All Things Asian Wrap Up and My Favorite Asian Related Books!

The past two weeks me, Lucia of iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books and Izzy of My Words Ate Me have been celebrating all things Asian from Asian authors and bloggers to Asian book characters and food. We've had tons of awesome guest posts, interviews, and of course GIVEAWAYS! For links to every single post be sure to check out the official All Things Asian event page!

All Things Asian wouldn't be complete if I didn't share with you guys my personal favorite Asian related books. So here are some of my favorite books with Asian characters, themes, or written by Asian authors!

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

I LOVE this book. Not only is it written by Justina Chen (who is by far my favorite Asian author EVER) but it also has one of the most swoonworthy fictional guys ever: Jacob! Unfortunately that just conjured up images of Jacob Black in my mind. Curse ye Twilight! The Jacob in North of Beautiful is MUCH better than Jacob Black. At least I think so. He's Asian, and goes geocaching, and is totally artsy and emo-esque and I want him to be real so he can be my boyfriend. :P

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

I think you would have to be living under a rock to not know about this series. Take note: If you have not yet read the Summer trilogy DO IT. Especially over the summer. These are the PERFECT summer beach reads! And that is why I love them. Jenny Han is such an awesome Asian author and her next book series is written by both her and Siobhan Vivian. I can hardly wait! I just know it's gonna be awesome. :D

Tree-ear, an orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated–until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself–even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.

One of the first Asian related books I ever read! My mom had us kids study this in school and I love her for it. If you have yet to pick up a Linda Sue Park book what are you waiting for? They're so good. My favorite historical fiction for sure. :)

Two theater-mad, self-invented fabulositon Ohio teenagers. One boy, one girl. One gay, one straight. One black, one white. And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP. It's a season of hormones, gold lame, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love, and unitards that will determine their future --and test their friendship.

Okay so this book really isn't that Asian related but there is one Asian character AND HE IS SO SWOONWORTHY GUYS OH MY GOSH! Theo is every musical theatre girl's dream boy. He's straight, adorable and Asian, and he can play the piano like no one's business. Gosh can he just marry me know? Just a heads up if you are reading this and you happen to be a straight musical theatre performing and piano playing Asian guy then I will so date you. Just saying. :P So yeah I love this book because it totally plays to my musical theatre loving self. It's a total guilty pleasure. I've read it at least 4 times. >.<

Millicent Min is having a bad summer. Her fellow high school students hate her for setting the curve. Her fellow 11-year-olds hate her for going to high school. And her mother has arranged for her to tutor Stanford Wong, the poster boy for Chinese geekdom. But then Millie meets Emily. Emily doesn't know Millicent's IQ score. She actually thinks Millie is cool. And if Millie can hide her awards, ignore her grandmother's advice, swear her parents to silence, blackmail Stanford, and keep all her lies straight, she just might make her first friend. What's it gong to take? Sheer genius.

Stanford Wong is having a bad summer. If he flunks his summer-school English class, he won't pass sixth grade. If that happens, he won't start on the A-team. If *that* happens, his friends will abandon him and Emily Ebers won't like him anymore. And if THAT happens, his life will be over. Soon his parents are fighting, his grandmother Yin-Yin hates her new nursing home, he's being "tutored" by the world's biggest nerdball Millicent Min--and he's not sure his ballpoint "Emily" tattoo is ever going to wash off.

I did a post last week about why I love diversity in YA and I mentioned these books specifically because they are AMAZING. Never have books captured Asian humor so perfectly and been so relatable. I don't know how they read if you aren't Asian but personally I found these hysterical and I just absolutely love them.

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.


From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

An awesome dystopian novel written by an awesome Asian author? YES. I loved this book so much and the main guy character is even a hapa! This was definitely one of my favorite dystopians of 2011. If you haven't read it yet you need to. Seriously, it's amazing.

"Getting her fortune told by a Taiwanese 'belly-button grandmother' (who feels up her navel) instead of attending the spring dance is just one of the joys of being Patty Ho, a covertly snarky 'hapa' (half Asian, half white) struggling with her dual heritage. Patty's domineering mother is determined to make her a good Taiwanese girl. Gangly Patty, no 'China doll,' longs to be white like her long-gone father...readers will find a compelling narrative, and a spunky, sympathetic heroine. This book should enjoy wide appeal."

This list would not be complete without Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen. IT'S ALL ABOUT BEING A HAPA GUYS! In fact it was this book that introduced me to the term hapa that then inspired my blog name. Nothing but the Truth is definitely a fairly accurate portrayal of what it's like to grow up hapa and for that I love it. <3

So those are some of my favoritest Asian related books! I hope you guys get a chance to read them and be sure to leave suggestions of some of your favorite Asian related books in the comments!

Don't forget to check out all of the All Things Asian posts by visiting the official event page and of course be sure to enter all the giveaways for chances to win some of these books I mentioned, awesome swag, gift cards, and more!

