What Happened this Summer [Paperback]

Paul Yee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

This new collection of short stories by Governor General's Award winning author Paul Yee confronts the secret lives of Chinese-Canadian teenagers as they battle with their parents over schooling, carreers, sexuality, religion and integration into North American culture. Once again Paul Yee offers a rare glimpse into the conflicted world of Chinese youth, some of whom are locally born, while others have recently immigrated from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. (20110818)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—These intriguing, loosely linked short stories explore the lives of Chinese-Canadian teenagers as they navigate two worlds, struggling to meet their immigrant parents' expectations and to also live their own lives. They must resist the usual adolescent temptations, or embrace them, with the extra complication of never completely fitting in. One boy works to improve his English while deciding whether to stay in Canada with his father or return to China with his mother. A girl wants to study photography, but her father pressures her to secure a more lucrative career. A boy tries to find a church that will accept his brother, who is gay. A girl sneaks off to have sex with a classmate, though she knows that her strict aunt will be furious if she finds out. Though all of the stories are solidly written, none stand out as the most accomplished, and a few are slightly melodramatic in flavor. Characters sometimes reappear in other parts of the book as their classmates talk or think about their situations, but each of the nine selections also stands alone. While the adults are frequently inflexible and pushy, the young people often come to see that they are also proud, loving, and confused by the rules of their new society. Teens with an interest in the immigrant experience will likely find these stories satisfying.—Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
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From Booklist

This collection of nine short stories addresses the experience of today's immigrant Chinese youth coming of age in Canada. A modern hip-hopper reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage to honor a promise his grandfather made in "You Cannot Mess with Fate." In "Reading This Novel Made Me Have Sex," arguably the strongest offering, a girl compares her restricted life to that of the protagonist in Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, as she faces a pregnancy scare and defies her domineering aunt. Other tales also focus on young people torn between their parents' traditional expectations and the siren song of pop culture. The very specific Canadian setting, the monotony of the first-person voices, and the occasionally clunky insertion of Chinese historical and political fact are likely to limit readership for this. However, as a thoughtful examination of a little-known cultural clash, the collection may find a place in larger libraries, libraries serving large Asian populations, or where Yee's Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories (2002) has an audience. Jennifer Hubert
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Tradewind Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896580882
• ISBN-13: 978-1896580883
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,043,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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