Hello darlings! Be ready for May’s hot releases with POC leads and Asian writers. Welcome May, welcome new fantastic books to discover. Here are your top 10 most-awaited and highly-recommended May book releases with Asian writers and POC leads!
The Noh Family By Grace K. Shim
The Noh Family introduces us to an irrepressibly charming teen Chloe Kang, who is reunited with her deceased father's estranged family via a DNA test and is soon whisked off to Seoul to join them.
When her friends gift her a 23-and-Me test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Kang doesn't think much of trying it out. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected: she's got a whole extended family from her father's side half a world away in Korea.
Grace K. Shim blesses us with a fantastic, dramatic, and fun Young Adult novel set to debut on May 3 that you should highly add to your month’s readings.
How to Be the Best Third Wheel By Loridee De Villa
How to Be the Best Third Wheel is a fantastic teen rom-com about figuring out where you belong when all of your life's certainties start to shift.
Lara returns to school excited to catch up with her close-knit group of companions after spending summer vacation in the Philippines with her family. However, she discovers within minutes of reconciling with her friends that not one, not two, but all three of them are now in relationships that began over the summer. To make matters worse, Lara's long-time foe, James, won't quit bothering her in class and eventually forces her to tutor him after school every day.
Wattpad originals are stepping strongly into 2022, and this incredible Young Adult piece is a must on your May TBR, coming in hot on May 3.
The Cook By Ajay Chowdhury
Kamil Rahman works as a chef in a Brick Lane eatery. However, he used to work as a detective in Kolkata. And trouble still knows where to look for him.
When a young lady Kamil knows is killed, the cops believe her boyfriend is to blame. Kamil isn't so sure, and he feels compelled to do his own inquiry. Meanwhile, Anjoli, his buddy and restaurant manager, is concerned about an increase in the number of homeless deaths in their neighborhood. The incidents appear to be unrelated, but when the duo digs deeper, they discover tentacles stretching from Lahore to London, putting them in great peril.
The Cook by Ajay Chowdhury will be published on May 5 and has already set high expectations for its debut as a Fiction novel.
Rebel Skies By Ann Sei Lin
Rebel Skies is a young fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships and sky cities, where chosen ones can bring paper to life and work as Crafters, who hunt wild paper spirits known as shikigami. Themes of empire, slavery, and liberation are explored through the lens of Asian culture.
This impressive Young Adult Fantasy book will be released on May 5, so make sure to save the date!
Siren Queen By Nghi Vo
Siren Queen is Nghi Vo’s new novel “where immortality is just a casting call away”.
Luli Wei is stunning, talented, and yearning to be a celebrity. She knows how risky the movie business is and how limited the parts are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill because she grew up in pre-Code Hollywood, but she doesn't care. She'd prefer to play a monster instead of a maid.
This book is an engrossing look at an outsider gaining celebrity on her own terms in a magical Hollywood where monsters are real and the magic of the silver screen pervades every page.
Coming in strongly on May 10, Siren Queen is set to become one of the best Fantasy pieces of this month.
A Show for Two By Tashie Bhuiyan
A Show for Two is your next best reading of the year, in which Emmitt Ramos, an indie film star and noted heartbreaker, enrolls in Minah’s high school under a false name to study his next role, and her ticket to winning the competition falls into her lap. Mina sets out to persuade Emmitt to join her cause, but he instead makes her a deal: he'll appear in her short film...if she acts as a tour guide to assist him with a photography contest.
Tashie Bhuiyan publishes this fantastic Young Adult Contemporary book on May 10 and has already attracted many readers’ attention.
Neruda on the Park By Cleyvis Natera
When faced with creeping gentrification, a Dominican family in New York City takes starkly different routes, as depicted in Neruda on the Park.
A neighboring tenement is demolished, and Eusebia, a neighborhood leader, takes matters into her own hands. While Eusebia's daughter, Luz, a rising associate at a top Manhattan law firm (who strives to live the bougie lifestyle her parents worked hard to provide for her), is distracted by a sweltering romance with the handsome white developer at the company her mother so vehemently opposes, she is distracted by a sweltering romance with the handsome white developer at the company her mother so vehemently opposes.
Clevyis Natera grants us a one-of-a-kind Contemporary Fiction regarding family and love, in a complicated situation. To be published on May 17, Neruda on the Park is a book you must read this year.
I Guess I Live Here Now
By Claire Ahn
Melody had always wanted to learn more about her Korean American ancestors, but not exactly like this. She is startled to learn that her parents have chosen to move her and her mother out of New York City to join her father in Seoul as a result of a minor violation after school one day.
Now she enters the place where all the trends in the world are created, and she must adapt to survive her teenage and young adult years.
I Guess I Live Here Now is a coming-of-age Young Adult novel relatable for all that will be published on May 24.
Sex Bomb By Sadia Azmat
Sadia Azmat is many things: she is a decent Muslim sister and a loud and proud comic, a quiet and loving friend, and a horny and outspoken one, but everyone expects her to choose between them, preventing her from being her true self.
Sex Bomb is about a comedian who loves sex but is also a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, in which this lifelong relationship gets more and more complicated. Set to be published on May 26, Sadia Azmat’s outstanding Fiction gets true to life and explores women's perception under a patriarchal society’s standards.
Flip the Script By Lyla Lee
The first rule of Korean drama viewing is to avoid falling in love with the second lead.
Hana knows all the stereotypes to avoid when she finally earns a major part in a buzzy new drama because she is a die-hard fan of K-dramas. And she's absolutely cool with her pretend co-star boyfriend falling in love with her. After all, she promised the producers a contract romance, and that's exactly what she'll provide.
However, when the showrunners hire a new female to take Hana's place as the major love interest, conflict ensues.
Kyla Lee’s Flip the Script is a catchy and much-needed Young Adult LGBT book to be released on May 31, don’t miss out on this one!