Hey Jamie

THE WRAP UP!

Yes, that's means that I'll leave you all alone after this. 😜

I got to spend time IRL with my editor Phoebe Yeh. She also edits the incredible work of so many brilliant minds like Nic Stone, Jumata Emill, Patricia Park, Ellen Oh, Mahogany Browne, Jason Raynolds… the list goes on and on—basically, she’s a literary icon. 🤩

Everytime I meet Angeline Boulley I am stunned by her kindness. We met on a panel three years ago and she has been connecting and uplifting me ever since. Her blurb for Mermaid is 🥹🥹🥹.

Old friends and new, NCTE is the place where so many of my heros become my friends. There’s is a particular kind of magic at work here, shaped by an atmosphere of community. 🫶🏻

Y’all, evenings at NCTE are something completely else…it is here that I learned some authors *ahem Minh* do NOT sleep. And if you’re willing to tumble down a rabbit hole, you never know where you might end up. Thanks Pablo for taking us to an awesome drag show at Hamberger Mary’s . There’s nothing that bonds a group together like being in the presence of Queens!

ANNNNDD That’s a WRAP on NCTE 2025. Love to all!

🤍💚FRIENDS💚🤍

I have SO many thoughts. Bare with me.

Minh Lê—My first author champion. He read a bound version of my manuscript without knowing a thing about me and wrote the most beautiful blurb. Tired as hell, I’m sure, he stayed up SO late to meet me in Austin, Texas and then brought me into what I consider my NCTE family. For someone who railed against being Vietnamese for so long, it’s hard to describe how it feels to be so fully embraced in this way. DRAWN TOGETHER showed me how our micro experiences had universal impact and two days ago REAL TO ME brought me to tears. I bow your greatness.

Trung Le Nguyen—I fell in love with MAGIC FISH because it unfolded a history and beauty that was priviously unknown to me. I was so moved that I immediate bought copies for all my nieces and nephews. With ANGELICA AND THE BEAR PRINCE out now, y’all know what you’re getting for Christmas.

Mahogany L. Browne—I found CHLORINE SKY at an intersection of my life that was raw and I found empowerment. I needed this story like I needed THE BLUEST EYE when I was a teenager. The fullness of her heart is felt in her hugs and the strength of her voice carries through her spoken words.

Patricia Park— I have IMPOSTER SYNDROME too! We share so many similiar experiences that it’s SO validating to read your books. I can only imagine what they’re doing for teens.

Angel Gee-Kay—I think you might be my biggest fan (now friend) and I am ridiculously grateful. Knowing that you’re a teacher makes me feel better about the world we live in. I hope that animal made it home safely!

Leah Werther—An educator extraordinaire! Your work is vital to our communities and it was such a joy to hear you talk about how you implement author’s stories into classroom activiites.

Skye Oh—You are your mother’s daughter. I LOVED getting to spend time with you! Having grown up in lower income areas, I know the challenges you face as a teacher. I also know how impactful my good teachers were. Thanks for fighting the good fight friend! I hope we get to do this again soon!

Am I done? Nope. More to come folks!

Y’all, I learned SO much from this group of taleneted educators and authors. Shout out to my partner Tien Pham for setting the stage and pulling text from my work to talk about. I LOVED hearing about his teaching methodology—I wish I’d had you as my teacher in HS! If you’re near him, ask him to show you his notebook, it’s notes, but really it’s a work of art.

I loved seeing how Leah, Diana, Grace, and Kevin used and incorporated these books in their classroom exercises AND all the cool results of those lessons.

Initially, I was SO bummed that Minh Lê couldn’t make it to the panel because his flight arrived later in the day BUT as I was staring at his work on Green Lantern I thought, “Actually it’s good he’s not here because then I won’t be overshadowed by his fame.” My ego began to bloom, my head physically grew larger, and I was feeling really full of myself when SUDDENLY he BURSTS into the room, like a FLYING SUPERHERO and my ego was torn from it’s binding, crumpled into a ball and tossed into the trash.

And THEN, he has the audacity to me—ME! the dead inside, feelingless creature that trauma-writing has created—cry. REAL TO ME is so real, y’all. Damn you Minh Lê!

Teachers are the backbone of community,
they impart lessons big and small,
teach kindness, awareness, history, science and math.
What an honor it is to be among y’all for a few days at the largest teacher conference in the country.

Let’s do this . Let’s inspire our youth to do better than we have. ☮️

"This book will make you question the people and world you thought you knew while showing you a more complex and compassionate reality. You will be changed forever."

– Joanna Ho, author of THE SILENCE THAT BINDS US

Fun fact: Joanna's YA book is shelved next to mine--amazing right?!--this is the first time my last name has been beneficial in the alphabet hierarchy. I knew of Joanna long before I met her because as my friends began having kids EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS and Minh Lê's book DRAWN TOGETHER, where my go-to purchases for baby showers. I learned later that she's a social justice warrior who wears her tears on her sleeve and looks for ways to make sure everyone knows they're welcome. She sparks joy, just like her books.

Check out her library:
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners
Playing at the Border
Eyes that Speak to the Stars
The Silence that Binds Us
One Day
Say My Name
On the Tip of A Wave
Eyes that Weave the World's Wonders
We Who Produce Pearls
A City Full of Santas
Becoming Boba