In Secondhand World,the first novel by Katherine Min, first person narrator, Isa Myung Hee looks back at her life as a Korean-American teenager while recovering from burns in a tragic fire that killed her parents. Isa, daughter of successful but aloof first generation Koreans, alienated from her parents and the target of racial prejudice at school, is drawn to an albino outsider named "Hero." It is only when she discovers her mother's affair that she questions her rejection of her heritage.

Publisher's Weekly calls the story "a swirling, textured and beautifully detailed web of perception..."

For teen novels that explore similar themes, try the novels of Marie Lee, and the books, American Eyes, stories edited by Lori Carlson and Girls for Breakfast by David Yoo.

Cleverly interweaving stories tell the tales of Jin Wang, a teen who meets with ridicule and social isolation when his family moves from San Francisco's Chinatown to an exclusively white suburb; Danny, a popular blond, blue-eyed high school jock whose social status is jeopardized when his goofy, embarrassing Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, enrolls at his high school; and the Monkey King who, unsatisfied with his current sovereign, desperately longs to be elevated to the status of a god. Exploring issues of self-image, cultural identity, transformation, and self-acceptance American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is a rare treat.

What do comedienne Margaret Cho, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, cabinet member Norman Mineta, golfer Tiger Woods, and Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang have in common?

Each of these well-known public figures is part of the vast, diverse group of Americans who claim either full or partial Asian heritage. May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the library has plenty of materials for those interested in learning more about the history and impact of Asian Americans.

Here are a few highlights from the collection:
Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans
Columbia Guide to Asian American History
Asian American Century
Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire
Q and A: Queer in Asian America
Asian Americans: An Interpretive History