Joana Estrela

Aug 15, 2024 | bookriot.com | Joana Estrela |Lyn Miller-Lachmann |Kelly Jensen

August is Women in Translation Month, an annual celebration of books by women authors across the globe whose books have been translated for an English-reading audience. We know that books in translation are already rare in YA, so it is likely little surprise that women’s work in translation lags behind that of male counterparts (and any global writers beyond the gender binary, even rarer). But translated literature is special.

Apr 18, 2023 | kirkusreviews.com | Joana Estrela

In this introspective graphic novel translated from Portuguese, a girl reflects on her changing sense of self. In loosely interconnected vignettes, award-winning author/illustrator Estrela introduces readers to 16-year-old Raquel. Her life thus far has been fairly uneventful: She lives in small-town Portugal with her divorced mom; hangs out with her two best friends, Luísa and Fred; and has a new boyfriend, Miguel. But changes are underway.

Feb 9, 2023 | publishersweekly.com | Joana Estrela |Lorraine Avila |Cynthia Smith

Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-53-621860-2High school sophomore Hughie Wolfe, a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, feels adrift after his school’s fall theater production, in which he expected to get the lead role, is canceled due to budget cuts.

Feb 9, 2023 | publishersweekly.com | Jonny Garza Villa |Joana Estrela |Lorraine Avila |Cynthia Smith

U.S. immigration policies complicate a relationship between two queer San Antonio, Tex., teens in this fervent drama by Garza Villa (Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun). When not working at their tita’s taqueria, called Lupe’s, 19-year-old nonbinary Mexican American artist Ander Martínez spends their time painting murals throughout the neighborhood. After they spot new hire Santiago taking a selfie with one of Ander’s creations, they’re immediately drawn to him.