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
In our May author spotlight, Managing Editor Hannah Luppe interviewed YA author Jackie Khalilieh. Jackie is a Palestinian-Canadian writer with a love of nineties pop culture, Dad jokes, and warm and fuzzy romance. Like many autistic females, she received her diagnosis as an adult. She is passionate about positive representation within her writing. She currently resides just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband and two daughters, complaining nightly about having to cook dinner. Something More is her debut YA novel.
I feel honoured to be able to write stories with Palestinian main characters, most of which are light-hearted, romantic and don’t centre trauma. I think there’s an expectation some readers have when they pick up books written by certain marginalized authors and when their preconceived notions don’t match what’s on the page, they may find themselves disappointed with the representation. As someone who reads diversely, I’ve also learned that not everything is for me. I can enjoy a book without having to feel deeply connected to the characters or situations. I can read a book and not understand why characters react the way they do or disagree with their actions. I can see that our life experiences shape how we view the world. This is why it’s so important for publishers to not just publish one book a year by an Arab author and one book a year by an autistic author. Our experiences will not be monolithic. There is a lot of diversity amongst works written by authors of colour or marginalized authors and it is so important to give a taste of the spectrum of our experiences by publishing multiple voices.
We’ve also published some marvellous reviews. Here’s a recap:
- “Throughout the ordeal with the police, the public, and the family, the book shows how privilege, media, racism, and distrust interact to control both parts of a story — the spun narrative and the harrowing truth. As more secrets come to light, things become even more morally complex and layered. The descriptions of violence and terror (clarified in the book’s content warnings) are intense and don’t hold back, creating a suspenseful, disturbing atmosphere in a truly enthralling way.” Elita Menezes reviews Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury
- “It’s no surprise my own mother has three saris identical to the ones described, revealing that Wadhwani and Dwivedi are truly authentic and sincere in writing this story. However, not only do they capture the status of a sari in Indian culture, but they also dwell on universal themes of finding connections with our ancestors, the power of intergenerational bonds, and how resilience, knowledge, and traditions are passed down through families. Alluding to India’s traumatic history of the 1947 Partition, the story takes on a deeper meaning, portraying the struggles, survival, and ultimately the strength of refugees.” Ibha Gupta reviews Once Upon a Sari by Zenia Wadhwani, illus. Avani Dwivedi
- “Ava’s character development and the evolution of her relationships were page-turners, but I especially appreciated the backdrop of the story. The landscapes show up clearly in my mind, and wildlife is deeply woven into the narrative. Deers swim across the lake, fish leap up from its surface, and robin eggs hatch – all of which hold significant ties to Ava’s search for moral peace.” Alicia L’Archevêque reviews Where the Water Takes Us by Alan Barillaro
- “So much happens in this book, I could not stop reading. In this sequel to Legendborn, Briana Mathews is no longer just fighting shadowborn demons and trying to uncover the truth of her mother’s death. Now, Bree finds herself in the supposedly most powerful position within the unwelcoming Order. She is suddenly fighting demons who want to take over the world, political leaders who see her as a threat to their system, and ancestors from two different bloodlines who think she should do things differently.” Dany Caballero reviews Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
- “Miles Morales Suspended touches on themes of identity, censorship, and the “patterns” of Miles’ life and upbringing through a combination of prose and poetry. The reader joins Miles for a day of in-school suspension, and it soon becomes apparent that something is afoot when termites start popping up and setting off his spidey-sense. Can Spider-Man solve this mystery? Or is this incident representative of something greater than defeating another bad guy?” Kaitlyn Chan reviews Miles Morales Suspended by Jason Reynolds, illus. Zeke Peña
As always, check back every Thursday and every other Tuesday for more reviews of upcoming and new releases.
Industry News
#LBYRExtraCredit is hosting a live, online event called Queer All Year: Not Just for the Rainbows on Thursday, May 16 at 4pm with Kristi Chadwick, Benjamin Dean, Kamilah Cole, and L.C. Rosen! Check out this link to save your spot!
Diaspora Dialogues is hosting another Lunch N’ Learn series! On May 29th at 12:30pm, join Chelene Knight, an award-winning writer and expert in creative balance and mindset coaching for Energy Is Currency: 8 Ways To Cultivate a More Sustainable Writing Career. Click here to register!
A reminder that CANSCAIP’s Writing for Children Competition is open for submissions! As Canada’s largest competition for unpublished children’s writers, this is a great opportunity for emerging authors to get their work for young readers recognized. The deadline is May 31st. Click here to learn more!
PEN Canada is now accepting English-language submissions for the 2024 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award. Unpublished writers are encouraged to submit short stories, creative nonfiction, journalism, and poetry. The shortlisted submissions will be judged by a distinguished jury of Canadian writers. The deadline for entries is Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Click here to 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 Tuesdays 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 