Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024: Young Adult

A powerful, lyrical novel about Soma, a sixteen-year-old Cambodian American girl from Lowell, Massachusetts, home to the second largest Cambodian community in the United States. Soma’s father has been deported to Cambodia and her mother has traveled to join him, claiming she’ll return in time for her sister’s upcoming wedding. Her sister has returned home and insists on taking on the disciplinary role of Ma and Ba, much to Soma’s annoyance. Soma turns to her spoken-word poetry as she learns to deal with her father’s absence.

This is a memoir of growing up in refugee camps and California suburbs. Pham uses shared food as a focal point for his memories and story. As the world around him changes, the experience of sharing food with friends and family grounds the story in moments of comfort and belonging. He manages to capture the hardships his family endured while also including the whimsy of childhood.

Middle school is the worst, and all Dan wants to do is be small and invisible to avoid undue attention. When he travels with his class to Europe, visiting Paris, London, and other cities, his life begins to turn around – he experiences many firsts, including his first kiss. Dan Santat’s middle grade graphic memoir is at times embarrassing, engaging, humorous, and heartfelt.