By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the previous year—the ups, the downs, and the in-betweens. It’s also time for me to take stock of all the things I’ve read these past 366 days (remember, it was a leap year!) and share with you all my top 10 picks.
The one with my favorite sidekick
The Dragon’s Promise
By Elizabeth Lim
Knopf Books, 2022
Princess Shiori has made a deathbed promise to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner—but unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Now, she’s got to journey to the dragons’ undersea kingdom, navigate human and dragon politics, and keep the pearl safe from thieves—even when it has a mind of its own and can help or betray her on a whim. And she has to do all this while maintaining the picture of a perfect princess, as there are those who would love nothing more than to see her perish for the magic that runs in her blood.
“Dragon’s Promise” is the sequel to “Six Crimson Cranes.” It’s a love story, showcasing all types of love. My favorite relationship is between Shiori and Kiki, her enchanted paper bird who always speaks her mind (even when it might not be in their best interests, but that’s what makes it fun). I also appreciated how Lim shows that the hero’s journey is not one you have to take alone.
The one that taught me more about my own community
Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes
By Chantha Nguon
Algonquin Books, 2024
Growing up in 1960s Battambang, Cambodia, Chantha Nguon’s childhood was idyllic. But when she was 9, the country’s growing anti-Vietnamese sentiments led Nguon’s ethnic Vietnamese family to flee to Saigon—into the middle of the Vietnam War. Then in 1975, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, and she wasn’t able to return home for a very long time.
“Slow Noodles” is the story of a woman doing everything she can to get back home. Even if it takes literal decades. From losing much of her family, to living in a Thai refugee camp, Nguon details everything she goes through, along with the role food—or lack thereof—has played in her life. You can’t help but admire Nguon’s determination, as well as her commitment to rebuilding Cambodia once she makes it back. Her story tells a side of the Cambodian diaspora that I wasn’t aware of before and shows just how many different groups were affected by the wars and genocide of that time.
The classic heist, with a fantastical twist
The Gilded Wolves
By Roshani Chokshi
Wednesday Books, 2019
In 1889, Paris is a city filled with secrets. And no one is better at finding out what people are hiding than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the Order of Babel, an all-powerful society, seeks his help in finding an ancient artifact, Séverin hesitates. That is until they dangle the one thing he’s been after his whole life: his true inheritance.
So in classic heist fashion, Séverin forms a team with a band of experts he’s been working with for years—all of whom specialize in different things that just happen to complement each other and are exactly what they need to find the artifact before darker forces do and use it for their own nefarious purposes. Told from various characters’ perspectives, Chokshi does a great job of creating a diverse group of characters for readers to get to know and love. They’ve all struggled for one reason or another, and I love a good underdog story, especially when said underdogs are working to save the world.
The one with my favorite aunties
The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties
By Jesse Q. Sutanto
Berkley, 2024
Following their European honeymoon, Meddy Chan and her new husband, Nathan, are meeting her mom, aunties, and the rest of her extended family in Jakarta to celebrate Chinese New Year. Things get even more festive when Second Aunt’s childhood sweetheart shows up bearing gifts. But when a gift meant for a business rival is also given away in the chaos, it’s up to Meddy and her family to retrieve it.
But of course, since these are our favorite Chinese Indonesian aunties, it’s not going to be that simple. And before you know it, the Chans find themselves in the middle of a decades-long war among the top business factions (not mafia leaders) in Indonesia. In this final installment of Sutanto’s aunties series, Meddy and her family are just as chaotic as ever. But one thing I appreciate and love about this series is that no matter how much they drive each other crazy, the Chans are the definition of a ride or die family. They are always there for each other and will do whatever it takes to keep each other safe.
The one with the ending that will anger you—but in the best way
A Tempest of Tea
By Hafsah Faizal
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024
In White Roaring, criminal mastermind and secret collector Arthie Casimir runs a prestigious tearoom that turns into an illegal bloodhouse at night, catering to the vampires feared by society. She’s created a space where outcasts can be themselves. So when her establishment is threatened by the Ram—the masked ruler of the city—Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an adversary in order to save it.
Part of this includes infiltrating the vampiric society known as the Athereum, but she can’t do it alone. So Arthie puts together a team of fellow outcasts to get the job done—but not everyone is on her side and Arthie must think twice about who she trusts among her crew. “Tempest” is a fun heist book with a bit of found family thrown in for good measure. Readers will be questioning everyone’s motives at every twist, turn, and surprise. Right up until the end, which is a cliffhanger that admittedly made me mad, but in the best way, as I now can’t wait for the next book.
