4 Canadian titles featured in Time's '100 best YA books of all time' list
Books by L.M. Montgomery, Cherie Dimaline, Mariko Tamaki and Abdi Nazemian were recognized
Four Canadian titles have made the updated list of the 100 best young adult (YA) books of all time, as picked by Time magazine.
With a panel of prominent YA authors, Time created a definitive list of the most influential young adult books from the 1800s to present day.
The Canadian titles are Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery; The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline; Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell; and Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian.
Anne of Green Gables chronicles the story of the orphaned red-headed Anne Shirley, who is mistakenly adopted by siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Anne of Green Gables was first published in 1908 and has since sold more than 50 million copies, has been translated into over 20 languages and has spawned stage musicals, television shows and movies, theatre adaptations, ballet and more.
Montgomery was born in Prince Edward Island in 1874. She started writing poetry and keeping a journal since the age of nine. Montgomery wrote her first and most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables in 1905.
Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves takes place in a world where humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming — but where an even greater evil lurks. The Indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream.
The Marrow Thieves was defended by Jully Black on Canada Reads 2018.
The Marrow Thieves won the Kirkus Prize in the U.S., the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text, the CODE Burt Award for Indigenous young adult literature and the young adult category of the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic.
The YA novel was the #1 bestselling Canadian book in the country's independent bookstores in 2018. It has sold more than 100,000 copies in Canada and is currently being adapted into a TV series.
A sequel to The Marrow Thieves, Hunting by Stars, will be published in October 2021.
Dimaline is a Métis author and editor. Her other books include Red Rooms, The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy, A Gentle Habit and Empire of Wild.
In Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Laura Dean is the most popular girl in high school and was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend. As their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it's really Laura Dean that's the problem.
Tamaki is a Canadian comics writer, contributing to Marvel and DC Comics, based in Oakland, Calif. Her other books include the YA novel (you) Set Me On Fire and the graphic novels Skim and This One Summer. She was named comics writer of the year at the 2020 Eisner Awards.
Valero-O'Connell is an American illustrator who has worked for DC Comics, BOOM! Studios, CAPY Games and Mondo Tees.
Like A Love Story takes readers back to 1989 New York City — a changing world for three teens. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her gay uncle Stephen. Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out and proud teen. And the AIDS crisis plays a part in all three of their lives.
Nazemian is a dual Canadian and U.S. citizen. He's a screenwriter and author. His other books include the YA novels The Authentics and The Walk-In Closet.
The list is a mix of classic and contemporary titles from around the world, including Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.
You can see the full list on Time's website.
