes opium as a source to possess shamanic powers to consequently, destroy in order to save. The themes of lost humanity, gore violence, calling Gods, and doing too many wrong things while aiming for what’s right can quickly turn dark, but I’m all here for such exploration so this is easily one of my favourite fantasy books ever!
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Fanna for Books 