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title: Money Boy

author: Paul Yee

date: Groundwood Books; 2011

main character: Wei/Ray/Steel

While coming out stories are quite common place in queer teen literature, few if any are about a Chinese immigrant to Canada.

Wei’s father does a random check into to the history files of the family’s computer and discovers that his son has been cruising gay sites. The father kicks his son out of their home. Now homeless, Wei must decide if he is indeed gay, whether he should come out and how he’s going to make a living. Going home is not an option to him because in doing so, his father would win.

Wei is called ‘Ray’ by his American friends. He’s a recent immigrant who barely speaks English and he finds himself exploring China’s societal rules as he tries to decide how he will live his life. He’s well aware of China’s homophobia, but not sure if perhaps he could fit into Canadian society. He’s aware of the street lined with ‘money boys’, those boys who sell themselves for sex, and he doesn’t think he belongs there.

Wei’s never been a good student, yet he has street smarts. He comes from a place of privilege having grown up with the latest technology and all the brand name clothes that he prefers. On the streets he realizes how fast and how far he has fallen and at that same time, he must still behave in a manner that will not bring disgrace upon his family. He cannot give Westerners any reason to laugh at immigrants.

Paul Yee is a writer and historian living in Toronto, Canada. His recent books  is The Secret Keepers.

Yee enunciates characters and situations through his use of setting and situations, often involving food and video games. While playing his favorite video game, Rebel Command, the narrator tells Wei;s alter ego Steel,

“No, Steel, you’re the coward. You fear failure. You would rather die quickly than work slowly to reduce the enemy’s power. Besides, what do you know about ordinary people? You were born into wealth.”

Some lines are so telling that they are just heart breaking. Others come after so much has been taken from Wei and begin to shed a glimmer of hope.

“I dig through all my pockets, fishing out every piece of loose change. My fingertips are stiff but they manage to count the coins. Behind me, office workers clear their throats and rustle their newspapers. At the last moment, I find just enough money.”

As more and more is taken from Wei, he finds himself on Bay Street at a Japanese restaurant. He walks us through the quality of the food, the origin of the music, the appearance of the men at the restaurant and the timbre of their voice. These men, these gay men, are Chinese. Here, Wei begins to find some of his answer. The other answers are with his family.

Reviewed by Abigail Sawyer:

Paul Yee,
The Secret Keepers
Tradewind Books, 2011.

Ages: 11+

It is 1906 in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and the world has just come to an end; the world of Jackson Leong and his family at least. After their father’s death several months earlier, Jack, his older brother Lincoln, his two younger sisters, and their mother relocated from a farm in the Sacramento area to be near family in the bustling city. Now 16-year-old Lincoln, who “was big and tall and had quickly learned everything the family needed to know about their new hometown” has been killed in the aftermath of the great earthquake, leaving Jack to keep the family together while trying to manage the nickelodeon business his brother had begun. On top of all this, Jack’s “yin-yang eyes” see ghosts everywhere: and they seem to be trying to tell him something…

Read the full review

Read our interview with Paul Yee, in which he talks about The Secret Keepers.

I thought I’d counted very carefully, honest guv’nor, but somehow one extra ghost snuck in there – I’m not sure which one – and I’ve ended up with a ‘Reader’s 10′. (If you’re not sure what a Reader’s 10 is, you’ll need to look at Janet Wong’s Top 10: Multicultural Poetry Picks (2002-2012)). So here’s a list of my favorite ghost encounters – they cover a range of age-groups and genres. Some of the ghosts are friendly, some make you ponder, and some are just plain terrifying…

~ The Young Inferno by John Agard, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura – I’ve blogged about this modern take on Dante’s Inferno for a teen audience here and here.  It sends shivers down my spine every time I read it.

~ Takeshita Demons by Cristy Burne – Miku has just moved from Japan to the UK and it soon becomes clear that several yokai demons have followed her there.  When her little brother is kidnapped, her empty, snow-bound secondary school unexpectedly becomes a battle-ground… this will have you on the edge of your seat!

~ Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott – I read this earlier this year on a very choppy ferry crossing and was so riveted that I remained oblivious to the scene of sea-sick desolation around me – yes, I loved it.  Read my review here.

~ Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara – it was love at first sight here with both the illustrations and the sweet story of a witch and her cat who move into a new house that’s full of ghosts.  Imagine putting ghosts through the washer and hanging them up as curtains!

~ Hannah’s Winter by Kierin Meehan – Hannah meets more than she bargained for when she goes to stay with Japanese family friends for the winter – and readers might just have to sleep with the light on after being carried along through the pages into the small wee hours!

