Filipino Authors
June is Filipino Heritage Month! Here is a list of books written by Filipino authors.
Horse Barbie : a memoir
Rocero, Geena, 1983- author.
2023
All the right notes
Lim, Dominic, 1974- author.
2023
Quito Cruz might be a composing and piano genius, but he's a few notes short of success. Broadway, here I don't come. But Quito knows what the problem is. Or rather who. Because ever since that night in college-with pretty-boy jock Emmett Aoki-his inspiration has been completely MIA ... Now Quito's beloved dad wants him to put on a charity performance in his hometown. And there's one hella big string attached: convince Emmett--now one of Hollywood's biggest stars--to perform. It's all shaping up to be the biggest musical fiasco of Quito's life. But there's nothing simple about falling for a closeted movie star ... even when he's pitch-perfect.
Arsenic and adobo
Manansala, Mia P., author
2021
When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case. With the cops treating her like she's the one and only suspect, Lila's left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block.
Blackmail and bibingka
Manansala, Mia P., author.
2022
It's Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, The Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she's taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend, Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he's back on his feet and ready to give back to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows. She's soon proven right when Ronnie is accused of murder, and secrets and rumors surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin's innocence. He may be a jerk, but he's still family. And there's no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer...right?
The gangster of love
Hagedorn, Jessica, 1949-
1996
A Filipino woman's rise to prominence as a rock-and-roll artist. She is Rocky, who migrates to the U.S. as a teen and falls in love with a musician. She turns to writing music, the two form a band and sell a record. Despite professional success, assimilation for an Asian is difficult.
How to be the best third wheel
De Villa, Loridee, author.
2022
"After a summer spent in the Philippines with her family, Lara Dela Cruz is eager to start her senior year and reunite with her three besties. Summer is the season of change, and Lara's ready to get the lowdown on all the major updates and hot gossip she's missed. But what she doesn't expect is to find out that all three of her friends are now in relationships. As if the mushy public displays of affection and lunches spent hearing her friends gush about their new "boy-fries" weren't bad enough, Lara's long time frenemy, James, has become impossibly annoying. Sure, they are now both third wheels, but why is he asking her to tutor him in classes? And why, after they start spending more time together, does she begin to notice how cute he looks when he smiles? Fighting for the attention of her best friends, feeling confused about James, and wading through the pressures of life post-high school have Lara reeling. Now feeling like a third wheel in more ways than one, Lara must accept that change is inevitable, love is complicated, and growing up sometimes means doing what's best for yourself first"--Back cover.
I was their American dream : a graphic memoir
Gharib, Malaka, author , artist.
2019
I Was Their American Dream is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid. Malaka Gharib's triumphant graphic memoir brings to life her teenage antics and illuminates earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised.
La Tercera : a novel
Apostol, Gina, author
2023
Rosario Delgado, a Filipina novelist in New York City, learns of her mother's death in the Philippines. Instead of rushing home, she puts off her return by embarking on an investigation into her family's history and her mother's supposed inheritance, a place called La Tercera, which may or may not exist. Rosario catalogs generations of family bequests and detritus: maps of uncertain purpose, rusted chicken coops, a secret journal, the words to songs sung at the family home during visits from Imelda Marcos. Each life Rosario explores opens onto a multitude of other lives and raises a multitude of questions. But as the search for La Tercera becomes increasingly labyrinthine, Rosario's mother and the entire Delgado family emerge in all their dizzying complexity: traitors and heroes, reactionaries and revolutionaries. Meanwhile, another narrative takes shape--of the country's erased history of exploitation and slaughter at the hands of American occupying forces.
On location
Smith, Sarah, 1985- author.
2021
"Nothing like a rocky start between enemy coworkers stuck together on location to prove that love isn't just a ploy for ratings--it's a force of nature. Alia Dunn has finally gotten her big break. After years of working her way up at TV's top outdoor travel channel, she gets the green light from network executives to bring her dream project to life: produce a series about Utah's national parks. It's a touching tribute to her late apong, who sparked Alia's passion for travel and the outdoors as a kid. Alia is thrilled--until she meets her newest crew member, Drew Irons. The same Drew she had the most amazing first date with two weeks ago--who then ghosted her. The same Drew who has the most deliciously thick forearms and who loves second-guessing her every move on set in front of the entire crew. It's not long before the tension between them turns hotter than the Utah desert in the dead of summer, and their steamy encounters lead to major feelings. But when the series host goes rogue one too many times, jeopardizing the entire shoot, Alia realizes that she'll need to organize one hell of a coup to save her show--and she'll need Drew's help to do it. It's the riskiest move she's ever made. If she pulls it off, she'll end up with a hit series and her dream guy . . . but if it all goes wrong, she could lose both"-- Provided by publisher.
Patron saints of nothing
Ribay, Randy, author
2020
When seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero learns his Filipino cousin and former best friend, Jun, was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, he flies to the Philippines to learn more.
Pride and protest
Payne, Nikki, 1982- author.
2022
Liza B--The Only DJ That Gives a Jam--wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in DC. But her planned protest at their corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly--but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she'll settle for getting him out of her head.
Sophie Go's lonely hearts club
Lim, Roselle, author
2022
Newly minted professional matchmaker Sophie Go has returned to Toronto. Her job is made difficult when she is revealed as a fraud. In dire search of clients, Sophie stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors who never found love. Somehow, she convinces them to hire her, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test as she learns the depths of loneliness, heartbreak, and love by attempting to make the hardest matches of her life.
The story of us
Hernandez, Catherine, 1977- author
2023
Like many overseas Filipino workers, Mary Grace Concepcion has lived a life of sacrifices. When she arrives in Toronto, she must navigate a series of bewildering and careless employers. Then Mary Grace begins caring for Liz, an elderly patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease. While Mary Grace's time with her charge challenges her conservative beliefs, she soon becomes Liz's biggest ally, and the friendship that grows between them will turn out to be just as legendary as Liz's past.
When the elephants dance : a novel
Holthe, Tess Uriza.
2002
This novel begins during the final week of the Japanese-American battle for the Philippine islands. Through three very different narrators - a 13-year-old boy, his older sister, and a passionate guerrilla commander - we hear stories of people forced to put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the devastating war.