Did you guys love All Things Asian as much as I did? Let me know in the comments what you thought and be sure to drop me an email if you want to get involved with next years All Things Asian celebration!

Julia :)

Asian Blogger Spotlight: Meet Zara from A Bibliotaphe's Closet!

Today I have the privilege of spotlighting the Asian blogger Zara from A Bibliotaphe's Closet!

 What do you look for in a book?
I love language and tend to gravitate towards literary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs, and poetry. I look for tight, clear, beautifully written narrative that’s lyrical, but not wordy. And I love the stories I read to be character driven with depth and sensitivity. I’m impressed if the characters are flawed, but believable. Stereotypes drive me crazy! I have to really care about the characters in a book in order to really enjoy my read. If I’m indifferent about them, I don’t believe the author has succeeded in doing his or her job. I dislike superficial plots and perfectly tied and/or explanatory endings. “Show me, don’t tell me” has always been my “rule of thumb.” Essentially, though, I put a high value on a novel if it has emotionally stunned me with its writing and narrative; its characters’ evolution in the work; and if some part of me, however small, has opened in perspective by experiencing the richness of the story.  

What got you into blogging?
I’ve always been a voracious reader ever since I started reading at the age of five. My passion for books evolved into writing, which I stayed with and formally studied in university having graduated with a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing (and a minor in Women’s Studies and Minorities in Canadian Society) from YU. Eventually I worked as an editor for a small publishing company, so I have always been involved with books one way or another.

As a reader, my own personal library collection kept growing. I bought books with anticipation like a child entering a toy store. And as I read them, I kept a personal diary of my thoughts and reactions. It felt somewhat tedious to fill my hardcopy journal so I wanted to find a place online to house them for myself. A collection started on the application Evernote. But, after a while I got bored with it and wanted to share my ideas with someone else.

I had no experience in blogging. I did a search on Google to find out where I could indeed start. It led me to Wordpress.com. I posted a few reviews, tinkering with the application. I slowly taught myself how to use it. And then all this blogging jargon hit, too. What was a button? A widget? Rafflecopter? I had no idea.

I’ve only recently passed a few milestones for myself as a blogger. Just two weeks ago, I finally put images and links onto my sidebars! Last week, I figured out how to create a Google document. I only started blogging in December of 2011, so I’m three months young in the blogging world. But, the process and slowly growing into the blogging community has been fantastic. I’ve finally found people who have the same amount of passion I have for books! And I love that blogging allowed me to make that discovery.

Who's your favorite author/authors?
I love our iconic Margaret Atwood for her exact prose. I also met Barbara Gowdy personally and her honesty in writing is just as genuine as she is in person. I love Michael Ondaatje for his character driven stories, which are both intelligent and sentimental. I love the stark work of Mark Strand’s poetry. And I trust Jhumpra Lahiri as a supreme writer about the marginal experience.

If you could have any supernatural power, what would it be?
This question should have been pluralized because if I had the ability to own a superpower, I wouldn’t limit myself to just one! I would love to be able to read minds, influence them, understand and speak all languages, and shapeshift at will. Flying doesn’t suit me because I’m extremely scared of heights and immortality would only imprison me throughout the ages. Death is a good thing. It’s inevitable and necessary. And time, well, I wouldn’t want to mess with that. Too complicated.

Do you think Asian characters and/or authors are prominent enough in young adult fiction?
No. Young adult fiction tends to focus primarily on the White-American tradition if it writes culturally at all. I see trends focused more on the paranormal and fantasy genres than anything else. I’ve come across a lot of vampires, werewolves, angels, witches, demons, shape-shifters, etc. Another popular theme in YA is romance, but usually from a non-Asian perspective.

Perhaps the danger in writing “Asian characters” in YA is to over-simplify their specific cultural experience in consideration of its target audience. The problem when that happens is the endorsement and danger found in reinforcing Asian stereotypes. But, yes, it would be wonderful to see more Asian authors and/or Asian stories in YA fiction. Absolutely.

How close would you say you are to Asian culture?
Culture doesn’t stem entirely from geography or place of origin. It’s a culmination of your experiences. I was born in Toronto, Canada to two Filipino immigrants so I’m a product of two places and two cultures: a dichotomy between the east and the west; the Asian and the non-Asian.

I feel as an individual, I’m always on the peripheral when I think of myself culturally. I have one foot in the Philippines and the other foot on Canadian soil. And it’s a balancing act of choices. I do my best in taking the “best” cultural examples from both sides.

For example, I still believe and favour a more traditional sense of courtship and the importance of honouring your elders by name and action. As well as supportive of what it means to be subservient in an act of respect and propriety. But, I’m also quite forward-thinking when it comes to independence and feminist values.

Language and food, too, play a part in defining me culturally. I can understand Tagalog, but I speak and major in the English language with no visible Filipino accent. I love all types of Asian food: Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and Filipino are favourites. But, when I cook at home, I tend to cook “neutral” dishes for my husband who is Latin-American and my children who love spaghetti! But, when a power struggle threatens my cultural sensibility, I defend it vigorously.

