Summer is the perfect time to unwind with a good book. Whether you’re looking for a new novel for an upcoming vacation or a picture book to share with loved ones, Boundless has got you covered. We’ve rounded up our favorite immigrant-themed books for you to enjoy this summer:
If you’re looking for some humor, make sure to grab a copy of Firoozeh Dumas’ Funny in Farsi. In her book Dumas comedically details her childhood growing up in both Iran and the U.S..
After the COVID-19 virus first broke out in Wuhan, one writer made a cartoon, and later a whole book sharing their connection to the Chinese city. Laura Gao’s book, Messy Roots, explores the many facets of their Wuhanese-American identity.
In The Bosnia List, Kenan Trebinčević recalls his journey as a child escaping the former Yugoslavia during the ethnic cleansing campaign against Muslims. His new book World In Between is aimed at younger children, so they too can understand the tragedy and complexity of Trebinčević’s childhood.
Celebrate Pride Month with these novels recommended by author David Santos Donaldson. Donaldson praises these stories for their different perspectives on what it means to be a queer immigrant.
Mayukh Sen’s new book highlights immigrant women throughout history who radically changed the way Americans eat. Sen seeks to not only share the stories of these women but also look at how their food reveals the systemic injustice of the culinary world.
In her debut art heist novel, Grace D. Li tackles the question of who really owns art — the museums that hold it, or the communities it was originally stolen from? Inspired by a spree of real life thefts, Li based the novel on her own experience as a Chinese-American and lover of museums.
If you’re interested in graphic novels, be sure to check out Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do. The emotional autobiography follows Bui’s family as they live through the Vietnam War and migrate to the U.S. as refugees.
Infinite Country is a heart-wrenching, multi generational story of a Colombian family torn apart by borders and generational experiences. The novel’s author, Patricia Engel, is the daughter of Colombian immigrants and a dual citizen.
Eva Chen, Instagram’s director of fashion, published a children’s book to share her experiences as a first-generation Chinese American. Chen said she wrote I am Golden to “be the book she didn’t have growing up.”
I Named My Dog Pushkin (And Other Immigrant Tales): Notes from a Soviet Girl on Becoming an American Woman is the hilarious essay collection from journalist Margarita Gokun Silver about her experiences as a Russian immigrant in the U.S..
The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America
Immigrant writers share their personal stories of living between cultures and struggling to belong in this powerful collection of essays.