By Dai Sijie

At the height of Mao’s infamous Cultural Revolution, two boys are among hundreds of thousands exiled to the countryside for “re-education.” When the two discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation their re-education takes a most surprising turn.

By Shannon Hale

Fifteen-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her sixteen-year-old mistress, the Lady Saren, shares Saren's years of punishment locked in a tower, then brings her safely to the lands of her true love, where both must hide who they are as they work as kitchen maids.

By Kevin Kwan
Recommended By Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian

Feeling incomplete because her unknown birth father cannot walk her down the aisle, Rachel Chu, on the brink of marrying one of Asia's richest bachelors, is brought into the elite circles of Shanghai by a shocking revelation.

By Pallavi Aiyar

A fable set in contemporary Beijing and told from the perspectives of two cats from disparate backgrounds who are adopted by foreigners traces how their newly pampered lives are threatened when cats are blamed for the spread of a mysterious virus.

By Kevin Kwan
Recommended By Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian, Sonia Grgas, Reference Librarian, Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk

Envisioning a quality-time summer vacation in the humble Singapore home of a boy she hopes to marry, Chinese American Rachel Chu is unexpectedly introduced to a rich and scheming clan that viciously competes against other wealthy families and strongly opposes their son's relationship with an American girl.

By Yan Lianke
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

A previously banned work based on a true scandal finds an impoverished village targeted by a blood-selling operation that leads to a catastrophic outbreak of AIDS and decimates an entire community.

By Tash Aw
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk

“Dreaming of love and success in rapidly changing Shanghai, four individuals including a starry-eyed waitress, a wealthy developer’s son, a pop artist and a poetry-loving activist confront unexpected realities in regional challenges, including a billionaire’s complex business strategy (From the Publisher).”

By Geling Yan

“Hiding in an American church as the Japanese invade Nanking, Shujuan and a group of terrified schoolgirls find their lives in increasing danger when thirteen courtesans from a nearby brothel seek refuge at the church (From the Publisher).”

By Jean Kwok
Recommended By Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers' Services Librarian, Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk

A resolute yet naïve Chinese girl confronts poverty and culture shock with equal zeal when she and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn.

By Pearl S. Buck
Recommended By Neela Vass, Head of Acquisitions, Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

A slave bride of a Chinese laborer devotes herself to her husband's family, but when civil war in China brings wealth to the family, her happiness is endangered as her husband brings home a second wife.

By Pearl S. Buck

The lives of Gerald MacLeod, his wife Elizabeth, their son Rennie, and Gerald's father gradually come into focus as Elizabeth reflects on her life in China and their forced separation at the outbreak of the Communist revolution.

By Jennifer Cody Epstein

A fictional portrait of Pan Yuliang, a real-life 20th-century Chinese prostitute turned successful artist. It is the story of a woman forced to choose between following her heart and pursuing her art.

By Lisa See
Series May and Pearl Novels

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid–1930s are beautiful, sophisticated and well–educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry "Gold Mountain men" who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

By Lisa See
Recommended By Amy B., Children's Librarian

An evocative story of friendship set against the backdrop of a nineteenth-century China in which women suffered from foot binding, isolation, and illiteracy follows an elderly woman and her companion as they communicate their hopes, dreams, joys, and tragedies through a unique secret language.

By Jan-Philipp Sendker
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk

American expat Paul Leibovitz is living as a recluse on an outlying island of Hong Kong when the murder of a distressed American woman's son brings him out of his shell.