Past Books
April 2024
The contentious relationship between a Vietnamese mother and daughter comes to a head when their family’s beloved matriarch dies.
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
The trauma from war
The difficulties of settling in a new country
The challenges of cultural assimilation
Complicated mother-daughter relationships
Physical and emotional abuse in romantic relationships
Casual sexism and racism that women of color go through
The fetishization of Asian women
Themes discussed
March 2024
A mystery novel featuring a 25-year-old Indian police sergeant investigating a missing persons case in 1914 colonial Fiji.
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
The brutalities of colonialism
How colonialism thrives on slave labor
The Indian indentured service program
Questions of personhood and caste
How society shames those who have made mistakes
Themes discussed
February 2024
A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Difficult parent-child relationships
Parents passing on their hopes and dreams onto their children
Growing up in a conservative or religious household
The weight of unspoken things
The power of writing to heal and move others
The importance of caring mentors
Themes discussed
January 2024
The pain of being displaced
The toll of war on people’s lives
Questions of identity in diaspora
Finding community in diaspora
The challenges of being separated from loved ones
Intergenerational trauma due to exile
Not having the words to express trauma
The radicalization that can happen in disenfranchised communities
Themes discussed
The story follows three generations of a Palestinian family and asks us to confront that most devastating of all truths: not being able to go home again.
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
December 2023
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this mystery novel.
Generational differences in the definition of success
Success being attached to wealth and fame instead of happiness and connection
Families of birth vs. families of choice
Abusive family dynamics and the cost to mental health
How abusers isolate their victims from support networks
Exploitation of people who are struggling or vulnerable
Connection to your culture of origin
The role of police in society
Themes discussed
November 2023
This Hindu philosophy-inspired debut science fantasy follows a husband and wife racing to save their living city—and their troubled marriage—high above a jungle world besieged by cataclysmic storms.
The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao
Class disparity and inequity
How power corrupts
Moral dilemmas in the aftermath of climate catastrophe
Difficulties of long-term relationships or marriages
Struggles of marriages between people with opposite ideologies
How secrets destroy relationships
The question of who gets to write history
How society defines who people are meant to be
Struggles of mental health
Themes discussed
October 2023
Late Bloomers charts the reverberations of divorce throughout an Indian-American family when the parents decide to split after 36 years of arranged marriage.
Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan
The challenges of dating as an older person
The difficulties of assimilating into a new culture when immigrating as an adult
Mindset gap between immigrant parents and their children
Generational differences in expressions of love
Intergenerational trauma and its reverberating effects
Finding your community as an immigrant
Themes discussed
September 2023
Like most 20-somethings, Maddie wants to find her place in the world. Between serving as her ailing father’s primary caregiver and living on the whims of her difficult mother and nightmare boss, she’s ready to make some changes. Maame, Jessica George’s debut novel explores what it means to live with an open heart.
Maame by Jessica George
Difficulties of being a Black woman in white spaces
Racial “micro”aggressions at work
Casual racism among friends
Taking care of aging parents
Mindset gap between immigrant parents and their kids
Intergenerational trauma and its reverberating effects
The feeling of not belonging
How patriarchy shapes our sexualities
Lack of social support for young people of color
Lack of generational wealth
The nature of grief
Themes discussed
Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American.Yellowface is an immersive satire from the perspective of the antagonist.
August 2023
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
Plagiarism and appropriation of literature
Racism in the publishing industry
The centering of white voices
Resenting BIPOC when things don’t go well instead of the true culprits in an inequitable system
The struggles of artists and creatives and the lack of support
Cancel culture and online bullying
How entitlement can make someone ignorant and arrogant
The great lengths people go to in desperation
Themes discussed
July 2023
An Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful in keeping her shielded from village politics—until other women in the village start asking for her help to get rid of their own abusive husbands.
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
The challenges of being a woman in a patriarchal society
Violence and abuse against women in marriage
The social stigma and isolation of being a victim of abuse
India’s caste system and ostracization of lower castes
The power of politics and hierarchy of influence in villages
The poverty cycle and the role of microloans
The importance of female friendships
How societal expectations define self-worth
Themes discussed
June 2023
Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The hidden pressures parents exert on their children
The weight of unspoken things
The cost of intergenerational trauma
Growing up as a BIPOC in a community where no-one else looks like you
Acts of racial aggression and their cumulative effects - death by a thousand paper cuts
The challenges of intercultural marriages
Themes discussed
May 2023
This coming-of-age story follows Charlie, a fat brown girl on a journey of self-acceptance while the world (including her mother) is telling her she needs to be thinner, lighter, and quieter.
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Fatphobia in society
The unrealistic beauty and body standards of our world
Complicated mother-daughter relationships
The different manifestations of grief
Fitting in as a bi-racial person
The shame of not being fluent in the native tongue of your culture
The difficult journey of self-acceptance
High school bullying
Themes discussed
April 2023
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story that challenges everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves. We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
Themes discussed
The difficulties of immigration and assimiliation
The pain of not having a community
Generational trauma
Traditions as a language of love
The role of language and food in BIPOC communities
March 2023
The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
This is a delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security — just as she’s falling in love with someone else.
Navigating dual identities, cultures, and communities
The invisible barriers of women of color
Being Muslim in America
Being LGBTQIA+ and Muslim
The struggles of a single parent household
The unspoken nature of grief
Family love and bonds
Expectation gap between immigrant parents & their US-born children