100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders πŸš€

Growing Up Asian in Australia

3.64 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 1,210 ratings, 107 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Growing Up Asian in Australia, edited by Alice Pung, is a vibrant anthology where contributors share personal essays and stories, reflecting the unique experiences of growing up Asian in Australia. These narratives delve into cultural identity, family dynamics, and the challenges of balancing different cultural expectations. The collection offers a heartfelt and insightful glimpse into the diverse lives and voices within the Asian-Australian community.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3400
Elsewhere:
$3700
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this collection of stories if you're interested in exploring diverse perspectives on cultural identity and belonging. Authored by Alice Pung and various contributors, it offers poignant, often humorous insights into the Asian-Australian experience, blending personal narratives with universal themes of family, community, and finding one's place in the world.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Asian-Australians are known to each other and the outside world by many labels: quiet achiever, FOB, gangster chigger, mainlander, banana. But are these labels based on some degree of truth or only fiction? What is it like to grow up Asian in Australia?

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Asian-Australians are known to each other and the outside world by many labels: Quiet Achiever, FOB, Gangster Chigger, Mainlander, Banana. But are these labels based on some degree of truth, or only fiction? What is it like to grow up Asian in Australia?

Unpredictable, honest, reflective and irreverent, this collection throws out the clichΓ©s and takes us behind the stereotypes. A young man tentatively steps towards manhood with Mariah Carey blasting in his ears, while two primary-school misfits stage a playground revolt. A white Australian woman describes mothering her adopted Asian son, and a teenage boy learns all about philandering from his visiting uncles.

Here are respected public figures as well as exciting new voices, drawn from all walks of life and spanning several generations. With insight, courage and a large dose of humour, they shed new light on what it is like to grow up Asian, and Australian.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Growing Up Asian in Australia is an anthology that has received praise for its authentic and diverse representation of the Asian-Australian experience. Readers have appreciated its heartfelt stories, which capture a wide range of emotions, from humour to poignancy, as it explores themes of identity, belonging, and cultural challenges. The contributors' personal experiences provide insightful and engaging perspectives that resonate deeply with many readers.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781863951913

Publisher: Black Inc.

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 June 2008

Country: Australia

Imprint: Black Inc.

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 209.0mm

Weight: 390g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Authors Bio, not available

