Photo: Bryan Aldana
on January 10, 2021
Podcasts editor Ellie Wong interviewed Christina Li ’21, a Stanford senior and debut author of the middle-grade novel “Clues to the Universe.” They discussed writing about grief and loss, finding commonalities in art and science, the importance of Asian-American characters and more.
This transcript has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
The Stanford Daily (TSD): I read on your blog that the first novel you drafted was young adult (YA) fantasy. How did you transition to writing a middle-grade book?
Christina Li (CL): YA was what I was reading at the time. I was really liking authors that came out around 2012 and 2013, like Marie Lu and Leigh Bardugo. YA fantasy was where I started out, and the book was a YA retelling of the Opium Wars.
By Jerrie Whiteley
Herald Democrat
In a world where everything has been changed, it seems, reading books in one way many people dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, Sherman Public Library s Adult Services Librarian Sunny Purdin said both library staff and patrons have had to make adjustments to keep everyone safe.
Purdin released the following list of the most checked out books of the year for the library. However, she cautioned, that list does not include the books that were checked out digitally through services like Libby.
Digital books have been really big during the pandemic. Those who wanted to be able to flip their books pages with their actual fingers were able to access the library s stacks in several ways.
All American Boys author Jason Reynolds remix of Ibram X. Kendi s
Stamped From The Beginning for a YA audience is a must-read for everyone, not just younger readers. The book shows readers how racism has been able to continue and grow in the United States and came out right as conversations about the Black Lives Matter heightened. Not only will it be eye-opening to all kinds of readers, it s accessibility gives Kendi s original message the opportunity to reach a whole new audience. 6 Podcast of the Year: Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang iHeartRadio
After announcing their hiatus back in December 2019, fans of
Disney is planning on adapting
Megan Whalen Turner‘s YA fantasy novel
The Thief for Disney+. It’s not entirely clear if this is going to be a film or a TV show, but in either case, Disney’s live-action team is working on the adaptation, with a script from screenwriter
Brian Duffield (
The Divergent Series: Insurgent,
Love and Monsters). The book is the first in a series, and tells the story of a thief sprung from prison to search for a “legendary object.”
THR has the scoop that
The Thief is being adapted for Disney+, but they don’t confirm if it’s a TV show or a film. If I had to guess – and I guess I do, since I’m the one writing this – I’d say it’s probably a movie, since the writer they brought in, Brian Duffield, seems to mostly write scripts for films. In any case, since