They don’t need “gatekeepers.” That’s middle grade, chapter books, picture books, easy readers, board books - these readers need “gatekeepers.” My teens are capable of forming their own opinions on racism, both in books and in real life. Could the reaction simply have been jealousy disguised as concern for the young ones that read YA? Because honestly, this is YA! Readers are … young adults - teens or actual adults. No doubt feathers were ruffled for those who have been toiling in YA for years with much smaller financial rewards. In other words, with no previous books published, Amélie scored what might have been the biggest or one of the biggest YA deals that year. Chasing her dreams, she wrote while a professional in finance, and won from a YA Pitch on Twitter, a 3 book deal from Delacourt worth in the neighborhood of $500k+.
As the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, I feel compelled to write in support of Amélie Wen Zhao.