Also by Alice Pung

View all
  • Close to Home
    A collection of award-winning author Alice Pung's most loved writing, ranging across migration, identity, food, art, craft and more. This is Alice at her best. A brilliant collection from one of Australia’s leading writers Close to Home brings together Alice Pung's most loved writing on topics such as migration, family, art, belonging, and identity. Warm, funny, moving and unfailingly honest,...
    Paperback
    $4100
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • On John Marsden
    An original and moving look by award-winning writer Alice Pung at one of her biggest influences - the much-loved and hugely successful writer John Marsden. In the Writers on Writers series, leading authors reflect on an Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. Provocative and crisp, these books start a fresh conversation between past and present, shed new light...
    Hardback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • One Hundred Days
    From one of Australia's most celebrated authors comes a mother-daughter drama exploring the faultlines between love and control. Shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award One hundred days. It's no time at all, she tells me. But she's not the one waiting. In a heady whirlwind of independence, lust and defiance, sixteen-year-old Karuna falls pregnant. Not on purpose, but...
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Her Father's Daughter
    At twenty-something, Alice is eager for the milestones of adulthood: leaving home, choosing a career, finding friendship and love on her own terms. But with each step she takes she feels the sharp tug of invisible threads: the love and worry of her parents, who want more than anything to keep her from harm. Her father fears for her safety...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Unpolished Gem
    Unpolished Gem is a book rich in comedy, a loving and irreverent portrait of a family, its everyday struggles, and bittersweet triumphs. With it, Australian writing gains an unforgettable new voice. This story does not begin on a boat. Nor does it contain any wild swans or falling leaves. In a wonderland called Footscray, a girl named Alice and her...
    Paperback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Be Careful, Xiao Xin!
    From best-selling author Alice Pung and renowned illustrator Sher Rill Ng comes an extraordinarily powerful and moving book about how the past can shape the future. Xiao Xin believes he is a red fire warrior, but his family are always telling him to be careful. They believe the world is a dangerous place. Too dangerous for a little boy on...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Millie Mak the Maker (Millie Mak, #1)
    An inspiring series for young and old makers by the award-winning author-illustrator team Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng. Nine-year-old Millie Mak has discovered she has a superpower! Using everyday objects, Millie turns them into something new, beautiful and useful. Who would ever think that a sunhat could be made from an old bedsheet, a skirt from a tea-towel, or...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Millie Mak the Mender (Millie Mak, #2)
    The second exciting book about Millie and her superpower of making everyday objects into something beautiful and useful. Millie Mak is now ten, and often feels shy and awkward. But by using her special gift to make handy and beautiful things, Millie befriends residents at the aged care home where her mum works. When the whole school becomes involved in...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Our Australian Girl: Marly's Business (Book 2)
    It's 1983 ...and Marly needs a job. She wants to buy Donkey Kong cards to swap with the other kids at school, but her parents think the cards are a waste of money. Then Marly's friend Yousra gives her an idea, and she decides to start her own business. But working on your own isn't easy, and when she catches...
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Laurinda
    Laurinda is an exclusive school for girls. At its hidden centre of power is The Cabinet, a triangle of girls who wield power over their classmatesβ€”and some of their teachers. Entering this world of wealth and secrets is Lucy Lam, a scholarship girl with sharp eyes and a shaky sense of self. As she watches The Cabinet in action, and...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Our Australian Girl: Meet Marly (Book 1)
    It's 1983, and Marly is just trying to fit in at Sunshine Primary School. But being a refugee from Vietnam doesn't make things easy. When Marly's cousins come to stay and end up at the same school, her friends make fun of them. How can Marly stay loyal to her cousins and keep her school friends as well? Meet Marly...
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Millie Mak Makes Her Mark (Millie Mak, #3): The final book in the heartwarming series about creativity and friendship!
    Millie Mak Makes Her Mark is the final title in the series about Millie Mak - the clever maker and problem-solver. Millie Mak and her friends are trying to start a business creating and selling their upcycled designs. But it's school holidays, and looking after their annoying younger siblings is really slowing them down. Meanwhile, Millie's friend Veesa wonders whether...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Science & Nature

View all
  • Murder Under the Mistletoe
    BOOK 4 IN THE BESTSELLING CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'The best of the new cosy crime writers' Daily Telegraph 'You'll want to take a front row pew in Champton while this delicious series unfolds' Janice Hallett It is Christmas Day and at Champton Rectory, Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by the residents and guests of the...
    Paperback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • John and Paul
    THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A triumph.' Deborah Levy, New Statesman 'Tremendous.' Alwyn Turner, The Times 'Revelatory.' Simon Schama, Financial Times 'The gold standard of Beatles books.' Anthony Quinn, Observer 'As enthralling and astonishing as their music.' Jon Dennis, Sunday Telegraph 'A masterpiece.' Dylan Jones, Evening Standard '[Ian Leslie]...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Raising Hare
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS 'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE 'I...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
    CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' β€” BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' β€” TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' β€” NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...
    Hardback
    $4200
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Nuclear War
    The Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction thriller that has to be read to be believed. Baillie Gifford shortlisted, a favourite of Steven Bartlett, with an average reader rating of 4.6, sure to be a mass-market hit. Up to now, no one outside of official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Anxious Generation
    A powerful argument for reclaiming childhoodβ€”and all human relationshipsβ€”from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spacesβ€”communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Prisoners of Geography
    Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...
    Paperback
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Booker Prize
    Orbital
    Winner of the Booker Prize 2024. Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, describes the winner as 'a book about a wounded world' adding that the panel's 'unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition'. Life on our planet as you've never seen it before. A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
    It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Place of Tides
    To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...
    Paperback
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Ultra-Processed People
    Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Island of Missing Trees
    The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a captivating and poignant novel that delves into the intertwined lives of two star-crossed lovers in war-torn Cyprus and their enduring legacy decades later. This Sunday Times bestselling novel intricately weaves themes of love, loss, and identity amidst a backdrop of cultural and historical turmoil. Set in 1974 on the island...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.