International

Japanese Honors for Sidetracked and Upstaged

In 2019, the Japanese edition of Sidetracked was selected by the Japanese School Library Association as one of three recommended middle school level books for the 2019 Youth Book Report National Competition.

Every year, students throughout Japan are encouraged to read one of the recommended books and submit a book report to the contest. The authors of top essays from each district are celebrated at a beautiful ceremony in Tokyo. It was my great honor to be a guest at the ceremony on February 7, 2020, and meet two of the students who won awards for their essays about Sidetracked.

That trip seemed like a once in a lifetime experience, so it came as thrilling news when Upstaged was announced as a middle school selection for the 2023 competition.

Once again, my husband and I were guests at the ceremony in Tokyo. Reuniting with my Japanese friends was a joy, and chatting with the incredible students who won honors for their Upstaged essays was…well, the photos below tell the story.

Both Sidetracked and Upstaged were published in Japan by Hyoronsha, translated by Hiroko Taketomi and edited by Chihomi Okamoto. I’m so grateful to them, to Maiko Fujinaga of Japan UNI Agency, and to the Japanese School Library Association, for bringing my stories to young Japanese readers!

For foreign rights inquiries, please contact Yulia Borodyanskaya, yborodyanskaya@abramsbooks.com.

International Editions

Japanese Edition of Upstaged

Korean Edition of Sidetracked

Japanese Edition of Sidetracked