Since the pandemic has started, we have seen a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes all over the U.S. Those in the Asian American community are grappling with their own people being targeted for these hate crimes. In a powerful essay, our volunteer Long looks into the moments where he was personally targeted, his reactions to the rise in the hate crimes, and his journey of moving forward from the language of violence.

As we slowly arrive to the end of this unforgettable year, Long reflects in his most recent blog post on the events and personal struggles that transpired during 2020. For him, this year was marked with unanticipated challenges, loss, and despair. And what is most heart-wrenching is how deeply and familiar this pain is for innumerable people. Make sure to read this piece as he tackles the deeper racist and prejudiced behaviors embedded in our society—a reflection sparked by the death of Chadwick Boseman.

Crystal Hana Kim, in her debut novel If You Leave Me, explores the repercussions of a country in war. The book is a timepiece during the Korean War that’s told through the first person narratives of protagonist, Haemi Lee, and her love triangle between her childhood best friend, Kyunghwan, and his older cousin, Jisoo. TheMillions.com review of Kim’s book highlights this feat, “Kim alters the expectations of the genre of war to include a much stronger focus on women and the multigenerational cultural changes that occur in and after a war caused by a global power struggle.”

Kollaboration SF gets the opportunity to Interview Crystal Hana Kim and talk about her book, her inspirational grandmother, and her feelings on releasing the book to the world.

Lucy Tan’s debut novel What We Were Promised is a story that follows the Zhen family has moved back to China after spending their lives chasing the American dream. Lucy explores heavy themes like classism, going from immigrant to an expat, and concepts of belonging, as US Today reviews, ““What We Were Promised” is bustling with themes like these, ones that focus on the terrifyingly complex facets of what it means to be Chinese-American, an immigrant, and an expat. But Tan certainly has enough bandwidth to handle these heavy topics, sifting them through a single family with forlorn honesty and compassion.” Kollaboration gets a chance to interview Lucy Tan about her writing process as an Asian American woman, her challenges of having a bilingual home as a writer, and ask her experience as a Asian American actress.

R.O. Kwon’s debut novel The Incenteraries has been named “Most Anticipated Book of 2018” by many news outlets such as PBS, New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly. The anticipation and the press is well-deserved considering that she had been working on the novel for the past 10 years. I got the chance to talk to R.O. Kwon on the phone to discuss her influences, her sense of family and community, and even karaoke.

When it comes to beauty standards, Asian American women face a unique struggle. The standards between Asian and American beauty are distinct from one another and each are often promoted by varying, prominent influences (beauty companies, family, celebrities, etc). In the end, where do Asian American women fall on the spectrum? Are we a blend of these standards? And if that's the case, then are we just a rejection of the beauty ideals of both?