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Recommendations based on The Wangs vs. the Worldby Jade Chang
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Chemistry
by Weike Wang
A Chinese-American Ph.D. candidate in chemistry struggles with the pressures of academia, family expectations, and her own identity crisis.
At first glance, the quirky, overworked narrator of this novel seems to be on the cusp of a perfect life: she is studying for a prestigious PhD in chemistry that will make her Chinese parents proud ... (Goodreads)
Behold the Dreamers
by Imbolo Mbue
A Cameroonian family’s struggle to build a better life in America.
The novel opens in fall 2007 with the interview of an immigrant from Cameroon, Jende Jonga, who is hoping to be hired as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a Lehman Brothers executive. Jonga's job allows ... (Wikipedia)
Homegoing
by Yaa Gyasi
Spanning centuries, the intertwining stories of two African sisters, their descendants, and the legacy of slavery.
Effia is raised by her mother, Baaba, who is cruel to her. Nevertheless she works hard to please her mother. Known as a beauty, Effia is intended to be married to the future chief of her village, but ... (Wikipedia)
Goodbye, Vitamin
by Rachel Khong
A young woman returns home to help care for her father with Alzheimer's, reflecting on family, love, and memory.
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR;, O, The Oprah Magazine,;, Vogue,;, San Francisco Chronicl,e;, Esquire,;, Huffington Post,;, Nylon,;, Entertainment Weekly,;, BuzzFeed,;, Booklist,; and, The ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Sympathizer
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Vietnam War refugee returns to his homeland and struggles to reconcile conflicting loyalties.
It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be ... (Goodreads)
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer
A young boy's quest to find the lock that matches a mysterious key his father left behind.
Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and ... (Goodreads)
The Grace of Kings
by Ken Liu
Epic fantasy saga of rebellion and redemption that spans generations in an imagined world.
Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet, in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of ... (Goodreads)
LaRose
by Louise Erdrich
A family's tragedy brings them together, pushing them to confront the past and embrace their future.
LaRose is set in North Dakota , on an Ojibwa reservation in the "era of George W. Bush and 9/11." , The novel's protagonist is LaRose Iron, a young Native American boy. , His father, Landreaux Iron, ... (Wikipedia)
The Leavers
by Lisa Ko
A story of the struggles and triumphs of two individuals navigating the complexities of immigration and identity.
Told in four parts, the novel begins as Deming Guo's mother Polly suddenly disappears from the family's New York City apartment without warning. Deming is placed into foster care , ultimately to be ... (Wikipedia)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
by Ken Liu
Collection of science fiction and fantasy stories exploring themes of identity and belonging.
A publishing event: Bestselling author Ken Liu selects his award-winning science fiction and fantasy tales for a groundbreaking collection—including a brand-new piece exclusive to this volume. With ... (Goodreads)
Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
An exploration of race, identity, and belonging as two Nigerian immigrants experience life in America and beyond.
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to ... (Goodreads)
Purity
by Jonathan Franzen
A young woman's quest to uncover her identity and family secrets.
The novel tells the intersecting stories of several different people of widely diverging ages and backgrounds. Purity Tyler, who goes by the name "Pip" is 23 and has $130,000 in student loan debt. ... (Wikipedia)
The Kiss Quotient
by Helen Hoang
A heartwarming romance between a brilliant econometrician with Asperger's and a charming male escort.
From the author of, The Bride Test, comes a romance novel hailed as one of, The Washington Post,’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2018 and one of Amazon’s Top 100 Books of 2018!,“This is such a fun ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead
An escaped slave's daring escape to freedom, fighting against the brutality of slavery.
The story is told in the third person, focusing mainly on Cora. Scattered single chapters also focus on Cora's mother Mabel, the slavecatcher Ridgeway, a reluctant slave sympathizer named Ethel, and ... (Wikipedia)
Vicious
by V.E. Schwab
Two former friends, locked in a cycle of revenge, use their superpowers to manipulate and destroy each other.
Victor and Eli begin as college roommates and discover that near-death experiences, under the right conditions, can create superhuman abilities. When Victor tries to create his abilities, things go ... (Wikipedia)
It's Kind of a Funny Story
by Ned Vizzini
A young man's struggle with mental illness, finding his path to recovery.
