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(4)
YA
Adopted as a baby by Canadian parents, fourteen-year-old Paige wonders about her birth family in China and struggles with her cultural identity. When she gets hit by a train she finds herself transported to a surreal afterlife, where she is given an opportunity to re-live her life. While Paige's teenage voice can feel awkward, her dilemmas are rendered with genuine emotion and sensitivity.
259 pp.
| Tundra
| November, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-1-77049-292-9$17.95
(3)
YA
In 2021 Canada, Miranda is more comfortable in Augmented Reality than in her traditional Chinese family. Tasked with breaking a century-old curse by their dying grandmother and their great-great-grandfather's avatar, Miranda and her dyslexic, hyperactive cousin must save their family with a seventeenth-century geomancer's compass. Hardy melds history, Chinese-Canadian culture, magic, and virtual realities in this fast-paced, unusual story.
(3)
YA
Since Ray's family emigrated from China to Canada, the teen hasn't been able to live up to his father's expectations. After Dad finds out Ray is gay, he gets kicked out of the house. In his brief time on the streets, he's beaten, robbed, and introduced to prostitution. Ray is a strong and sympathetic protagonist making his way through problem-novel territory.
(4)
4-6
Sports Stories series.
Each fast-paced book uses a specific sport to center its protagonist. In Dogs, Noah battles a rock-climbing rival and preoccupied dad. In Man, Michael must overcome his small size to contribute to the lacrosse team. In Goals, Vicky tackles the challenges of a new school and soccer team. While the stories are formulaic, the accessible texts are sparked by engaging characters. Glos. Review covers these Sports Stories titles: Rock Dogs, Trading Goals, and Man-to-Man.
(4)
YA
Orca Soundings series.
Recent immigrant Jason Shen is ostracized from his predominantly homogeneous community. The stoner crowd provides companionship, and Jason doesn't realize the trouble they'll bring him. In Jason's world, adults are unrealistically cruel--"In this country, you reply by speaking!" yells a teacher--and teens get little support. The fast-paced, easy-to-read drama may appeal to mature reluctant readers.
48 pp.
| Tundra
| April, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-88776-813-2$19.95
(4)
4-6
Quan describes her family's journey in the 1920s from Toronto to southern China to visit the grandmother she'd never met. Her account, with its vivid, well-chosen details, touches on her own emotions as well as those of her father, though some passages are wordy and a bit sentimental. Watercolor illustrations depict each step of Quan's experience.
32 pp.
| Crocodile
| June, 2002
|
TradeISBN 1-56656-455-7$$15.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Grace Lin.
To Yenyee, the Pacific Ocean capriciously changes people's lives. In China, her fisherman father is lost in a storm, despite her tossing in her beloved jade necklace as an offering. After immigrating to Canada alone, she saves a drowning friend, and the sea returns the pendant and indirectly reunites her with her mother and brother. The story is told with lyrical symbolism and complemented by folkloric illustrations.
112 pp.
| Groundwood
| September, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-88899-475-3$$14.95
(1)
4-6
Illustrated by
Harvey Chan.
These ten original ghost stories, alternately tragic, ironic, and gentle, are informed by two millennia of Chinese tales about wandering souls. Chinese-Canadian archivist and storyteller Yee dramatizes the killing work, the broken dreams, the humiliation, loneliness, heartbreak, and loss experienced by Southern-Chinese immigrants to North America over the past one hundred years. A rough-hewn black-and-white illustration introduces each story.
Reviewer: Margaret A. Chang
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2003
32 pp.
| Orca
| January, 2000
|
TradeISBN 1-55143-168-8$$14.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Janet Wilson.
After Ian's parents break up, Ian and his mother leave their farm for the city. Ian feels lonely and homesick, but then he gets to know Mr. Mah, an elderly Chinese man who has also suffered losses. Mr. Mah starts Ian on a garden, and their friendship helps them both make the transition to a new life. The realistic watercolor illustrations for this Canadian story include sensitive portraits of Ian and his older friend.