For 2025’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Month, we showcased a book a day, every day, all month long, by AANHPI female, nonbinary, and trans authors who write science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other delightfully weird works. Come read with us!
How many of these have you read already? Join us on the Sirens Discord to let us know your thoughts, share your favorite recent read, or find your next one! And if you’d like to buy any of these titles, you can shop most of them through our Bookshop.org store. If you do, some of your purchase price support Sirens!
Hammajang Luck by kānaka maoli + hapa haole author Makana Yamamoto
A swashbuckling, space opera heist novel that’s compulsively, propulsively readable. It’s also anticapitalist, it’s queer af, it’s hilarious, and it’s unmistakably a love letter to Hawai’i.
Squire by Palestinian-American writer + narrative designer Nadia Shammas and Jordanian-American illustrator Sara Alfageeh
A gorgeous, rebellious graphic novel with sweeping themes of bravery, loyalty, assimilation, imperialism
She Is a Haunting by Vietnamese-American author Trang Thanh Tran
A dazzling, terrifying YA horror novel: Jade’s Ba is mid-restoration on a French colonial in Vietnam when she visits–but the house, with colonialism steeped in its foundation, is ravenous.
The Phoenix King by by Indian-American Aparna Verma
A political storm of a science fantasy book: War is near and treachery abounds as Elena, the magic-less heir to the throne, and Yassen, notorious assassin, cross paths–and they might just burn the world down.
Water Moon by Filipina author Samantha Sotto Yambao
A fabulist tale of whimsy and wonder in which Hana inherits a pawn shop where you can barter your regrets. But in a world where night markets are made of clouds and you can ride a paper crane, journeys are both enchanting and dangerous.
The Monsoon War by Pakistani author Bina Shah
A futuristic, feminist thriller: In a dystopia too close to our own, tyranny and tech double down on state control of women’s bodies–but together, courageous, compassionate women prepare for battle.
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods
This epic fantasy has it all: romance, magic, tech, and gods. Ruying is blessed by Death with an unspeakable gift, and in a conquered world devastated by colonialism, she’s offered an impossible choice.
Lei and the Fire Goddess by Kānaka Maoli author Malia Maunakea
A rollicking, mythical MG adventure: Anna thought she was going to Hawaii to see her Tūtū and have some fun–until she insults Pele. Then it’s all giant hawks, talking bats and demigods!
The Stardust Thief by Kuwaiti-American author Chelsea Abdullah
This epic fantasy will transport you to a land of adventures and myths, jinn and magic. In this resplendently told tale about how stories matter, criminal Loulie must tackle an impossible quest…
Blob by Taiwanese-American author Maggie Su
A hilarious, tender, wildly weird romance. When Vi finds a sentient blob in an alley, she adopts it–and grows it into the perfect boyfriend. But sometimes a love story is about learning to love yourself.
The Stardust Grail by Japanese and American author Yume Kitasei
Maya Hoshimoto, art thief and anthropologist, thinks she’s settled down into a quiet academic life. But there’s one more impossible quest in this brilliant anti-colonialist space heist.
The Bruising of Qilwa by Persian-American author Naseem Jamnia
A powerful, deft novella of refugees and found family in a queernormative fantasy world. A new illness plagues Qilwa, blamed on forbidden blood magic, and healers must race for a cure…
Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Laos-born Hmong author Lori M. Lee
A hero-making, MG adventure: Pahua’s life, honestly, could be better: She’s loosed an angry spirit, summoned a demon, lost her brother’s soul–and her bestie is a cat no one can see.
The River Has Roots by Lebanese-Canadian author Amal El-Mohtar
A lyrical, bewitching solo debut: Cherished sisters, closer than death, tend the enchanted willows with song. But when one of them chooses a lover from Faerie, their lives are torn asunder…
The Ministry of Time by Cambodian-British author Kaliane Bradley
A masterful, critically acclaimed, genre-crossing debut: In a near future, a civil servant is tasked with living with a time-traveler, who is hilariously confused by the present. But that’s only the beginning…
The Dawnhounds by Kāi Tahu/Kāti Huirapa author Sascha Stronach
A queer af, Māori-inspired, biotech thriller: After being murdered and dumped in the harbor, Yat doesn’t stay dead. But that isn’t even the worst of it…
A Tempest of Tea by Sri Lankan and Arab author Hafsah Faizal
A delicious tale of a criminal mastermind: Arthie runs an amazing tearoom–during the day. At night, she runs a vampire bloodhouse. But then a threat, a heist, a conspiracy–and you won’t be able to put it down!
The Salt Grows Heavy by Malaysian author Cassandra Khaw
A splatterpunk fairy tale: A land-bound mermaid and a plague doctor flee her kingdom, laid waste by her ravenous children, into a village where only their cruelty will keep them alive.
Moonstorm by Korean-American author Yoon Ha Lee
A vibrant, mecha-fueled, galactic YA novel of colonization and rebellion. When the empire destroys her boarding school, wannabe lancer pilot Hwa Young steps up–into a morass of secrets and conspiracy.
Road of the Lost by Indo-Fijian-Canadian author Nafiza Azad
An enchanting, enchanted YA novel featuring Croi, an ordinary brownie with ordinary magic living in the Wilde Forest. But a book can change your life–and a book changes Croi’s because all is not what it seems…
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Turkish-British author Elif Shafak
In this fabulist work, three characters across generations, along two rivers–the Tigris and the Thames–are connected by a single drop of water.
The Last Mapmaker by Thai-American author Christina Soontornvat
A bighearted Newbery-Honor MG book: Sai, a mapmaker’s assistant, jumps at the chance to chart the southern seas–but the ship is secretly headed for dragons and dangers.
Of Jade and Dragons by Singaporean-Chinese author Amber Chen
In this YA silkpunk fantasy, aspiring engineer Ying, reeling from her father’s murder, follows clues to the capital and the male-only Engineer’s Guild trials. But secrets can be deadly…
The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen by Iranian-Australian author Shokoofeh Azar
A lyrical, heartbreaking, fabulist tale: Twelve children got lost in a mysterious palace one long-ago night, and Azar weaves their stories against 50 years of modern Iran.
Dragonfruit by CHamoru author Makiia Lucier
A captivating YA fantasy full of hope: In a dazzling world where a seadragon’s egg can undo your greatest sorrow, a chance encounter allows Hanalei to return from exile–but adventure awaits her and Tamarind’s last prince…
Sabrena Swept Away by Bangladeshi-American author Karuna Riazi
An MG novel full of heart: Sabrena’s dad says they’re descendants of Sinbad, but Sabrena’s more worried about her actual life–until weird things start happening around water…
Navigational Entanglements by author of Vietnamese and French descent, Aliette de Bodard
Việt Nhi and Hạc Cúc are trying, reluctantly, to solve impossible problems in space. Problems like giant jellyfish. And human feelings.
Never Have I Ever by Filipino author Isabel Yap
A beautifully magical, incandescently monstrous collection of short stories: In it, she reshapes myths, manufactures fever dreams, and sympathizes with nightmares, all while haunting the reader with undeniable truths
Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands by Palestinian author Sonia Nimr
A remixed, award-winning feminist fable based on the travels of Ibn Battuta: Qamr’s journey begins 100 years ago, with her birth as an outcast, and then segues into a series of adventures…