Craig Gilner, the narrator, is 15 years old and lives with his family in a middle-class Brooklyn neighborhood. He attends the prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High School, having studied ... (Wikipedia)
Catacomb
by Madeleine Roux
A group of teens explore the Parisian catacombs, but soon find themselves trapped and hunted by a malevolent force.
The heart-stopping third book in the New York Times bestselling Asylum series follows three teens as they take a senior-year road trip to one of America's most haunted cities, uncovering dangerous ... (Barnes & Noble)
The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
An exploration of the Indian class system, told from the perspective of a lower-caste man.
The entire novel is narrated through letters by Balram Halwai to the Premier of China, who will soon be visiting India. Balram is an Indian man from an impoverished background, born in the village of ... (Wikipedia)
See You in the Cosmos
by Jack Cheng
A young boy named Alex records his journey to launch his iPod into space, hoping to connect with extraterrestrial life and find his absent father.
A space-obsessed boy and his dog, Carl Sagan, take a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe in this funny and moving novel for fans of Counting by 7s, Walk Two Moons, and The Curious Incident of ... (Goodreads)
Sanctum
by Madeleine Roux
A group of teens explore an abandoned asylum, but soon realize they are not alone. Horror and suspense ensue.
In this haunting, fast-paced sequel to the New York Times bestselling photo-illustrated novel Asylum, three teens must unlock some long-buried secrets from the past before the past comes back to get ... (Goodreads)
Roar and Liv
by Veronica Rossi
A novella set in the "Under the Never Sky" series, following the story of Roar and Liv before they meet Aria and Perry.
Before Perry and Aria, there was Roar and Liv., After a childhood spent wandering the borderlands, Roar finally feels like he has a home with the Tides. His best friend Perry is like a brother to ... (Barnes & Noble)
Puddle Jumping
by Amber L. Johnson
A heartwarming love story between two teenagers, dealing with mental health issues and societal expectations.
When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as conventional. Everyone thinks Colton Neely is special. Lilly Evans just thinks he’s fascinating. Once friends when they were younger, their bond is cut ... (Goodreads)
The Queen
by Kiera Cass
A young girl competes for the heart of a prince in a dystopian society where love is a political tool.
Don't miss this digital original novella set in the captivating world of Kiera Cass's #1, New York Times, bestselling Selection series., Before America Singer's story began, another girl came to the ... (Barnes & Noble)
All In
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
A high-stakes poker game turns deadly when a group of teens are forced to play for their lives.
Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days. After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team's unique profiling talents, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Only Ever Yours
by Louise O'Neill
In a dystopian world, girls are bred for men's pleasure. Freida and Isabel are friends, until the final ceremony approaches.
In a world in which baby girls are no longer born naturally, women are bred in schools, trained in the arts of pleasing men until they are ready for the outside world. At graduation, the most highly ... (Goodreads)
The Accident Season
by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Every October, the family experiences a month of accidents. As they try to uncover the cause, secrets are revealed and the past comes back to haunt them.
A bewitching, dark and beautiful debut novel about a girl living in the shadow of a mysterious curse. It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom. The ... (Goodreads)
What We Lose
by Zinzi Clemmons
A young woman navigates the complexities of identity, grief, and love after the death of her mother.
Thandi, the daughter of a South African mother and an American father, comes of age in Pennsylvania . When she is in college, her mother is stricken by cancer and dies, causing Thandi's life to fall ... (Wikipedia)
The Expatriates
by Janice Y.K. Lee
Three American women living in Hong Kong navigate their personal and professional lives, facing loss, love, and identity crises.
Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, is adrift, undone by a terrible incident in her recent past. Hilary, a wealthy housewife, is haunted by her struggle to have a child, ... (Goodreads)
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
A powerful tale of four friends navigating life's hardships and the devastating effects of trauma.
The novel follows the lives of four friends in New York City from college through to middle-age. It focuses particularly on Jude, a lawyer with a mysterious past, ambiguous ethnicity, and unexplained ... (Wikipedia)
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
A collection of short stories exploring themes of science, technology, and humanity.
Ted Chiang's first published story, ",Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon ... (Goodreads)