Would you say you appreciate Asian inspired literature more, less, or the same as other literature?
As an Asian-Canadian, I don’t believe it’s a matter of appreciating Asian inspired literature more than books with other cultural themes. As a voracious reader and writer, myself, I appreciate great literature, period, especially since literary fiction is my favourite genre of choice.

I do, however, believe my experience in reading stories and poems that contain Asian themes is a more intimate one because I can empathize more readily with its references to food, language, geography, cultural traditions, customs, and forms of propriety. It’s also a privilege to be able to recognize yourself and your specific cultural experience written out in a book and shared with a larger audience. This kind of perspective leaves me with not only a great sense of pride and honour, but enjoyment when I can connect Asian references in a work to my own personal definition of what it means to be an Asian and how that definition continually grows and changes. It also affords me a truer sense of when an author, Asian or non-Asian, has gotten its details, references, and cultural implications wrong.

And now it's time for this or that!

The part of the interview where we ask if you like this or that!

This is a very difficult choice for me because the Filipino egg roll called Lumpia is divine, while I’d pretty much do anything for a tray of sushi! Crispy white tuna is my favourite. And Lumpia dipped in a vinegar sauce is a super snack!

Ramen. Especially when it’s in the Korean kimchi soup. It helped me survive through college.

Intricately designed chopsticks. Or for Filipino style, the tablespoon AND fork, rather than the fork and knife. But, when eating rice with freshly cooked crabs, I’ll eat the way Filipino natives and my ancestors ate: with my hands!

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Thanks for taking the time to let us interview you Zara! Be sure to check out Zara's blog A Bibliotaphe's Closet and give it a follow!

Be sure to hit up our All Things Asian event page for all the posts and giveaways! Click HERE to see more awesomeness. (And no, you don't have to be Asian to participate!) And don't forget to check out iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books,  and My Words Ate Me today for more posts!

Julia :)

Asian Author Spotlight: Melissa de la Cruz

Today I've got an interview with Asian author Melissa de la Cruz! You might know her from her popular Blue Bloods series or her The Au Pairs Novels. The first book in her new series Wolf Pact is coming out from Disney Hyperion this fall. Read on as Melissa shares with us what inspires her to write, her advice for young writers, and how her Asian heritage influenced her writing!

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What were your favorite books as a kid?
As a kid I loved everything from Dr. Seuss to A.A. Milne, graduating to Anne of Green Gables series, Little Women, Sweet Valley High, Stephen King, Anne Rice.
 
What inspires you to write your book(s)? 
Everything, anything. You overhear something. Or your friends talk about something. Or you read something in the newspaper or a magazine or you see something in TV. For my first novel Cat's Meow about a fashionista, I was inspired by an article I read in Vogue about this socialite who bought Sammy Davis Jr's wardrobe and WORE it--it was so fabulous. For Blue Bloods I was inspired by something I read online about how all these famous, wealthy and illustrious Americans - like the Roosevelts and Bushes and even famous people like Marilyn Monroe and Oprah - could trace their ancestry to the Mayflower. I thought, what if the reason these people are so entrenched in power and influence is because they're undead? Because they're vampires?
 
What advice would you give to another writer? 
I have an entire section on advice on my website!
 
http://melissa-delacruz.com/index.php/info/advice/
 
If you could have any supernatural power, what would it be?
I would make the days much, much longer so that I have enough time for everything - all my deadlines, time with my family, time for myself, time for my friends.  

What are some of your favorite books with Asian characters?
Joy Luck Club was definitely very influential for me. I loved and hated it at the same time. As I've grown up, I've loved it more. I think as a young and angry Asian-American woman, I didn't like it very much when I first read it, I thought it was very much "victim-y" but now I realize how wise it is, and how it told HER story, but not mine and that was fine.
 
Do you think Asian characters and/or authors are prominent enough in young adult fiction?
I don't know what you mean really - I think Shaun Tan is very prominent and respected, and there are a lot of great writers out there in YA who have published books and made a name for themselves- Cherry Cheva, Paula Yoo, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, Marie Lu, so our voices are being heard.
 

Do you feel like your Asian heritage influenced your writing at all?
Yes, it's part of me so it's in my writing. I think New York is very much like Manila, my parents always said New York was "Manila with money." Society is the same everywhere --people are the same, they have the same cliques the same foibles. When I was writing about the Blue Bloods, even though they are WASPs from the Mayflower, the way they act, the way they lived, it was very much influenced by what I saw growing up as a kid in Manila, my dad had his own investment bank and my mom was prominent socially and written about in magazines.

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Thanks for such an awesome interview Melissa! To find out more about Melissa de la Cruz and her books be sure to check out her official website. You can also follower her on Twitter here.

Be sure to hit up our All Things Asian event page for all the posts and giveaways! Click HERE to see more awesomeness. (And no, you don't have to be Asian to participate!) And don't forget to check out iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books,  and My Words Ate Me today for more posts!

