Here’s a list of some English-language books, both fiction and nonfiction, for varying age groups, that a) focus on Taiwan, b) feature Taiwanese people/characters (including diaspora), and/or c) are written by Taiwanese/diasporic Taiwanese authors. Title hyperlinks lead to the Goodreads pages for those respective books. (Disclaimer: Inclusion in the list does not constitute an endorsement of the book. I’ve attached my review of a book where applicable.)
You can check out my post index for interviews with Taiwanese authors and other Taiwanese bookish posts.
Last Updated: December 18th, 2022
Picture Books
- The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
- Dim Sum for Everyone! by Grace Lin
- Thanking the Moon by Grace Lin
- Kite Flying by Grace Lin
- Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
- Fortune Cookie Fortunes by Grace Lin
- Lissy’s Friends by Grace Lin
- A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
- A Big Bed for Little Snow by Grace Lin
- The Magic Brush: A Story of Love, Family, and Chinese Characters by Kat Yeh and Huy Voun Lee
- I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne and Julia Kuo
- Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho
- Eyes that Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ha and Dung Ho
- Amah Faraway by Margaret Chiu Greanias and Tracy Subisak
- Jenny Mei is Sad by Tracy Subisak
- Let’s Do Everything and Nothing by Julia Kuo
- Kai the Dancing Butterfly by Crystal Z. Lee and Allie Su
- How We Say I Love You by Nicole Chen and Lenny Wen
- Chloe’s Lunar New Year by Lily LaMotte and Michelle Lee (January 3rd, 2023)
- This is Not My Home by Eugenia Yoh and Vivienne Chang (January 24th, 2023)
Early Reader Children’s Fiction
- The Ling & Ting Series by Grace Lin
Middle Grade Fiction
Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
- The Pacy Lin Series by Grace Lin:
- Peiling and the Chicken-Fried Christmas by Pauline Chen
- The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh
- Love, Love by Victoria Chang
- In the Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo
- It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li! by Nicole Chen (February 28th, 2023)
Fantasy
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Series by Grace Lin:
- Mulan: Before the Sword by Grace Lin
- Peasprout Chen Series by Henry Lien
- The Twelve Series by Cindy Lin
Young Adult Fiction
Contemporary
- Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen (my review)
- Girl Overboard by Justina Chen
- Lovely, Dark and Deep by Justina Chen
- American Panda by Gloria Chao
- Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao
- Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
- When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao
- The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
- An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan
- Dear Twin by Addie Tsai
- This is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio
- A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen
- Love, Decoded by Jennifer Yen
- Boys I Know by Anna Gracia
- Fireworks by Alice Lin
Fantasy & Science Fiction
- Kingdom of Xia Duology by Cindy Pon (my review; You can purchase signed books from her local indie bookseller, Mysterious Galaxy):
- 2nd Kingdom of Xia Duology by Cindy Pon (my review):
- Want Duology by Cindy Pon
- Midnight Thief Duology by Livia Blackburne
- Rosemarked Duology by Livia Blackburne
- Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee
- Exo Duology by Fonda Lee
- Feather and Flame (The Queen’s Council #2) by Livia Blackburne
- The Book of Tea Duology by Judy I. Lin
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade
- Secret Coders Series by Gene Luen Yang
- CIty of Secrets Series by Victoria Ying
- Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu
Young Adult
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
- Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang
- Animal Crackers by Gene Luen Yang
- Level Up by Gene Luen Yang
- Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
- Magical Boy by The Kao
- Win! by Cynthia Cheng (TBD)
- Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying (April 25th, 2023)
Adult
- The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang
- New Super-Man: Made in China (Rebirth) by Gene Luen Yang
Adult Fiction
Historical Fiction
- Water Ghosts by Shawna Yang Ryan
- Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan
- Miah by Julia Lin
- The 228 Legacy by Jennifer J. Chow
- The Third Son by Julie Wu
- Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Maojin (translation)
- Three Souls by Janie Chang
- Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang
- The Library of Legends by Janie Chang
Thriller/Mystery
- The Taipei Night Market Series by Ed Lin
- Dark Chapter by Winnie M. Li (cw: rape)
Speculative Fiction
- How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
- The Tao Series by Wesley Chu
- Phoenix Chosen by Ekaterine Xia
- Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters by Henry Lien
- “Of Peach Trees and Coral-Red Roses” by Mina Li
- “Dreaming Keys” by Mina Li, published in An Alphabet of Embers: An Anthology of Unclassifiables edited by Rose Lemberg
- The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee
Romance
- The Uptown Collection by Ruby Lang
- From Sunset Park, With Love by Lisa Lin
- The Year of Cecily (January 17th, 2023)
- The Rachel Experiment (May 16th, 2023)
Other
- The Foreigner by Francie Lin
- Terroryaki! by Jennifer K. Chung
- The Red Chamber by Pauline A. Chen (Adapation of the famous Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber/紅樓夢)
- A Thousand Moons on a Thousand Rivers by Hsiao Li-Hung and Michelle Wu (translation of the famous Taiwanese novel 千江有水千江月)
- The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi (translation)
- The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-Yi (translation)
- Travails of a Trailing Spouse by Stephanie Suga Chen
- Disunited Nations: International School Mums at War by Stephanie Suga Chen (sequel to Travails of a Trailing Spouse)
- Bestiary by K-Ming Chang
- Notes of a Desolate Man by Chu Tienwen (translation)
- Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
Memoir/Autobiography
- Wealth Ribbon: Taiwan Bound, America Bound by brenda Lin
- Lucky Girl: A Memoir by Mei-Ling Hopgood
- Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflection on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen
- My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy by Wen Ho Lee
- My Fight for a New Taiwan: One Woman’s Journey from Prison to Power by Annette Hsiu-lien Lu (Autobiography/memoir of Taiwan’s former Vice-President 呂秀蓮)
- Two Trees Make a Forest: In Search of My Family’s Past Among Taiwan’s Mountains and Coasts by Jessica J. Lee
- Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo
History, Geography, and Politics
- Taiwan: A Political History by Denny Roy
- Maritime Taiwan: Historical Encounters with the East and West by Shih-Shan Henry Tsai
- Taiwan’s Struggle: Voices of the Taiwanese by Shyu-tu Lee, Jack F. Williams
- The Mapping of Taiwan: Desired Economics, Coveted Geographies by Jerome F. Keating
- Politics of Difference in Taiwan (Routledge Research on Taiwan) edited by T.W. Ngo, Hong-zen Wang
- Women’s Movements in Twentieth-Century Taiwan by Doris Chang
- Women in Taiwan: Sociocultural Perspectives By Ya-chen Chen
Language and Culture
- The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island by Cathy Erway
- Taiwan Tales: One Country, Eight Stories: a Multicultural Perspective by Patrick Wayland and Katrina Brown
- Tales from the Taiwanese (World Folklore) by Gary M. Davison
- Voices From the Mountain: Taiwanese Aboriginal Literature by Hulusman Vava, Auvini Kadresengan, Badai
- The Ethnic Groups, Languages and Migration of the Formosan Natives by Paul Jen-kuei 李壬癸 Li, Noah Sauvé (translation)
- Linguistic Aspects of Taiwanese Southern Min by Ching-Hsiun Lin 林慶勳, Robert Fox, Raung-fu Chung 鍾榮富
- Handbook of Romanized Taiwanese & Hokkien by David L. Chen
- Taiwanese Grammar: A Concise Reference by Philip T. Lin
- Short Takes: A Scene-Based Taiwanese Vocabulary Builder by Pin-Chih Chi
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