The one where there’s more to everyone than meets the eye
This Woven Kingdom
By Tahereh Mafi
HarperCollins, 2022
As a servant, Alizeh is seen and treated as a second-class citizen—disposable. Nobody knows she’s actually the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, hiding in plain sight and waiting until the time is right to rise up and unite her people. Meanwhile, Ardunia’s crown prince, Kamran, has heard of the prophecies that foretell the death of his king, his grandfather. But he never imagined the servant with the strange eyes—who he can’t get out of his mind—would be at the center of it all.
Inspired by Persian mythology, Mafi’s “Woven Kingdom” follows two people from very different worlds, but whose destinies are woven together, whether they like it or not. She’s also created a universe filled with a great cast of characters who are complex and complicated, from different walks of life and with more to them than meets the eye, and I can’t wait to see what happens to them as the series progresses.
The one that mixes fantasy with science
The Last Bloodcarver
By Vanessa Le
Roaring Brook Press, 2024
As someone who can alter others’ biology with just a touch, Nhika was raised as a healer, a heart soothe. But thanks to the prejudices she faces in the industrial city of Theumas, she’s seen as a bloodcarver, coldhearted and ruthless monster, and forced to hide her abilities. When she’s caught by the city’s infamous Butchers who capture and sell rare specimens, she’s then bought by the city’s richest family and forced to heal the only witness to a possible high-profile murder.
Inspired by Le’s Vietnamese culture and background as a medical student, “Bloodcarver” weaves medicine and magic together in a way that will satisfy and intrigue lovers of science and fantasy alike. It was particularly interesting to see Nhika’s thought process when it comes to healing others. “Bloodcarver” is a story filled with secrets that reveal themselves in the most fun and delightful ways and will definitely have readers feeling some kind of way.
The one that had more action than expected
Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies
By Abigail Hing Wen
Feiwel & Friends, 2024
After sharing a magical kiss at prom, best friends Tan Lee and Winter Woo decide to take a step back. With Tan’s parents as Winter and her mom’s landlords, there’s definitely a power dynamic that could make things weird. But this smart decision all goes out the window when the teens’ parents go on a joint vacation to Hawaii, and Tan and Winter have to babysit his sister, Sana, together. And then Tan’s ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Tseng, shows up from Shanghai after stealing money from her billionaire dad (as one does), with thugs on her heels.
And before we know it, the foursome finds themselves on the run in the San Francisco Bay Area, trying to outsmart a bunch of money-hungry international hackers. This is a romantic comedy-thriller, heavy on the thrills, in the best way. For a story geared toward teens, it’s filled with age-appropriate action. And Wen does a great job of balancing this action and sense of danger with heart, that readers (at least this reader) could easily see translating onto the screen.
The one that’ll give you a glimpse of island life
Dragonfruit
By Makiia Lucier
Clarion Books, 2024
When Hanalei’s father steals a dragon egg—meant for an ailing princess—in order to save Hanalei’s life, she survives. But every wish comes with a price. Her father is killed shortly after, and she’s forced into exile. As she grows up, Hanalei studies the seadragons of the Nominomi Sea, and when she comes across a pregnant female dragon, she sees her chance to return home and right a wrong. In the process, she reconnects with her childhood friend, Samahtitamahenele (Sam), the last remaining prince of Tamarind—who cannot inherit the throne as Tamarind is a matriarchal society, but now may have a way of saving his mother.
Inspired by Pacific Island mythology, “Dragonfruit” is filled with action and adventure, as well as love—of all kinds. Lucier does a great job of depicting romantic as well as platonic and familial love, as we see Hanalei and Sam’s relationships with each other and others around them grow and evolve. This story also gives readers a glimpse into Pacific Island culture and what life on an island could be like (outside of the fantastical elements).
The one that will make you want to pick up Shakespeare
Foul Lady Fortune
By Chloe Gong
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2022
The year is 1931 in Shanghai, four years since Rosalind Lang was brought back from the edge of death. But while the experiment that saved her life allows her to heal from any wound, her immortality comes with a price: She hasn’t aged or been able to sleep since. With this new lease on life, Rosalind is righting the wrongs of her traitorous past, working for her country as an assassin under the codename Fortune. When the Japanese Imperial Army begins to invade, Rosalind must pose as the wife of a fellow Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, to find the people behind a series of murders plaguing the city.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” “Fortune” is fun and filled with secrets, redemption, and intrigue. As a spy thriller, Gong does a great job with the twists and turns that will keep readers guessing and trying to figure out who’s on which side. And as a follow up to Gong’s Violent Delights duology, it’s also fun to see what the characters have been up to since the events in those books.