Celebrate AANHPI Month with These Can’t-Miss New (and Forthcoming!) Titles
Our favorite new works by Native Hawaiian, Pasifika and Asian American authors for readers of all ages.
May is a beloved month here at Da Shop as we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month and the rich stories that emanate from these communities. As a local independent bookstore, we’re proud to stock a diverse selection of titles by Pasifika and Asian American authors, with new books published and featured regularly. This year has already seen a beautiful abundance of titles by ‘Ōiwi and Asian American authors that center the lives and narratives interwoven with our Hawai‘i community. In honor of AANHPI Month, we’ve curated some of our favorite new works by Native Hawaiian, Pasifika and Asian American authors for readers of all ages.
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Mele
by Kalehua Kim
On the heels of National Poetry Month, we’re loving Mele, the debut collection by Seattle-based multicultural poet Kalehua Kim. Winner of the Trio House Press Editor’s Choice Prize, Mele is an astonishing work of lyrical power. Kim’s poems explore ancestral inheritance, and the memories we hold in our bodies and our souls. The energy of complicated family vibrates from these pages, and we especially gravitate toward the unforgettable writing of the mother figure across poems. Mele is one collection to revisit again and again.
SEE ALSO: Poetry Recs from the New Poet Laureate of Hawai‘i, Lee A. Tonouchi
Bitter Over Sweet
by Melissa Llanes Brownlee
Winner of the Santa Fe Writers Program 2023 Literary Award, Bitter Over Sweet is an engrossing collection of flash fiction by Melissa Llanes Brownlee, a Native Hawaiian writer living in Japan. Just under 150 pages of linked vignettes convey the unforgettable story of Tita, an ‘Ōiwi wahine endeavoring to make a life in a homeland overtaken by tourism. Brownlee’s voice is especially captivating in these flash stories, and we couldn’t stop reading this collection by a powerful new voice in fiction.
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Whidbey
by T Kira Māhealani Madden
Our booksellers had been counting down the days until Whidbey entered the world, so we are especially excited to champion the novel here! T Kira Māhealani Madden is a diasporic Kanaka ‘Ōiwi writer whose memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls has long been a bestseller at Da Shop. Now, with Whidbey, Madden brings her singular prose and generous perspective to a masterful portrait of three women whose lives are triangulated by one man in the aftermath of his death. Whidbey asks some of the hardest yet most necessary questions, while prioritizing compassion and rehabilitative justice.
PS: Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 30, when we’ll be hosting Madden for a very special Whidbey publication celebration with bookseller and author Megan Kamalei Kakimoto!
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
The Killing Spell
by Shay Kauwe
A special book for so many reasons, The Killing Spell is the first traditionally published adult fantasy novel by a Native Hawaiian author. Penned by the talented Shay Kauwe, this engrossing debut introduces readers to a world in which language magic dictates power and possibility, and centers around the Hawaiian clan of protagonist Kea Petrova. Throughout the novel, Kea wrestles with murder, mysteries, and death spells, all of which capture the animating ‘ōlelo no‘eau, “I ka ‘ōlelo nō ke ola, i ka ‘ōlelo nō ka make”: “In the language there is life, in the language there is death.”
The Shark Prince
by Malia Maunakea
A highly anticipated book by part-Hawaiian author Malia Maunakea, The Shark Prince is a middle grade fantasy novel about a Hawaiian boy Nohea hiding the secret that he’s half-human, half-shark. Recognized as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, The Shark Prince is rooted in Hawaiian mythology while giving middle grade readers an immersive story to sink their teeth into. As longtime fans of Maunakea’s work, we couldn’t be more excited about this new installment of fiction for young readers!
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Everything to the Sea
by Alicia Upano
This last pick is one to add to your preorder cart asap. While Alicia Upano’s gorgeous debut novel Everything to the Sea doesn’t publish until July, we got a sneak peek and cannot recommend it enough. Part riveting love story, part unforgettable coming-of-age tale, Upano’s debut is already garnering significant praise from authors like Julia Phillips, Chloe Benjamin and Kristiana Kahakauwila—one of our favorite Hawaiian authors. In Everything to the Sea, creation and destruction live uncomfortably close, with protagonists Jane and Kenji seeking lasting love against the backdrop of a devastating Hilo tsunami. Preorder this beauty now—your future self will thank you!
SEE ALSO: Booksellers Show Love for Mahina ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
The books highlighted here are just a starting point—we hope you’ll stop by Da Shop to browse our collection in person!
Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., Kaimukī, open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl
