Latest GOOD ENOUGH events as of July 31, 2008...

Friday August 1, 2008 - 5:00 to 5:30 PM

SOCIETY OF CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS (SCBWI) ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
Event details: I'll be speaking on the "SCBWI SUCCESS STORIES" panel at the annual SCBWI national conference in Los Angeles. The panel features me along with Jay Asher, John Rocco, Yuyi Morales, and Lisa Yee. Go here to register for the conference: http://scbwi.org/

Wednesday October 8, 2008 - TIME TBA
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE
Event details: I'll be speaking along with the authors of FUSION STORIES at this conference in Connecticut. More details to come - stay tuned!

Thursday October 9, 2008 - TIME TBA
ASIAN AMERICAN WRITERS WORKSHOP: I'll be giving a panel here in New York City, details to come, stay tuned!

I am pleased to announce that my debut YA novel GOOD ENOUGH (HarperCollins 2008) was nominated for the Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) award by the ALA (American Librarians Association) and YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association).

The list of nominees can be found here and below:

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults

Fiction Nominations

Beauford, Mary Jane. Primavera (Little, Brown and Co. 2008)

Buckhanon, Kalisha. Conception (St. Martin’s. 2008)

Colfer, Eoin. Airman (Hyperion 2008)

Conner, Leslie. Waiting for Normal (HarperCollins 2008)

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother (Tom Doherty 2008)

Fleischman, Sid. The Entertainer and the Dybbuk (HarperCollins 2007)

Halpern, Julie. Get Well Soon (Feiwel and Friends 2007)

Jordan, Hillary. Mudbound. (Algonquin 2008)

Juby, Susan. Another Kind of Cowboy (HarperCollins 2007)

Kephart, Beth. Undercover (HarperTeen 2007)

Lecesne, James. Absolute Brightness (HarperCollins 2008)

Mazer, Norma Fox. The Missing Girl (HarperCollins 2008)

Murphy, Jim. The Real Benedict Arnold (Clarion 2007)

Na, An. The Fold (Penguin 2008)

Napoli, Donna Jo. Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale (Simon Pulse 2007)

Pearson, Mary E. The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Henry Holt 2008)

Petrucha, Stefan. Teen, Inc. (Walker 2007)

Rex, Adam. The True Meaning of Smekday (Hyperion 2007)

Shaw, Susan. Safe (Penguin 2007)

Smith, Roland. Elephant Run (Hyperion 2007)

Venkatraman, Padma. Climbing the Stairs (Penguin 2008)

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac and D Foster (G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2008)

Yoo, Paula. Good Enough (HarperCollins 2008)

Zarr, Sara. Sweethearts (Little, Brown 2008)

Hi!  I'll be speaking at Flintridge Preparatory School, La Canada Preparatory School, and with the Teen Advisory Board at the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse in La Canada, CA on Monday March 3, 2008.

I'll post photos and a blog  update on that later this week.  Stay tuned!  I'm looking forward to my first official GOOD ENOUGH school presentation! 

GOOD ENOUGH By Paula Yoo
Published by HarperCollins
Ages 12 up
Trade ISBN: 978-0-06-079085-1
Price: US $16.99/$19.99 CAN
Sales Date: Feb. 5, 2008

PAULA YOO'S DEBUT YA NOVEL "GOOD ENOUGH" FROM HARPERCOLLINS IN STORES ON FEBRUARY 5, 2008

"... the convincing narration is filled with laugh-out-loud lines, but it's the deeper questions about growing up with immigrant parents, confronting racism, and how to best find success and happiness that will stay with readers." - BOOKLIST

Acclaimed children's book author PAULA YOO ("Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story," Lee & Low Books, 2005) scores big in her hilarious debut novel about an overachiever who longs to fit in and strives to stand out.

In GOOD ENOUGH, main character Patti Yoon is a high-achieving high-school senior struggling between her Korean immigrant parents' demanding expectations and her growing desire to shape her own future, not to mention pursuing her first crush on a cute guy in her homeroom.

Yoo's funny and poignant novel has already been praised by the prestigious Kirkus Reviews, Booklist Magazine, and School Library Journal. Says one reviewer, "Caught between cultures, Patti must also learn to navigate her own dreams and aspirations alongside the expectations of others. The author reflects on the hard lessons of adolescence--maneuvering between childhood and adulthood and developing a sense of self--with humor and authenticity.

"GOOD ENOUGH's cultural issues and themes are also timely, given such recent articles such as the Los Angeles Times' Oct. 23, 2007 feature entitled, "Rethinking an Emphasis on Achievement: Some Korean Americans are uneasy with their community's commitment to success, fearing it may place a burden on children" and CNN's May 16, 2007 article, "Push to achieve tied to suicide in Asian American women."

Yoo's first book, "Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story," illustrated by Dom Lee (Lee & Low Books, 2005) was an IRA Notable. Her next picture book biography, "Shooting Star: The Anna May Wong Story," will be illustrated by Lin Wang and published by Lee & Low Books in 2009.

Paula Yoo is also a TV drama screenwriter whose credits include NBC's "The West Wing" and The CW's "Hidden Palms." She was most recently Executive Story Editor of Lifetime's "Side Order of Life." And like her novel's main character, Yoo is an accomplished violinist and continues to work as a freelance professional musician in classical and rock music in the Los Angeles area, having performed, recorded, and toured with the Los Angeles Chamber Players and national rock acts such as Arthur Lee of Love and Spiritualized.