Young adult novels about kids from different cultures lend themselves to teaching the writing of comparison contrast essays. As students are reading their novel, they should be noting similarities and differences between their own culture and the culture represented in the book. Brainstorming issues that vary from culture to culture, such as governments, food, religion, climate, holidays and living conditions, will help students organize their search. This month I will introduce three new YA books that would lend themselves to this exercise. First Love Language by Stefanie Valentine focuses on adoptee Catie Carlson who would like to investigate her Taiwanese heritage. In Maya in Multicolor by Swati Teerdhala Indian American Maya Satry joins the Hindu Student Association and volunteers to plan the campus Holi celebration. Wish Upon a K-Star by Kat Cho finds K-drama actress Shin Hyeri and K-pop singer Moon Minseok starring in a Korean celebrity fake-marriage show.
In First Love Language Taiwanese American Catie Carlson lives with her white dad and stepmother after her parents’ divorce when she is five. When her dad dies of cancer, Catie finds herself longing to reconnect with her mother Ya-Jung in Taipei. She meets Korean Blackanese Toby who agrees to help her relearn Mandarin in exchange for dating advice. Catie agrees, although she has no knowledge of dating aside from her dad’s copy of The Five Love Languages. Toby and Catie go on “practice dates” and as she learns more about her Taiwanese heritage, she finds herself falling for Toby. Topics of transracial adoption, the challenges Catie experiences in learning about her heritage, and how deeply her cultural identity is embedded in her heart are explored. The book is loosely based on the author's own life.
The culture explored in Maya in Multicolor is Indian American. Maya Satry’s college career begins with a meet-cute with Thomas, who is a self-centered gamer. After breaking up with him, she joins the Hindu Student Association as an event planner and is partnered with campus playboy Nishant Rai, aka DJ Nish, to plan the campus Holi celebration. Holi is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, Equality and Spring. It is a cultural celebration that gives Hindus and non-Hindus an opportunity to have fun and play with other people by throwing colored water and powder at each other. Nish and Maya have very different plans for the festival. Nish imagines a contemporary EDM festival combined with an old-fashioned Holi dance party. Maya wants it to be a traditional celebration of life, love and renewal. When Thomas blocks her from a dating app, Nish offers to set Maya up on dates if she will compromise with him on party plans. Their opposing perspectives make for engaging tension, as the two begin to fall for each other. Themes of cultural identity, personal growth and romance make for an enjoyable read.
In Wish Upon a K-Star K-drama
actress Shin Hyeri and K-pop heartthrob Moon Minseok are childhood
“frenemies.” After an altercation at a festival,
they are forced to star in a celebrity fake-marriage show to repair their
images. As they spend time together, their attraction is impossible to
ignore. Solving the mystery of who is
sabotaging Hyeri’s career, working through Hyeri’s indecision about accepting a
role in an American drama, and resolving the conflict between Minseok and one
of his bandmates, are a few of the subplots that keep the story rolling. Inclusion of mixed media news articles and
blogs about Hyeri’s problems with the press create veracity, as the story explores
the world of South Korean idol culture. I got a tutorial from the internet on
all the Korean terms of endearment and respect that were used, as well as the
exotic food offerings.
