Sponsored by the audiobook edition of Cazadora by Romina Garber, read by Sol Madariaga.
Werewolves. Witches. Romance. Resistance. In Cazadora, Romina Garber weaves together Argentine folklore and what it means to be illegal in an emotionally powerful narrative read by Sol Madariaga! Following the events of Lobizona, Manu and her friends cross the mystical border, searching for allies and a hiding place. As they chase down leads about the Coven, the Cazadores chase down leads about Manu, setting up traps to capture and arrest her.
Hey YA Readers!
Did you know August is Women in Translation month? Starting in 2013, the month-long event celebrates voices of women, trans, and nonbinary writers whose work has been translated into English. By highlighting these voices, readers not only are able to make their reading lives more inclusive, but it’s a reminder to the publishing world the need to bring more international stories to English readers.
You may or may not know that books in translation experience what many call the 3% problem: only about 3% of books published in English are translations. If you boil this down further, that means the fraction of those who aren’t men in translation is even smaller, and looking at what this means for children’s and teen literature, well, you can imagine how minuscule the number is. These are realities that the Women in Translation and the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative are working to bring light to and change.
In honor of this month, let’s take a look at some of the recent YA in translation by women — in this roundup, all of the writers in the original language identify as women or use she/her pronouns, per their English-language biographies. Not all of the translators do.
Note that this is also a very white list. Despite being a global initiative and these stories being international, whiteness still dominates translation, at least in YA. The bulk of these are from European counties, showcasing how there is always still more work to be done, even in an area where there has been slow progress.
Abigail by Magda Szabó, translated from the Hungarian by Len Rix
The New York Review of Books Classics line has begun to expand into children’s and teen lit, and Abigail is one that’ll definitely be for fans of dark academia. The book follows Gina, the only child of a general, who is sent away to a religious boarding school. It’s the midst of World War II, and Gina is fighting with everyone at school, to the point where she chooses to run away. She’s caught, though, and now, she’s resigned herself to putting her trust in Abigail, the school’s classical statue who is rumored to offer help to those who seek her out.
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn, Translated by Sandy Joosun Lee from Korean
This is a short but super complex story of two very broken teenagers who find one another and develop an odd, uncomfortable, but ultimately necessary friendship with one another. Don’t go into this one for plot. Go into it for fascinating character studies. It’s a short book, with small chapters, but each word and description is exacting and offers so much depth to Yungjae and his experience living with a disorder that doesn’t allow him to fully feel or express empathy, even though consciously he understands what it is. Readers familiar with Janne Teller’s Nothing — an older book by a woman in translation — will especially dig this one.
Beyond the Blue Border by Dorit Linke, Translated from German by Elisabeth Lauffer
Hanna and Andreas live in oppressive East Germany and are expelled from school for their activism. They end up working in a factory and together, realize that this is not the life they want. It’s dangerous to flee, but they decide it’s worth it for a chance of freedom. The book follows as they attempt to escape to the democratic West by swimming across the choppy Baltic sea.
I’ll Keep You Close by Jeska Verstegen, Translated by Bill Nagelkerke from Dutch (November 9)
Verstegen’s memoir is about generational trauma and follows as she works to unravel why it is her mother seems to keep her family in hiding. When her grandmother slips up and calls Verstegen by the wrong name, she has her first clue. It’s from here she discovers the terror her family survived and is trying to move on from.
Oksi by Mari Ahokoivu, Translated by Silja-Maaria Aronpuro from Finnish (October 26)
Graphic novels in translation are such powerful reads and whenever I get my hands on one, I’m always amazed by how the visuals are truly the driver of comic storytelling. Ahokoivu’s story is a spin on Finnish folklore, following a family of bears, wherein mother works to ensure the safety of her young ones while avoiding the dark, scary forest. It’s a story of new and old gods, family legacy, and the stars.
Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands by Sonia Nimr, Translated by Marcia Lynx Qualey from Arabic
This sounds a little bit like a take on The Canterbury Tales. Qamar is the main character and the story follows her journeys across the Mediterranean, where she finds herself becoming a pirate at times, a slave at times, a bookseller, and more. Nimr’s book is not going to be plot-heavy but it reads like a collection of small adventure stories (and fun fact: the translator is a former Book Rioter!).
If you’re eager to learn more, there’s a fabulous piece from Publishers Weekly about the challenges of children’s and teen translation from the perspective of the translators and publishers.
As always, thanks for hanging out. We’ll see you again on Thursday!
— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram