From Stacked: YA in Translation

In my teen materials class, we recently discussed foreign young adult books.  For the week's reading, we had a choice between several translated YA books from countries such as Spain and the Netherlands.  How cool to find this post from book review blog Stacked talking about translated YA books in the publishing world.  Click here to see the post from their Get Genrified series.

... and definitely stick around for the list of translated YA titles at the end!  I've only heard of a few of them, one being No and Me by Delphine de Vigan, and possibly Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (although that may just be confusion with another book cover).

Try to pay attention to the translators' names--I recognized a few of them!  Anthea Bell, for example, translates a lot of German fiction, including Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series and The Thief Lord.  Another translator on the list, Margaret Sayers Peden, was the translator for the book I reviewed in a previous post, The Valley of the Wolves from Spanish author Laura Gallego Garcia.  A lot of the same names come up, if you look around.

The Valley of the Wolves by Laura Gallego Garcia

Image from Goodreads

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Gallego Garcia, Laura. The Valley of the Wolves. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2006. 247 p. $16.99. 0-439-58553-8.

*translated into English by Margaret Sayers Peden

Dana has grown up on a farm with a very large family, and yet has always felt very alone.  Her strange friendship with a boy that only she can see has prevented her from forming relationships with those around her.  Still, with Kai, her unusual friend, by her side, she is happy enough with her lot in life.  However, when it becomes apparent that Dana has an aptitude for magic, she is whisked away to a faraway academy of sorcery known as The Tower, and begins her training to become a maga.  She moves through her lessons with grace, and she steadily gains confidence in her talents.  The mystery of Kai's origins still elude her, and she becomes even more curious when she is visited by the image of a powerful female sorcerer who comes to her with a request.  In her efforts to learn more about her visions, she may find out more than she originally bargained for.

The Valley of the Wolves is a fast-paced tale of magic with a strong focus on friendship, the love we have for those closest to us, and what we will do to protect them.  There are few typographical inconsistencies in an otherwise smooth translation, but readers will nonetheless wait with anticipation to find out Kai's secret origins, Dana's true magical ability, and the loyalties of the mysterious Maestro and Fenris, her fellow student of sorcery.  The magical atmosphere is not alarmingly present in the text, but those looking for a Hogwartsian setting may be pleasantly surprised.