Imagine you’d never heard of a Filipino before, and then you find “Made in Asian America: A History for Young People” by Erika Lee and Christina Soontornvat...

Now, this isn’t a joke. When I met my domestic partner in 2018, this was the first time I learned that Filipinos existed despite my great-grandfather having been a POW in the Philippines during World War II. While this might sound unbelievable, it’s the truth, and it’s the result of not being taught almost any Asian American history outside of Chinese American history in school growing up.

Lee and Soontornvat take on the ambitious goal of telling the whole Asian-American story in a semi-chronological fashion from the very beginning until now, unafraid to face the dark parts of American history.

You can’t imagine how excited I was as someone who was a history major for my BA when I saw terms like “othering” being used, especially with how Soontornvat makes these terms sound natural rather than snobbishly academic. Seeing an actual story being told instead of a lengthy list of facts is such an improvement from how I learned history growing up.

So, if this book is so great, why did I rate it 3 stars? (It was really a 3.5 for me, but I can’t do .5 sadly.)

This book just wasn’t for me. I would have liked the vignettes better if they were more fleshed out. The arguments made sometimes felt repetitive, like if you repeat your statement more that will make it more convincing. This wasn’t necessary since I was already convinced. I also felt that the book’s focus spirals deeply into the negative the further that you get in the book. Instead of being “a story of bravery and hope” as advertised, it felt like “the story of race and racism” mentioned in the book summary takes over.

All that aside, I found Lee and Soontornvat’s work readable and extremely important for how it will make people feel seen. With my daughter being half-Filipino, that thought makes my heart feel full.

I would highly recommend this book be added to class reading selections like “The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child” by Francisco Jiménez, which was read aloud to my class in celebration of Cesar Chavez Day when I was a child. It would make me so happy if the week we had spent on that book would now include some time to also celebrate Filipino contributions, how Larry Itliong sought out Cesar Chavez’ support when grape growers hired Mexican farm workers to break the Delano grape strike, and how Filipinos and Mexican farm workers banded together to further our rights.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books | Quill Tree Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this nonfiction text. 4.5/5 stars.

This is a really good primer on Asian American history, and it does it job well for being adapted for young people. I have not read the original one, so I cannot compare them; however, I do think this is perfectly adapted even for middle schoolers. It reads very easily and it's engaging with a combination of informal and formal language.

I also didn't know some of the stuff mentioned in it, so I was excited that I also learned new information from it. I also loved how it mentioned important events that came before others, such as Mary Tape.

This book is bound to make a difference in how its readers understand American history. While the text isn't always wholly professional - many sentences begin with conjunctions - I suspect that that will make the book friendlier and more readable for its target audience. More importantly, it covers a broad variety of Asian-American identities and ensures that "Asian-American" does not merely refer to "East Asian-American." The bibliography is extremely thorough. What a special book this is.

Made in Asian America is the history book I wish I'd had when I was growing up! As a second generation Asian American Pacific Islander, I did not know a LOT of the history included here. It helped connect the dots between my own upbringing, the whispered snatches of history I'd heard growing up, and my ancestry. Reading this history was a revelation. The simple, approachable language and easy-to-read layout would make this an easy read for today's youth and for anyone seeking a simply-stated history of AAPI roots in America and it is well worth the read.

Going through this book brought up so many emotions and took me on a uniquely personal journey. I've learned more about myself, my home state, my home country, my peers, and it provided so much context for the many similar experiences I had growing up. It's given me a greater appreciation and understanding of my parents generation (like, I had absolutely no idea that the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act is what made my own life in America possible! I also didn't know the Loving vs. Virginia case had been preceded by a Filipino-British romance that was also thwarted by the laws against interracial marriage). The answers I'd received from family about our 'coming to America origin' story had always felt a little incomplete, and now I realize it's because there were blanks in the story that this book helped fill out.

This is not your typical staid, dry reading of a timeline of events that I would ordinarily associate with a history book. What Erika Lee and Christina Soontornvat do throughout this book is bring that history to life with plain language, relatable stories, and human experiences at its heart. I couldn't help but marvel time and time again, "How did I not know this?" and experience a whole host of emotions ranging from upset/anger to hope and pride. Interwoven throughout the history is a tale of perseverance, dignity, and hope. The threads move seamlessly from the time before the US declared its independence to the modern day, and in nearly every case, I wish I knew more and understood more. That's not a criticism of the phenomenal job the authors have done with this history--it's a critique of the school system that has intentionally erased contributions from so many Others! Growing up, our history classes focused almost exclusively on America's founding, the branches of government, and European history. The only time I remember Asians being mentioned was, of course, WWII, Pearl Harbor, and even more briefly than that, the Vietnam War. But this book makes it clear that there is so much more to explore beyond that.

Ultimately, this book is an incredible introduction to the long, rich, storied history of Asian Americans. And it's ignited a hunger to learn more. Truly, it's a history is worth knowing, worth reading, worth ruminating on, and worth continuing. The authors do an excellent job of driving home the point that we are part of the story. We are the agents of change that will make history.

Many thanks to the authors, HarperCollins (the publisher), and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. This is a book I am fully expecting to purchase in hard copy when it's released so I can share it with my children.

“But there would be a long way to go before Asians could partake in America’s promises of freedom, justice, and equality. And anti-Asian racism in the country was about to reach new heights.”
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This is a MG nonfiction book about the history of Asian American history in the United States and the journey it took to get where we are today. This is an adaptation of @prof_erikalee The Making of Asian America (which I now need to read as well). It explores the history of Western conquest and colonialism, as well as migration, immigration, citizens being banned, deported, labeled and incarcerated. Even as recently as NOW Asian Americans are blamed for diseases and incur racism on a daily basis. This title shows ordinary people and the extraordinary acts they did to make America what it is today.
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We say we’re the land of the free, but there should be an asterisk there, right? Because many don’t believe that, even today. This is the book we need in every library and classroom. You can tell both authors put their whole hearts into the research and writing of this title. The author’s notes at the back blew me away because @csoontornvat writes that she never got to read a title like this in school. As a middle school librarian I work really hard to make sure all voices are represented—publishing needs to work hard at that too. I’m thrilled Made in Asian America will release on April 30!

CW: racism, microaggressions, racist acts, racist slurs, war, colonialism