East Asian-American YA writers tackle cliches in new books

Three new novels for young readers by East Asian-American authors aim to offer fresh insight into their cultures

Korean-American Mary H.K. Choi (above) wrote Emergency Contact; Korean-American Maurene Goo , The Way You Make Me Feel; and Taiwanese-American Gloria Chao , American Panda.
Korean-American Mary H.K. Choi (above) wrote Emergency Contact; Korean-American Maurene Goo , The Way You Make Me Feel; and Taiwanese-American Gloria Chao , American Panda. PHOTOS: AARON RICHTER, COURTESY OF GLORIA CHAO, EMMA GOO
Korean-American Mary H.K. Choi wrote Emergency Contact; Korean-American Maurene Goo (above), The Way You Make Me Feel; and Taiwanese-American Gloria Chao , American Panda.
Korean-American Mary H.K. Choi wrote Emergency Contact; Korean-American Maurene Goo (above), The Way You Make Me Feel; and Taiwanese-American Gloria Chao , American Panda. PHOTOS: AARON RICHTER, COURTESY OF GLORIA CHAO, EMMA GOO
Korean-American Mary H.K. Choi wrote Emergency Contact; Korean-American Maurene Goo , The Way You Make Me Feel; and Taiwanese-American Gloria Chao (above), American Panda.
Korean-American Mary H.K. Choi wrote Emergency Contact; Korean-American Maurene Goo , The Way You Make Me Feel; and Taiwanese-American Gloria Chao (above), American Panda. PHOTOS: AARON RICHTER, COURTESY OF GLORIA CHAO, EMMA GOO
Emergency Contact
Emergency Contact
The Way You Make Me Feel
The Way You Make Me Feel
American Panda
American Panda
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"Let me guess - you're an overachieving Asian kid who skipped 10 grades?" a new acquaintance tells Korean-American college student Penny Lee in Mary H.K. Choi's young adult (YA) novel Emergency Contact. "Are you secretly 12 years old and a freshman in college?"

Such stereotypes might once have pervaded YA fiction without readers batting an eyelid. But a new slew of novels for young readers by East Asian-American authors this year is making progress on dismantling them.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 05, 2018, with the headline East Asian-American YA writers tackle cliches in new books. Subscribe