National Teen Book Club reads Cheung's Chinglish

Charities Speakers for Schools and Book Clubs in Schools have teamed up with Andersen Press for the third National Teen Book Club and creative writing course for state school students, this time reading Sue Cheung's Chinglish. 

Chinglish (Andersen Press) won the Diverse Book Award in 2020 and follows the funny and moving “almost true” story of Jo Kwan, a teenager growing up in the 1980s who lives above her parents’ Chinese takeaway and is bullied for being different.

The latest book club, which kicked off in mid-November, has seen more than 600 teenagers from state schools and colleges take part and concludes this month. The club was free and available to those aged 14 to 19, providing the opportunity to discuss a shared book and undertake weekly workshop sessions with literary experts to help them develop their own creative writing, including a session on structure by Candice Carty-Williams and drafting advice by Eve Ainsworth. 

Students also submitted a piece of creative writing and the top four writers will receive a masterclass session with Cheung. All creative writing submissions will be published in the online National Teen Book Club library.

Previous book clubs this year featured the works of award-winning authors, including Penny Joelson, Alex Wheatle and Patrice Lawrence.

Cheung said: “I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when Chinglish was chosen for the National Teen Book Club, because it’s such a fantastic space for young people of all backgrounds to learn and grow — I wish I had this when I was a teen! I’m looking forward to hearing readers’ thoughts and feedback, answering their questions and offering guidance wherever I can.”

Ali Palmer, director of Book Clubs in Schools said: “The National Teen Book Club offers a unique chance for young people all over the country to come together to read a book and discuss their ideas. The weekly inspiring talks from authors and key influencers in publishing offer a real insight into careers and opportunities. The partnership with Speakers for Schools has enabled us to create an engaging, far-reaching programme that will inspire a reading for pleasure culture in the schools that participate.”