~ Just In Case by Yuyi Morales – in this gorgeous sequel to the equally funny and delightful Just A Minute, the ghost of Zelmiro “helps” Señor Calavera to find twenty-two (Spanish Alphabet) presents for Grandma Beetle’s birthday – and tricks him into giving her what she wants most…

~ Requiem for a Beast by Matt Ottley – there are many ghosts in this tour de force combining spoken and written text, graphic narrative, and music that blends Australian Aboriginal song and movements from the Latin Requiem: both in the lost memories of the stolen generation, and at the end of a young man’s physical and psychological journeys to come to terms with his family’s past.

~ Home of the Brave by Allen Say – a man’s kayaking excursion suddenly brings him into a bewildering, dreamlike encounter with the ghosts of Japanese-American children incarcerated during the Second World War, and jolts him into insight of his own family history.

~ The Barefoot Book of Giants, Ghosts and Goblins retold by John Matthews, illustrated by Giovanni Manna – as might be expected from a Barefoot anthology, this is a beautifully presented and the nine stories from all over the world make great read-alouds. Most notable among the ghosts is the love-sick Cheyenne “Ghost with Two Faces”.

~ The Secret Keepers by Paul Yee – I have to admit, I had real difficulty deciding which one of Paul Yee’s ghost stories to choose for this list… They are all compelling books that are impossible to put down so I’ve gone for The Secret Keepers for purely personal reasons because I was there at the launch and heard Paul reciting the opening.

~ The Ghost Fox by Laurence Yep – a small boy has to use his wits to save his mother from the evil Ghost Fox intent on stealing her soul.  Vivid descriptions and attention to detail; plkenty of tension and some humor too.  Favorite quote: (Fox speaking to servant) “Fool, you don’t celebrate a great victory with turnips.”

And P.S. If you haven’t yet seen our fabulous 10th Anniversary Giveaway, announced yesterday, go here right now!

It’s been a wondewrful few days here in Vancouver. Serendipity was fabulous – and many thanks to the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable for hosting us and for putting together such a great program. I’ll be heading for the airport shortly, on my way back to the UK, and taking with me some wonderful memories, as well as a suitcase full of books…

Here’s a selection of the many photos I took -

Friday’s Gala Dinner:

Allen Say and Lisa Yee:

Our table, lef to right: Corinne, our lovely “Guardian Angel” for the conference Kat Thomson, Lisa’s “Guardian Angel” Rob Biittner, Lisa Yee and me behind.

Saturday – Serendipity 2012 at the Neville Scarfe Building, University of British Columbia – “The Year of the Dragon”

Paul Yee and Lisa Yee:

PaperTigers’ Paper Tiger meets Peepy Peep:

Getting our presentation set up…

Allen Say’s prsentation – here with his photograph with Sensei Noro Shinpei:

Making dragons at the lunchtime workshop with Origami Master Joseph Wu:

Then waking everybody up post lunch with some dancing from Shiamak’s Bollywood Dancers – billed to “rouse your inner dragon” – they sure did!

Saturday evening –

Black History Month~ Canada

African American History Month~ USA

National African American Read-in~  USA

National Year of Reading~ Australia

National Storytelling Week~ ongoing until Feb 4, United Kingdom

Kolkata Book Fair~ ongoing until Feb 6, Kolkata, India

Japanese Children’s Literature: A History from the International Library of Children’s Literature Collections~ ongoing until Feb 12, Tokyo, Japan

Taipei Book Fair~ Feb 1 -6, Taipei, Taiwan

28 Days Later: A Black History Celebration of Children’s and YA Lit~ Feb 1 – 29, USA

Children’s Literature Symposium: The Same Text but Different: Variants in Children’s Media~ Feb 3 – 4, Sarasota, FL, USA

2012 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour~ Feb 5 – 10

The Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC) Presents an International Conference on Book Therapy~ Feb 9 – 11, New Delhi, India

Imagine Children’s Festival~ Feb 10 – 26, London, United Kingdom

Writer-in-Residence Launch: Meet Sarah Ellis~ Feb 11, Toronto, ON, Canada

47th ACELT Conference: Reading Ourselves, Reading the World~ Feb 11, Manila, Philippines

2011 Cybils (the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) Winners Announced~ Feb 14

First Nations Public Library Week~ Feb 14 – 19, Province of Ontario, Canada

Chapter & Verse’s (A Book Club for Adults Discussing Children’s Lit) Discussion of ALA/ALSC Award Winners Feb 15, USA

Sun Gallery’s Twenty-third Annual Children’s Book