Julia :)

Asian Author Spotlight: Ellen Oh + Giveaway

Today I get the privilege of spotlighting Asian author Ellen Oh!

Her debut novel Prophecy - The Dragon King Chronicles (it's the first in a trilogy!) won't be coming out till January 2nd 2013 from HarperCollins but that doesn't mean we can't highlight her now right? Enjoy this great interview where Ellen shares with us why she thinks diversity is important, talks about her love for spicy food, and tells us her favorite Asian dish!

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What made you choose to write the genre you do?
I don’t think I chose to write in this genre, my story dictated what I wrote. It just happened to be YA. But subconsciously it probably helped that I had small children and I was reading a lot of children’s books at the time. In fact, I preferred them to adult books. Still do!

What inspired you to write your book(s)?  I'd become fascinated with Ancient Asian history after reading a biography on Genghis Khan back in the year 2000. It led to years of obsessive research that led to a kernel of an idea -- an idea that I could write a fantasy novel using a mix of history, mythology and legend.



What advice would you give to another writer?  "Shut up and listen carefully" should be your new mantra. Before you get offended or confused, let me explain. Writers can be very opinionated and defensive and yet at the same time really insecure and paranoid. This comes out in how you interact with other people, how you talk, how you act, and even how you write. In order to become a better writer, I had to tell myself to shut up already and start listening carefully to what's really being said.

How do you listen carefully? First, you have to take ego out of the equation. All the ego - not just the "I'm the best writer in the world" ego, but the "I suck and can't even write 'how to' manuals for a can opener" ego. It is inevitable that most of us are our own worst critics. It's just as important to tell your critic to shut up. You know the one that sounds like Joan Rivers and says you suck and you're ugly. That guy. You need to punch that guy in the face and tell him to shut up. Listen to your gut not your critic. Your gut wants to help you succeed. Your critic wants to make you stab yourself in the eye with a spoon. So who do you really want to listen to?

Listening carefully also means to weed out the negativity. To weed out the naysayers. The people who just want to bring you down (whether on purpose or unconsciously) and say things that undermine your confidence. Listening carefully means recognizing truth from untruths. Not easy to do when your inner critic is bitching at you about how badly you stink. He helps all that negativity take root and you begin to second guess yourself. He needs an ass whooping. And you need to listen carefully. When you take your ego and your critic out of the equation, then a negative criticism becomes easier to analyze. It's easier to consider whether it really has merit or if it's just trash talk.

One naysayer told me that my first book (which I shelved) was "too oriental for western sensibilities." After I kicked in his teeth (in my head), I listened carefully to what that criticism was really about. In my first book, I had some difficult Korean names. The kind that make you scratch your head wondering how to even attempt pronouncing them. Fair enough, I thought. I never did like the fact that I had no idea how to pronounce all the Elvish names in Lord of the Rings. I kept that in mind when I wrote Prophecy. Now I have names in my book that are easier to pronounce. Did I sell myself out to do that? Absolutely not. I listened carefully. I disregarded the inherent racism in the implied criticism and instead focused on how to address it.

As a writer, there will be many times when your ego and your critic will get in the way of your writing. Don't let them control you. Don't let them block your forward progress. Tell them to shut up so you can listen carefully. Only then can you find the truths that will work best for you.

If you could have any supernatural power, what would it be?
I would want to be like superman strong, but without the kryptonite.



What is your opinion on spicy food?
I’m Korean, does that answer your question? ;o) I’m the type of person that will try to add Tabasco to everything I eat (except sweets). So yeah, I pretty much adore spicy food. But as I get older, the spicy food isn’t loving me back as much so Zantac has become my new best friend.

Do you think there needs to be more diversity in young adult fiction?
Hell yes! We need a lot more diversity in YA fiction. I just did a blog post on this subject here:

http://elloecho.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-pretty-white-girl-ya-book-cover.html

One of the reasons I wrote up this post was because my oldest daughter, who is 12, has now been haunting the YA sections of the bookstore and she commented on how “white” it was. It made me sad because she felt excluded without even really knowing why.

I will also be doing a blog series where I ask authors of diverse books to talk about what diversity means to them and why it is so important.


How close would you say you are to Asian culture?
Well I wrote a book about ancient Korea because I was fascinated by Asian history. I am a huge K-pop and K-drama fan and I adore Korean food. Well actually, I love all food, especially Asian food. There is no doubting my Americanism, but I respect and admire my Korean roots.

What is your favorite Asian dish?
This is way too hard! Because the answer is – it depends on my mood. When I’m in the mood for noodles, my favorite food is Pho. If I want comfort food – it’s Korean bibimbap. Then there are days where the only thing that I want to eat is sushi. And when I just gotta have meat, kalbi is the only way to go.

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Thanks for such an awesome interview Ellen! To find out more about Ellen's debut novel Prophecy check out Ellen's official website here and take the time to check out her blog here where you can see the posts she mentioned on cultural diversity! Totally awesome right?

