As May comes to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI), it’s time to update your watchlist and bookshelf with stories that allow you to connect with the culture and heritage of the diverse AAPI community.

Some of the most impactful AAPI stories center on family, grief, and personal identity; these recommended reads and films to understand the complexities behind the culture, ranging from the intimate bond of a mother-daughter relationship to the weight of intergenerational memory.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” blends an imaginative multiverse concept with a grounded emotional story about family. The exploration of not only Asian identity, but also LGBTQ+ identity creates a complex narrative that made the film one of junior Adelia Li’s favorite movies.

“I think, although not everyone might relate to it through the LGBTQ concept or being Asian. I think that just the mother-daughter relationship, it really changes and develops throughout the story, and that’s really one of the concepts of the movie I really like,” Li said.

Crying in H Mart

That same emotional depth appears in “Crying in H Mart,” where grief is explored through everyday experiences, showing how culture and memory are often tied to small, familiar moments.

“I think I cried reading it…  it explores her way of just going through the trauma of her mom and how her mom passed away… coping with trauma… and also the parts where they mention everyday foods that would be common in Asian American households. I just think I relate to it a lot,” Li said.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

If “Crying in H Mart” is a raw, real-life memoir of losing a mother to cancer, “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” is magical realism exploring the same ideas of processing loss and finding closure with the same transformative approach to food.

What makes this book so compelling is how it takes the time to focus on the intimacy of human regret against a sense of restraint and bittersweetness at the impermanence of loved ones. It is a heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful reminder that while we cannot change the past, we can change how we move forward into the future. 

The pressures of the formative teenage years lend to stories that translate these awkward experiences into film series, especially how relationships, whether friendly or romantic, can become complicated.

Seducing Drake Palma

“Seducing Drake Palma” reflects the realities of high school life and teenagehood. Characters meet all different kinds of people and show their lives and troubles in lighthearted humor.

“You know how sometimes you watch those TV shows, and it gives you a little bit of a cringe vibe? It’s something like that, but it just doesn’t make you cringe as much as you expected it to be. It gives you more of an emotion of nervous vibe or shyness,” junior Fernanda Rios said.

Lovely Runner

Another coming-of-age story, “Lovely Runner,” comes from junior Madelyn Arechiga, who watched the K-drama through her sister’s recommendation. 

“Lovely Runner” is a mix of rom-com and fantasy, featuring the romance of a handicapped fangirl who travels back in time to save her favorite idol from death, which develops into romance between the two main leads.

“I really liked the plot because I felt like it made a lot of sense. I liked how it was well-paced, and I really liked the atmosphere of the show because it was really good,” Arechiga said.

Weak Hero Class 1

Taking a more intense direction, Weak Hero Class 1 explores the pressures of student life through conflict and friendship as its main cast struggles with school violence. 

Despite being targeted by bullies, Weak Hero Class 1’s protagonist, top-student Yeon Si-eun, uses his smarts to combat opponents and find unlikely companionship in Ahn Su-ho and Oh Beom-Seok as they band together to stand up against the school’s tyrants.

“I recommend this drama for people who are introverts or very shy to talk to other people… emotions could make someone feel comfortable in talking about situations that they have or not be as shy as they seem to be,” Rios said.

From heartfelt films to engaging novels and dramas, these AAPI stories highlight the wide range of experiences that continue to resonate with audiences across the world. Whether exploring family or identity, each recommendation offers a way to meaningfully connect with and appreciate the diversity of AAPI stories for the month of May.