Hey YA Readers!
Have you read much YA in translation? I make an effort every year to try to read one or two, since I am a firm believer that to read diversely includes reading titles originally published in languages that aren’t English. While one or two sounds like a very small goal, the fact is, there’s very little YA in translation. We’re lucky to see four to six titles a year.
I’ve talked before about the three percent problem and how only three percent of books published in the US annually are in translation. YA makes up a teeny slice of this three percent.
Let’s take a look at the YA in translation hitting shelves in the US this year. This is not a comprehensive list, in part because not all of publishing has shared their fall catalogs and because finding this information is in and of itself a challenge.
Of note: more of these books are by men than women. I’ve not dug into the gender breakdown of works in translation in YA, but I would not be surprised if this is common, given the barriers to publication for those who are not cis men.
Amazona by Canizales, translated by Sofía Huitrón Martínez (May 3)
This graphic novel translated from Spanish follows 19-year-old Andrea, an Indigenous Colombian, as she travels back to her native home after losing a child. But along with the child, she comes with a hidden camera and an agenda: she wants proof that illegal mining is what displaced her family so she can work toward reclaiming what’s rightly theirs.
The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of a Heart by Chesil, translated by Takami Nieda (April 5)
Translated from Japanese, the novel follows 17-year-old Ginny Park who is close to being expelled from school. She lives in Oregon with a picture book author named Stephanie; Ginny ended up there when she’d been expelled from her last school in Hawaii.
What unravels is a story of how Ginny got to where she is, all thanks to a note she found scrawled on one of Stephanie’s works. It’s a book about Ginny being born ethnic Korean in Japan and always existing in some “in between” space.
The book is inspired by Chesil’s own childhood.
The Days of Bluegrass Love by Edward van de Vendel, translated by Emma Rault (May 17)
Originally published in The Netherlands in 1999, this queer love story follows Tycho, who has been mostly skating by in life. He decides it’s time for a change and chooses to spend a summer in America as a counselor for summer camp for international kids. Then he meets Oliver, who is from Norway, and sparks fly.
Ironhead, or Once a Young Lady by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem, translated by Kristen Gehrman (Available Now)
Itching for a historical feminist adventure? Look no further.
18-year-old Constance isn’t a rule-follower. But she doesn’t have a whole lot of choice in being married off–it’s the early 1800s, she’s a girl, and that’s the option.
Rather than fight the arrangement, though, Constance is going to do something bold. Four months into the marriage to a man twice her age, she sneaks out of the house wearing his clothes and meets up with a boy who has just been drafted. When she approaches him, she offers to take his place, and onward she goes into battle.
This book is translated from Dutch.
Thunderbird by Sonia Nimr, translated by M. Lynx Qualey (April 26, 2022)
Translated from Arabic, this story is one for younger YA readers and upper middle grade fans. The story follows Noor, a young Palestinian girl, who must travel back through time with the help of a djinn cat to collect four feathers. This journey is vital–it’s the only way to save the world.
Want a couple of fun resources for finding YA in translation? This database offers Korean, Chinese, and Japanese titles in translation, while you can find a roundup of forthcoming Arab lit here. There is also this database of titles pooled together for Hispanic Heritage Month in 2017, if you’d like to travel into Spanish-language literature backlist reads. You can seek out even more resources through the World Kid Lit initiative.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Thanks for hanging out. I’m off this week, so Tirzah will be here Thursday with your YA news and new books report.
Until then, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.