And now for the GIVEAWAY! *throws confetti in air*

Asian Blogger Spotlight: Meet Kristan from We Heart YA + Giveaway!

Today for All Things Asian I get to spotlight Asian blogger Kristan from We Heart YA!

Not only is Kristan a blogger but she's also an author! Her book Twenty-Somewhere was the winner of the St. Martin's Press "New Adult" contest! So take some time to read about how Kristan got into blogging (before it was even called blogging!), her advice to other bloggers, and what her favorite Asian related books are.

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What got you into blogging?

Believe it or not, I got my first computer when I was 2 and 1/2! I think I wanted one because my parents were always on them (for work) and I wanted to be "cool" like them. We were early adopters of the internet (anyone still use AOL? anyone remember Prodigy?) and I made my first website at age 9. It was dedicated to my favorite things (Star Trek, the Spice Girls, and Sailor Moon) but I quickly realized that other people were making much better websites about that stuff, so I switched to writing about myself. It was a blog before that term even existed.

My style and content has changed a lot over the years (from childhood ramblings, to teenage angst, and now "grownup" thoughts) but at the core, it's always about self-expression and reflection. My personal blog (about writing, reading, my dog, travel, etc.) is at kristanhoffman.com, and I discuss Young Adult literature with 3 great friends at weheartya.com.

What advice would you give to another blogger?
#1: Stick with your passions. If you're really into something, that's what you're going to be able to blog about week after week, and that dedication and enthusiasm is what's going to attract readers.

#2: Experiment. Have fun. Or as Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus would say, "Get messy! Make mistakes!" The neat thing about blogs is that they grow and change along with us. There's no reason to be embarrassed about your early posts, just like there's no reason to be embarrassed if you liked Barney as a kid. It's natural. Eventually you'll settle in to your own blogging voice, but in the meantime, play around, emulate other bloggers that you admire, try new features, etc.

What were your favorite books as a kid?
As a girl, my favorite books were Anne of Green Gables (1-5) by Lucy Maud Montgomery. As a teen, I glommed onto the capital-L literary scene, with books like Beloved by Toni Morrison or Blindness by Jose Saramago. But I've always read widely, from romance to mystery, scifi to the classics. I think being open-minded to all genres has served me well, both as a writer and as a person.

What are some of your favorite books with Asian characters?
This might seem like a copout answer, but it's true! Amy Tan's books are probably my favorite "Asian" books. The Joy Luck Club is good, but I actually like the movie better. (Probably because I watched it two dozen times growing up, no lie.) My favorites are The Bonesetter's Daughter, followed by The Opposite of Fate (her memoir) and The Hundred Secret Senses (which features a halfie like me). Amy Tan just has a way of portraying Asian culture and mother-daughter relationships so simply and genuinely. It's like looking into a mirror.  


Do you think Asian characters and/or authors are prominent enough in young adult fiction?
No. I think we're making progress, but it's slow. Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and Marie Lu all come to mind as successful, prominent authors in YA, but characters? Where are the Asian Bellas and Katnisses? And where are the Asian guys, whether writers or heroes?

(Well, I do have ONE answer to that. My friend Andrew Fukuda is a male, Asian YA writer. His forthcoming series THE HUNT is getting some good buzz.)

To some extent, we as the Asian community need to be responsible for bringing these people to light. We have to encourage our stories and our writers, and then we need to buy their books to show the publishing industry that there is a demand.  


Do you think there needs to be more diversity in young adult fiction?
Yes. Again, we're making progress, but it's slow. And when I say "diversity," I don't just mean ethnic books. It's about diversity of experiences. Characters who are rich, poor, smart, dumb, white, black, yellow, green, urban, rural, American, international, and everything in between.

As a side note, I would like to add that not all of these diverse characters need to have stories that focus on their diversity. I think it would be great to see stories about action heroines, or awkward guys, or sports stars, who just HAPPEN to be Asian or gay, etc.
  
How close would you say you are to Asian culture?

Not as close as I'd like to be, but at the same time, closer than I sometimes realize.

As a halfie, I've always felt somewhere in between. Put me with a bunch of white people, and I'll look out of place. Put me with a bunch of Chinese people, and the same thing. Most of the time I feel lucky, because I get the best of both worlds, but every now and then I'm reminded that that means I don't fully belong in either one.

(Note: Not every halfie feels this way!)

Interestingly, my boyfriend is an adopted Korean, so he looks fully Asian but was raised completely American. We are both in between, but in very different ways. And over the years as we've gotten to know each other, moved in together, and talked about a future family, I can see how much of an influence my Taiwanese mother had on my upbringing. Things that I thought were normal, he thinks are totally weird.

I'm very proud of my Asian heritage, but I will say that the biggest disconnect for me is my inability to speak Mandarin. This has been one of my great disappointments in life, and has prevented me from bonding with most of my mother's family back in Taiwan. Learning to speak Chinese is still a goal of mine, and I hope that someday, achieving it will allow me to feel even closer to my Asian culture.

