Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is a time to recognize the contributions and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, celebrating diversity along with learning about AAPI heritage. One way we can do that is by picking up a book by AAPI authors with AAPI characters. Here are a few recommendations to get you started.

“These Violent Delights” by Chloe Gong

Reimagined takes on Shakespeare are all over the book and movie scene — some are more obvious like “West Side Story,” and others fly under the radar like the movie, “She’s the Man.” “These Violent Delights” is subtle with the Shakespeare references, but one of my favorite Shakespeare adaptations.

The book takes “Romeo and Juliet” and places the story into the context of 1920’s Shanghai: The Scarlet Gang (the Cai’s) and the White Flowers (the Montagov’s) are gangs who have fought for generations. The book focuses on two main characters: Juliette, the heiress to the Scarlet Gang who recently returned from New York, and Roma, the heir to the White Flowers who has a complicated history with Juliette.

Grudgingly, the two begin to work together to stop what seems to be a sickness spreading through Shanghai — one that causes a madness that spurs people to rip their own throats out.

Considering this is Gong’s debut novel, it’s impressive. Despite being a centuries old story, it isn’t trite and feels original; the conflict between the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers draws you in, but the mysterious illness keeps you turning the pages as fast as you can.

In just under 500 pages, Gong addresses white colonization in China, critiques America and how racism permeates the country and illustrates a mixture of cultural identities in one fell swoop. She also addresses cultural dissonance with the character of Juliette, who spends most of her life in the U.S. prior to the events of the book. She struggles with feeling like she belongs in Shanghai, which is well done and shows up in various aspects of her character.

The book recently blew up on BookTok, and it became popular for a reason. “These Violent Delights” is definitely worth your while this month.

“Babel” by R.F. Kuang

“Babel” is set in 1828, in an alternate reality where British imperial supremacy comes from translation magic: capturing what is “lost in translation” when translating analogous words to different languages.

The book follows Robin Swift, a Chinese boy who attends Babel, an institute at the University of Oxford where students learn to harness the power of translation.

At Babel, Robin and his friends eventually learn that the magic from translating European languages into English isn’t as powerful as it used to be, meaning languages like Mandarin or Arabic are becoming more prioritized. But with that prioritization comes the reality that Babel will exploit foreign nations in order to maintain British rule.

Robin finds himself caught between a promising future and fighting British rule; when the British Empire begins a war with China, it’s time for Robin to choose.

The book is a criticism of imperialism and the role academia plays in perpetuating it. “Babel” is incredibly well researched — the world feels tangible and readers are instantly transported into Robin’s life. The character development of Robin and the rest of the cast is incredibly well done and allows us to understand actions that we may not agree with.

R.F. Kuang is an Asian-American author and through the character of Robin, she writes about struggles of identity, language and sense of belonging. The book explores themes of intersectionality. The intersection of identities lead to each character experiencing privilege and life at Babel differently, making “Babel” an important read for this AAPI Heritage month.

If you’re looking for other books by Kuang, check out her series “The Poppy War,” which explores similar themes and is another gripping read.

“Age of Vice” by Deepti Kapoor

Things aren’t what they seem in Deepti Kapoor’s “Age of Vice.” Set in New Delhi, India, the book opens with a jarring scene: a speeding Mercedes jumps a curb and kills five people. But the man at the wheel isn’t a rich man, like onlookers presume. Instead, he is a shell shocked servant named Ajay who can’t seem to explain how he ended up sitting in the driver’s seat of a car responsible for the deaths of five people.

The book is a thriller and begins with the crime, later filling in the details of Ajay’s youth spent in poverty and how he ended up working for a wealthy crime family in India. The book shifts between different perspectives to piece together Kapoor’s compelling narrative.

“Age of Vice” explores themes of capitalism, corruption inequality and class differences, and is an authentic portrayal of India. Kapoor does an excellent job of exposing readers to the reality of the country amidst the chaos of the narrative.

If you’re into crime-based novels, consider reading this book, as it is not only a welcome addition to the genre, but is set in places that aren’t typically depicted in mainstream media.The rights to the book have been sold to be developed into a TV show, so be on the lookout for that.

In any month, it is important to see good and accurate representation in books, along with reading books by a variety of authors. But AAPI Heritage Month is an opportunity to highlight and elevate these books that don’t often receive the recognition they deserve, so take this month as an opportunity to read books by Asian American and Pacific Islander authors.

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