The merry month of May has been flying by! We hope you’ve been enjoying the warmer weather and all the lovely activities that come with it: reading by an open window, reading in the park, reading at the beach, or perhaps even listening to an audiobook as you walk to the bookstore. Regardless of how you fill your Spring days, thank you for taking the time to stop by Young Adulting!
YAing News
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:
- “Jonathan Bécotte has approached a complex and highly personal experience with an endearing sense of childlike wonder. This is a story that not only retells the shared experiences of queer youth, but actively engages the reader in the emotional toll of coming out.” Alicia L’Archevêque reviews Like a Hurricane by Jonathan Bécotte, transl. Jonathan Kaplansky
- “Younger readers will enjoy the story when read aloud, and the illustrations are captivating for all ages. As the reader gets older, they will learn new ways to appreciate the beauty of the prose, allowing for the audience to grow into the book.” Oishi Bhattacharya reviews The Boy Who Lost His Spark by Maggie O’Farrell, illus. Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini
- “I Capture the Castle is, at its heart, a love story, but not in the way I expected it to be. Yes, there are plenty of heart flutters and first kisses, but as I mentioned above, this is not your ordinary fairy tale, and not every character gets that famed happily ever after—at least, not in the traditional sense.” Hannah Luppe reviews I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
As always, check back every Tuesday and Thursday for more reviews of upcoming and new releases. But! Before we move on to industry news, we’ve been working behind the scenes setting up the newest feature for our readers. It is my pleasure to present:
Young Adulting Review‘s Mailing List!
We’re so excited to announce the start of our new mailing list! Receive industry updates, events newsletters, and exclusive info about upcoming opportunities to get involved here at Young Adulting right to your inbox! Sign up by clicking this link.
Industry News
Events
As a reminder, The Vancouver Public Library is 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!
The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) celebrates Canadian and international authors every year at its flagship festival in May. While most of the events have already taken place, all virtual and hybrid events will be available on their virtual festival platform until June 7, 2023 for festival pass-holders. Check out their website to register and find out more!
Conversations
In honour of AAPI Heritage Month, publisher’s weekly spoke with seven authors whose books for young readers highlight AAPI history and experiences in the article AAPI 2023: Seven Authors on Highlighting Their Cultures for Young Readers. A great read for those looking to know more about the importance of representation in literature for young audiences.
Stonewall-award winning children’s book author, Kyle Lukoff, wrote the engaging and insightful article, Trans Kids Deserve to See Themselves in Picture Books, where he discusses the tendency for picture books to use animals as a metaphor for gender. Kyle has also visited Young Adulting in the past—check out R.J. McDaniel’s interview with Kyle here!
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 