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Thanks for the great interview Kristan! Be sure to go check out the blog that Kristan helps collaborates on here and also check out her website here.

And now it's time for a GIVEAWAY!!!!

Why I Love Diversity in YA

It's probably no secret to you guys that I'm Asian and that I love my Asian heritage. After all my blog is called That Hapa Chick and I do have a weekly feature called Kawaii Mondays. That's pretty dang Asian.

I may be only half Asian (Chinese to be exact) but I've always felt very close to my Asian roots. Growing up I lived in California near all of my Asian relatives and my mom fed us a lot of Asian food, we shopped at Asian grocery stores, and some of my closest friends were Asian.

The most interesting thing is that even from a young age I longed to see other people like me represented in culture. I remember when Mulan came out it was my FAVORITE movie. Why? Because it had a badass Asian heroine!

I loved that movie because the character was LIKE ME. Mulan was my role model when I was little. Seriously. And I really wanted to marry Shang. Even if he was a cartoon character.... >.<

When I hit Jr. High I moved from California to Arizona and the fact that I was a minority really became clear to me. I didn't have a lot of friends so I turned to books and this made me realize that there was a sad lack of Asian characters in literature. I longed to read books with characters that looked like ME and not just the stereotypical blonde/brunette caucasian chick.

Before I continue let me be clear: There is NOTHING wrong with caucasian protagonists! A lot of my favorite books have caucasian protagonists. But like every reader I think it's nice to read about a character that you can relate to on more levels then just their personality. :)

As I was saying: I wanted to read about characters like me.

That's when I discovered Linda Sue Park. You've probably heard of her before. She's written such awesome books as A Single Shard and The Kite Fighters. I devoured all of Linda Sue Park's books. I loved them. The rest of my family did too. The thing is a lot of Linda Sue Park's books are historical fiction. That's great but I wanted to read about Asian characters who were in the present and living life just like me.

And that's when I discovered Lisa Yee. OH MY GOSH I ABSOLUTELY ADORE LISA YEE'S BOOKS! Reading Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time was like reading about the life of me and my family. Everything about those books hit so close to home; the humor, the characters, the Asianness of it all. These books made me realize how much I was connected to my Asian culture and how much I really appreciated it.

After discovering the connection I had with Lisa Yee's books I couldn't wait to find that connection with other books too. At the Library I would check out any and all books I found that were written by an Asian author or happened to have Asian characters in them.

Which brings me to why I love diversity in YA (and all literature/culture really): Diversity helps people feel like they belong. It helps people realize that their little quirks and traits from their ethnicity or upbringing aren't so strange after all. Reading these books with Asian characters made me feel less alone in my Asianness. It helped me to see that there were others out there like me: That I wasn't the only teenage girl who had trouble making friends because she was smart or who happened to LOVE dim sum. When I read these books I didn't feel like a weirdo anymore. I felt like I fit right in. At least in Asian circles. >.<

To this day I still LOVE reading books with Asian characters or themes and there is always a rush of happiness when I find new Asian authors. On top of that I still get giddy with excitement when I'm reading a book and I discover that one of the characters is Asian. There's just nothing quite like having that "Asian connection" with a fictional character!

So what about you guys? Why do YOU love diversity in YA? If you're a minority do you find yourself drawn to books/characters related to your ethnicity or do you hardly notice? If you aren't a minority do you still like to read books related to minorities? And lastly what are some of your favorite books with diverse characters or themes?

Be sure to hit up the All Things Asian event page for all the posts and giveaways! Click HERE to see more awesomeness. (And no, you don't have to be Asian to participate!) And don't forget to check out iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books,  and My Words Ate Me today for more posts!


Julia :)

Character Interview: Mai from Tangled Threads by Pegi Deitz Shea

Today I get to share with you guys a character interview of Mai from Tangled Threads by Pegi Deitz Shea!

For the Hmong people living in overcrowded refugee camps in Thailand, America is a dream: the land of peace and plenty. In 1995, ten years after their arrival at the camp, thirteen-year-old Mai Yang and her grandmother are about to experience that dream. In America, they will be reunited with their only remaining relatives, Mai’s uncle and his family. They will discover the privileges of their new life: medical care, abundant food, and an apartment all their own. But Mai will also feel the pressures of life as a teenager. Her cousins, now known as Heather and Lisa, try to help Mai look less like a refugee, but following them means disobeying Grandma and Uncle. From showers and smoke alarms to shopping, dating, and her family’s new religion, Mai finds life in America complicated and confusing. Ultimately, she will have to reconcile the old ways with the new, and decide for herself the kind of woman she wants to be. This archetypal immigrant story introduces readers to the fascinating Hmong culture and offers a unique outsider’s perspective on our own.

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When I speak at schools and libraries, teens always want to know more about Mai. So here are Mai’s answers to some of the questions I get. Read more to find out how you can ask your own question.

