A National Book Award Finalist
An NPR Best Book of the Year
An NBC News Best Asian American Young Adult Book of the Year
A Paste Best Young Adult Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Top 10 Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A USA Today Best Book of the Year So Far
A Raleigh News & Observer Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild audio selection
National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) Freeman Book Award Winner
An L.A. Times Book Award Nominee
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award 2021-2022
MISelf in Books 2020 Book List (Michigan)
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far) [2025]
FIVE STARRED REVIEWS
"Powerful and courageous." Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Deep, nuanced, and painfully real." Booklist, starred review
"A perfect convergence of authentic voice and an emphasis on inner dialogue." School Library Journal, starred review
"Passionately and fearlessly, Ribay delves into matters of justice, grief, and identity." Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Compelling and informational" VOYA Magazine, starred review
“A must-read.” – Erin Entrada Kelly, author of 2018 Newbery Award-winning Hello, Universe
“Lyrical. Stunning. Searing…The real deal.”– Mark Oshiro, author of Anger Is a Gift
“Riveting, brilliantly told and deeply moving." – Francisco X. Stork, author of Disappeared
“Complex, gripping, haunting and deeply human… a story alive with longing and pain and grace. – Kelly Gilbert, author of Picture Us In The Light
When it comes to things no one really wants to talk about, death and grieving are often at the top of the list. Very few people want to sit in the uncomfortable realization of our own mortality, especially with kids who are supposed to have a long life ahead of them and shouldn’t have to […]
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we’ve compiled a list of books by some amazing authors that you should definitely have on your TBR. The AAPI Community isn’t a monolith, and the community’s voices always have a lot to say so we encourage you to discover beyond what we listed here. […]
Contemporary is my favorite genre in part for all its possibilities. In any given list of contemporary greats, including this one, there can be romantic comedies, thrillers, stories of perseverance in the face of an adverse world, explorations of real-life issues, and settings that can be wildly true to where you grew up or a […]
As the conversation about diversifying our shelves (and the publishing industry as a whole) continues, it’s three steps forward, and two steps back. (See the still startling and disappointing numbers from the annual Lee & Low diversity in publishing survey, which reads quite bleak for 2018.) But more and more (and more, please!), publishers, editors […]