To follow up on our post earlier this month, here are five more books that come out later this year that we wanted to highlight for AANHPI month. Which ones will you be adding to your TBR list?
The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham
Kokila || Publishes 2 June 2026
One hundred years have passed since the last heir of Gyldan fell into eternal slumber and doomed the once-mighty kingdom to poverty and invasion. At least, that’s what the fairy tales claim.
Corin is a jaded thief who doesn’t believe in fables, even when she searches Gyldan’s underground tunnels to find her younger sister, Elly, who ran away to find the sleeping princess in hopes of a better life. Corin’s conviction is challenged when she discovers the ruins of the ancient castle, maintained by beings from the kingdom’s golden age, who protect a hidden portal into Princess Amelia’s subconscious. Following Elly’s voice, Corin jumps in the portal and seals the entry behind her.
Inside the lush world of Amelia’s dreams, the sisters reunite for a new adventure as they meet Briar Rose, Amelia’s whimsical alter ego, and Malicine, a sharp-tongued demon with a gift for magic. But as they explore ice castles, sunflower mazes, and star-filled oceans, Corin suspects Briar Rose is hiding darker secrets behind her “perfect” paradise – and that there are some things her subconscious can’t bury forever.
My Killer Family Reunion by Dinesh Thiru
Atheneum Books for Young Readers || Publishes 11 August 2026
Knives Out meets Never Have I Ever in this hilarious and twisty young adult mystery-comedy about an Indian American teen whose family reunion at a lavish manor falls into chaos after her grandma is attacked.
Nothings brings family together like attempted murder.
There are three things Jayshree Devi can count on happening at her annual family reunion: 1) her cousins will forget she exists, 2) her aunts will try to set her up, and 3) her uncles will get into a fight. What she doesn’t expect? An accident that lands her grandmother in a coma, throwing the family—and their matriarch’s sizeable fortune—into chaos.
When Jay discovers Grand Mom’s “accident” might not have been so accidental after all, she’ll have to dig through decades of secrets to find the truth. With the help of her (annoyingly perky) cousins and one of their (annoyingly hot) friends, Jay finds herself knee-deep in a mystery that’s even more tangled than her family tree.
But the closer Jay gets to answers, the closer she gets to finding her place amongst the relatives who once felt so distant. With Grand Mom’s life and fortune hanging in the balance, can Jay save her family and maybe hook up with a hottie while she’s at it?
Foreigners by E.L. Shen
Quill Tree Books || Publishes 22 September 2026
For centuries, the Chin family has kept its secrets.
In 1878, Duanfang knows he’s destined for greatness. He’ll do anything to uphold and protect the legacy of his Manchu family—even if it means hiding his past.
In 1966, Zheng Yi flies from Taiwan to New York City to have a shot at attending an American college. Thrown into a world of parties, prejudice, and a tumultuous romance, Yi worries that New York may be more than she can handle. But just as she is beginning to adjust, she must make a shocking decision that will irrevocably change her life and her future forever.
Today, Dawn Chin’s family is opaque at best, with heavy expectations and heavier silences. But an assignment to interview her grandmother is about to crack open her real family history: a legacy hundreds of years old, and a lie decades in the making . . .
Heirs of Infamy by Kyla Zhao
G.P. Putnam’s Sons || Publishes 13 October 2026
Two rivals from opposing gangs grow dangerously close in this dazzling YA debut set in 1940s San Francisco Chinatown.
Beneath the neon glare of postwar San Francisco, Chinatown is ruled by two rival crime families. East Phoenix deals in secrets and stealth, West Dragon in fists and fear. But both empires are bleeding money, and the fragile truce between them frays by the day.
As the daughter of Chinatown’s most powerful crime boss, Alexis Sung can do almost anything, except join the family business. When her first job for East Phoenix goes wrong, her father shuts her out for good. Across town, Zachary Ren—a brilliant orphan raised by West Dragon—is desperate to escape a life he never chose. Their paths were never meant to cross again, not after he destroyed Alexis’s one shot to prove herself.
That changes when a daring heist surfaces—one with a bounty big enough to save both families from ruin. Defying her father’s orders, Alexis seizes the chance to redeem herself by striking an uneasy alliance with Zachary. As old wounds reopen and new sparks catch, survival means trusting the last person she thought she would.
Salt Water Blood by Manuia Heinrich
Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers || Publishes 17 November 2026
An Indigenous teen fights to clear her brother of a murder charge by embracing her gift of hearing the sea’s prophetic thoughts in this debut young adult speculative thriller that’s Firekeeper’s Daughter meets Moana.
Eighteen-year-old Moe hears the sea’s prophetic thoughts. Not just hear them—she feels them. That’s how she experienced her father’s death before he did and how she felt her mother’s relief when she abandoned Moe and her younger brother, Tao, months later.
So when the sea warns Moe that Tao will drown, she’s determined to get in fate’s way and soon secures them a way off their island home. But those plans are ruined when Tao’s girlfriend goes missing and Tao is found where she was last seen…with blood on his hands—and no memory of what happened.
Moe will do anything she can to clear her brother’s name, even if it means swallowing her pride and teaming up with her annoyingly clever school rival, Temanea. Even if it means relying on the sea’s prophecies.
Because her dreaded gift may be the only way to save her brother—and uncover a sickness lurking in their community before it poisons them all.