Q. A lot of reality shows create problems and drama to entertain viewers. But you have had a sad life with your parents dying in a war. Do you watch these shows?
Mai: I like the reality shows that make competitors use cleverness and strength, like “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “Man vs. Wild.” But I can’t stand the shows that have people fighting all the time and back-stabbing each other. I also don’t like violent movies or video games. The noises give me headaches and the images make me want to puke. If kids had ever lived through a war, ever really seen their family and friends die, or just had their family taken away, they wouldn’t get such a big kick out of killing.
 
Q. Do you like sports?
 Mai: I love volleyball! It was one of only things we could do for fun in the refugee camps. I play in a summer league. I’m a “setter” because I’m not very tall. I wanted to play on the high school team with Yer and Kachea, but I had to get a job to help my aunt and uncle.
 
Q. Who’s on your play-lists?
Mai: Hmong rock—rock in general, but I don’t like scream-o. Bruno Mars is adorable, Beyonce (even tho she’s getting old). I learn a lot of dance moves from her old videos, Pink—because she’s strong and not afraid to speak the truth. I like good lyrics. Adele—I hope her next album is happier! Lady Gaga is really talented. It would be so cool to sew costumes for her (except not meat ones).


Q.  Other than art class, which class do you like best?
Mai:  History. I know it’s a lot of wars and dates, but my teacher really brings the people alive. It’s fun learning about inventions, people creating things.

Q. How do you cope in high school? There are so many cliques!
Mai: Instead of trying to “be” someone, “do” something that makes you happy. I made lots of friends in art class. Start a club if there isn’t one you’d like to join. Don’t forget your old friends. In fact, they can help you meet new people. I go to Yer and Kachea’s volleyball games and now I’m friends with their team mates. Do nice things for other people, even ones you don’t know. Like offering your class notes to someone who was absent. If you’re having no luck in school, do stuff outside of school with other teens, like dance or youth group at church. Volunteer or get a job.

Q. Why do you like needle work? It’s so old-fashioned.
A. Lots of arts and crafts are old-fashioned. The cave women made clothes! And look at all the fashion magazines and tv shows today. So I use old-fashioned materials—threads—but I create something new every time I sew. Some people create with words. Me—I like cloth. So find a material and make something that could only come from your ideas.
That reminds me! My creator, Pegi Deitz Shea, would love to hear from you if you want to ask Mai any more questions or ask my creator anything about writing. You can email her at pegideitzshea@aol.com.  Thanks for tuning in!

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Thanks for sharing such an awesome interview with us Pegi Deitz Shea! If you want to learn more about Mai and Tangled Threads be sure to enter for a chance to win a signed copy here.

Be sure to hit up our All Things Asian event page for all the posts and giveaways! Click HERE to see more awesomeness. (And no, you don't have to be Asian to participate!) And don't forget to check out iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books,  and My Words Ate Me today for more posts!

Julia :)

Book Excerpts: Stitch In Time by Pegi Deitz Shea + Giveaway!

Today we continue in our celebration of All Things Asian with some book excerpts from Pegi Deitz Shea's new YA novel Stitch In Time!

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EXCERPTS FROM STITCH IN TIME, by Pegi Deitz Shea. This new YA novel is a sequel to the award-winning books, Tangled Threads and The Whispering Cloth. 

CONTEXT: In my middle grade novel Tangled Threads, Mai Yang, age 13 then, was finally leaving a post-war refugee camp in Thailand. She had developed a crush on another refugee, Yia Lor, a widowed teen father of a little boy. When they arrived in America, they were separated. Yia remarried in Springfield, Ma, while Mai struggled to adapt to life in Providence, RI. In the sequel, Stitch in Time, Mai and Yia meet five years later at a Hmong New Year celebration in Providence. That night, a tragic car crash kills Yia’s wife and injures him and his two boys. Mai helps rescue them and see them through the aftermath. Her crush on Yia becomes love and months after the accident, he falls for Mai. She must choose between going to art school and marrying him.
In this scene, Yia and Mai take his boys (7-year-old Koufing and 2-year-old Teng [Rooster]) to Roger Williams Park in Providence. They had spent very innocent time together before in Springfield, and this is the first time Yia and Mai kiss.


