Dearest readers: happy May! We hope you’ve been enjoying the sun when it shines, and cozying down with a good book when it rains. For students like myself, May means a sigh of relief after the stress of exams and final assignments. It also means my bedside table is currently stacked with all the books I wasn’t able to read during the academic year! But before I dive into my vast TBR, let me first dive into what’s been happening here at Young Adulting:
YAing Updates
Let’s start with what’s been going on here at Young Adulting this month! We’ve published some marvellous reviews since I last wrote you. Here’s a recap:
- “More than once, I felt goosebumps from the care Goerzen evidently has for Mercedes. From giving her an unconditional sisterly love in Sandra, to allowing her to process grief in a way that is unique to her, Goerzen’s creation of Mercedes is well-rounded and idiosyncratic.” GiGi Kang reviews River Mermaid by Christy Goerzen
- “Crow Stone by Gabriele Goldstone is an incredible story inspired by the author’s mother who was captured by the Red Army in the final months of World War II and forced to work in a labour camp for over two years in Russia. I appreciated every moment of Katya’s experience and learned a great deal along her journey of the Second World War, especially since I have not encountered many narratives from an East Prussian perspective.” Charlotte Mundy reviews Crow Stone by Gabriele Goldstone
Alas, due to the hectic nature of the end-of-term, this editor was unable to coordinate an author spotlight for the month of May. However! We have very exciting plans for the month of June, so stay tuned! And, as always, check back every Tuesday and Thursday for more reviews of upcoming and new releases.
Industry News
Events
May is AANHPI heritage month, and we’ve found some fantastic events celebrating AANHPI authors and illustrators! Check out this Read Along, Draw Along with Olympic ice-dancing medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani! Hear Maia and Alex read inspiring stories from their new picture book, Amazing: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All! The event will be held May 16th from 4 – 4:30pm PST. Find more information, and register here!
The Vancouver Public Library is also offering Asian Heritage Month Resources for Young People where they’ve provided a booklist of children’s books that celebrate Asian Canadian history and culture. They also offer a variety of events for both teens and kids, including the upcoming program on Friday, May 26 called Letters to my Teen Self where Asian YA writers Judy I. Lin, Nafiza Azad, Sabina Khan, Sarah Suk and Tessa Barbosa discuss the influences that set them on the path to becoming authors, what they learned on their journey, and what inspired their most recent books. Registration is required—click here to learn more and sign-up!
VPL is also hosting the event The Spirits Have Nothing to Do With Us: New Chinese-Canadian Fiction where Christina Lai will discuss her new novel, Landscapes, followed by readings from the six contributors of the collection of short stories entitled The Spirits Have Nothing to Do With Us. Learn more and register here!
The 2023 BC Writers Summit Gala is coming up on May 13, and will take place at 7pm-8pm over zoom hosted by author and podcaster Andrea Warner. The event includes readings from the winners of the Federation of BC Writers contests and is open to members and non-members alike. Click here to register and learn more!
As always, please do send us your news related to children’s and young adult literature at young.adulting@ubc.ca so we can feature them in future newsletters. Our newsletter is published on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month. And remember to keep up with us on Twitter and Instagram!
Take care, and happy reading,
The Young Adulting Editors
YOUNG ADULTING 