The end of the year is here and we hope these last few pages of this book we call 2023 are treating you well. We’ve seen it all this year, from heart-pounding adventures to haunted tales, from colourful stories to epic romances. So thank you, dearest reader for joining us on this magical journey into the world of children’s publishing. Our community grew so much this year with so many new readers sharing their love of books for children and young adults. So! Without further ado, we present to you Young Adulting’s 2023 highlights!
Young Adulting’s Most Read Reviews of 2023
Middle Grade/Young Adult
- Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, review by Sophia Thomson
- Walking in Two Worlds by Wab Kinew, review by Carolina Leyton
- Bloom by Kenneth Oppel, review by Shalon Sims
- Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963 by Sharon Robinson, review by Kaila Johnson
- Hunting By Stars by Cherie Dimaline, review by Audrey Wahking
Picture Book
- A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon, review by Makenna Vanegas
- The Care and Keeping of Grandmas by Jennifer Mook-Sang, illus. by Yong Ling Kang, review by Gabrielle Tselos
- The Only Way to Make Bread by Cristina Quintero, illus. Sarah Gonzales, review by Alison Wong
- Make Your Mark Gallery: A Colouring Book-ish by Peter H. Reynolds, review by Kaitlyn Chan
- My Lala by Thomas King, illus. Charlene Chua, review by Vanessa Bedford Gill
Young Adulting’s Most Read Interview of 2023
5 Questions for Tracy Deonn
I love talking about my creative background because, for a long time, I worried about doing too many creative jobs, in too many forms and mediums, and I don’t want anyone else to do that! Every creative job or project I’ve done has helped contribute to the next job or project, and everything I’ve done up until now translates to my writing career. In my time working in theater, I was a playwright, an actor, a director, a lighting operator, a stage manager, house manager, production assistant. All of those jobs contribute to a focused story experience, but they approach narrative at different angles. The visual storytelling of theater means I write scenes very visually; I’m always thinking of how people are arranged in a room, what my main character can see, how the magic looks, body movement. And the collaborative nature of theater means that I’m trained to be very open to working with others, even on a book project that can sometimes appear as if it’s one person’s job.
Once again, thank you to all who wrote, read, and thought with us this year. Have a great New Year, and we’ll see you very soon in 2024!
Take care, and happy reading,
The Young Adulting Editors
YOUNG ADULTING 