 “Down?” Rooster asked when he was all swung out. Yia walked him over to some other little kids playing in a maze of tubes.  
We sat on a bench and rested. I felt all heated up, so I tried to take off my hoodie. It kept catching on the knot I’d tied in my blouse. Soon I felt Yia’s hands touch my body. I flinched on instinct. Raum! But Yia tightened his grip on my waist and tugged at the sweatshirt with his other hand. Now it was completely covering my face!
“It’s the hoodie tie,” he laughed. “You didn’t loosen it enough.”
Searching for the string, his cool fingers grazed my neck. His fingertips played across my collarbones and shoulders and I gasped, all shivery. When he slowly lifted the hoodie clear from my face, his lips gathered mine in a velvet grasp. It was the most tender thing I had ever felt.
After a few luxurious seconds, he gently let go. But he didn’t pull his face away. His eyes were closed, and his smile lines flared out to his temples.
“Wow,” I whispered, before I realized how immature that sounded.
But he said, “’Wow’ is right.” He finished removing my pullover and kissed me again, longer. The tips of our tongues peeped out and—
“Dad!” Koufing was calling from across the play ground.  
I gulped. Did Koufing see us? What did he think? Did he call to stop it?
Yia cleared his throat. “Yes, Kou?”
“I’m ready to see the animals now. Let’s go.”
The rest of the afternoon, the boys ran from exhibit to exhibit, calling to each other, “Come see!” and “Hey, check this out!” I was so delirious that I had trouble keeping up. A few times, Yia had to trot back and pull me forward. As the little ones were spellbound at the tiger area, Yia pulled me into his arms, cupped his hands around my face and kissed me again. I tingled every place our skin met.  …
“Dad!” Koufing again.
I jumped at the sound of his voice. How could I have forgotten where I was and whose arms were around me? I opened my eyes to feel Yia being yanked away.
Koufing insisted, “Come on, Dad! The gorillas are around the corner.”
In camp, Grandma was the one to keep Yia and me apart. Was Koufing the new military police?

CONTEXT: In the following scene, Mai and her high school teachers are touring Rhode Island School of Design. (RISD, which is pronounced Riz-dee) Mai, a Hmong pa’ndau artist, doubts her own talent in textile art.
Intriguing works of art kept stopping us. Every building—every room—was a gallery. Here, a painstaking painting of a system of canals or roads. I read the name plaque for the title: “Red Maple Leaf.” Oh!  I peered closer. It was a leaf. A color photograph of garbage floating in a stagnant pond was actually beautiful. Strange. The one that moved me the most was a sculpture of a dolphin made out of fishing line. Was it trapped in the tangles, or was it—here-- free of them?
I recalled our fun in the craft store—how I’d said I’d be a dolphin in the animal world. The answer had popped out of me then. I’d never thought about it before. Now I understood a little. In my world, as I fixed my own ideas, my own stitches to cloth, pa’ndau let me swim in new waters. Dark, deep, yet open and free. And sometimes, like a dolphin, my needle leapt.
This is what Ms. Movar had meant—how my art had to evoke deep thought and emotion. This work in front of me hit me, it stopped me, it made me think and feel. Now, it lived in my brain, and would make me think and feel for years to come.

“Come along,” Ms. Movar said, linking her arm in mine.
She led us by some classrooms. In one, students were watching slides of old art, listening to a professor talk about light. One class was drawing a nude! My whole body flinched and I looked away. I’d heard about this. How could I possibly do that? Oh, what a prude I was. I’d seen almost as much skin on music videos and movies.
We took the stairs to the next floor. “This is my favorite room coming up,” said Ms. Movar.
We’d entered a space where eight huge looms were whacking and clacking back and forth, some of them worked by students, others hooked up to computers. It felt like I was inside an attack—machine guns whacking down villagers, hand-made spears clacking against each other. Suddenly, my knees buckled and my heart tightened.
Ms. Movar and Miss Susan guided me into a quieter room. Still I could barely hear Miss Susan, who was holding her ears too. “Boy, that was loud!”
“Did you notice that the students were wearing earplugs?” Ms. Movar pointed out. “Mai, open your eyes. You’re okay.”
My words sounded far away and jittery in my own ears. “I’ve worked on a loom before. But I’ve never seen so many, heard them, together like that.”
“Well, just sit a spell and look around you,” Ms. Movar told me.
“Ohhhh!” Shelves and shelves and shelves of spools and spools and spools. Most of them the size of a honeydew melon. There were even threads the color of honeydew. At fabric stores, the spools are neatly arranged like lipsticks, in tight boxed displays. Here, threads reached out to you like beckoning fingers, daring you to use them. I had to touch them!
I walked up and down the aisles, sliding my fingers along the spools. There was the blue aisle from midnight blue to robin’s egg. The yellows ranged from cream to buttercup. And the reds! From a child’s cheek to the hottest coal. One whole wall was covered in fancy threads—bright elastics, multicolored ribbon, lacey bands. Each giving my fingertips a new sensation.
Ms. Movar was standing near the door, her folded hands barely covering a wide smile. “I knew you’d love this.”
Soon, classes ended without any bells and students filled the halls. After it cleared, we entered the weaving room. Though silent now, each loom spoke its own language. One a furry wool blanket, another a fine flowered scarf. And one was hooked up to a computer that had a complex pattern on the screen. The loom’s threads matched the pattern exactly. Wow.
“You belong here, Mai,” Miss Susan said.
“I do,” I dared to admit. But does RISD think so?

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A HUGE thanks to Pegi Deitz Shea for sharing such awesome excerpts from her book with us! Be sure to check out her website here to find out more about Stitch in Time and her other books.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!