Middle Grade and YA Books With South Asian Main Characters

Updated November 3, 2026

Novels and graphic novels for ages 8 to 18 with South Asian main characters. The middle grade books come first, then YA. A few deal with Partition, violence or poverty, so the notes say which.

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1. Amina's Voice

   Hena Khan

   Middle grade. A Pakistani American girl deals with a changing friendship and an attack on her community's mosque.

2. The Night Diary

   Veera Hiranandani

   Middle grade. Nisha writes to her late mother during the 1947 Partition of India. A Newbery Honor book.

3. Ahimsa

   Supriya Kelkar

   Middle grade. In 1942 India, Anjali's mother joins the independence movement and is jailed. Anjali takes over her work.

4. Aru Shah and the End of Time

   Roshani Chokshi

   Middle grade fantasy. Aru lights a cursed lamp and has to fix it with help from Hindu mythology. First in a series.

5. A Place at the Table

   Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

   Middle grade. Sara, who is Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, who is Jewish, become friends in a cooking class run by Sara's mom.

6. Pashmina

   Nidhi Chanani

   Graphic novel. Priyanka finds a shawl that shows her an India different from the one she imagined.

7. The Bridge Home

   Padma Venkatraman

   Middle grade. Two sisters leave home and survive on the streets of Chennai. Told as letters. Heavy subject matter.

8. Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom

   Sangu Mandanna

   Middle grade fantasy. Kiki, a worrier, draws a city from Indian mythology that comes alive.

9. Unsettled

   Reem Faruqi

   Middle grade novel in verse. Nurah's family moves from Karachi, Pakistan, to Pennsylvania.

10. Amal Unbound

    Aisha Saeed

    Middle grade. In a village in Pakistan, Amal becomes an indentured servant after standing up to a powerful man.

11. The Henna Wars

    Adiba Jaigirdar

    YA. Nishat, a Bangladeshi Irish teen, starts a henna business for a school competition and falls for her rival.

12. Love, Hate & Other Filters

    Samira Ahmed

    YA. Maya, an Indian American Muslim teen, wants to go to film school. Then a terror attack changes how her town sees her family.

13. When Dimple Met Rishi

    Sandhya Menon

    YA. Two Indian American teens whose parents hope they'll marry meet at a summer coding program.

14. Fitting Indian

    Jyoti Chand

    YA graphic novel by Brown Voices podcast guest Jyoti Chand, illustrated by Tara Anand. About a teen's mental health in a traditional South Asian family.

See this list on Amazon