Named to the 2024 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize shortlist, The Boy from Clearwater tells the story of Tsai Kun-Lin, “an ordinary boy” born in Qingshui District on the western coast of Taiwan. Tsai Kun-Lin’s story, however, is nothing short of extraordinary. It is a story of surviving military occupation, war, and political oppression as well as a story of solidarity, family bonds, and the power of books. Spanning the history of Taiwan in the 2o^th century, The Boy from Clearwater is a standout text that would appeal to fans of historical fiction, memoir, nonfiction, and graphic novels.

As the book opens in 1935, Taiwan is still under a decades long Japanese occupation. Tshua Khun-Lim (as the the protagonist’s name is rendered in Hoklo Taiwanese) is the eighth of ten children. He distinguishes himself as a top student and an avid reader, but at only fifteen years old, is drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army.

After the war, Tsai returns to school. Taiwan is now part of the Republic of China (ROC), ruled by the Kuomintang Party (KMT). Mandarin Chinese is now the official language, and Tsai dedicates himself to his language studies. He also joins a book club with fellow students. The KMT, meanwhile, begins repressive crackdowns on Taiwanese citizens, and in 1949, declares martial law on the island.

This declaration marks the beginning of the White Terror, a period of harsh political repression and mass imprisonment. In 1950, while working overtime at his government office on a Sunday afternoon, Tsai is arrested in connection to his high school book club activities. He is convicted of espionage and is sentenced to ten years in prison.

Author Yu Pei-Yun worked with Tsai Kun-Lin himself to bring this story to the page. The inclusion of footnotes, marginalia, and reproductions of photographs and other historical artifacts give greater context to the events depicted in the text. It also provides rich information from which one can learn much more about Taiwan’s history (something I previously knew next to nothing about). Written in Hoklo Taiwanese, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese, it accurately reflects what is true of many places around the world: people live and work in multilingual realities, and our books would do well to reflect that.

In the first half of the book, illustrator Zhou Jian-Xin uses shades of pink to complement his elegant black and white drawings; the illustrations are soft, even innocent at times. Tsai has a seemingly happy childhood, even under Japanese occupation. In the second half of the book, Zhou uses negative space, harsh lines, and mostly black backgrounds to depict the bleakness of Tsai’s incarceration.

The work of translator Lin King deserves particular recognition. Translating a multilingual text into a monolingual English one is a monumental task, one which she has more than accomplished. This translation gives a nod to the multilingual source text by using color coding to denote which language is being used at any one time. In an interview with an Assistant Editor from U.S. publisher Levine Querido, King explains her translation process at length.

While The Boy from Clearwater is a story of grave injustice, it is also a story of hope and of resolving to work toward a better world. Tsai Kun-Lin, who passed away in 2023, is now recognized as one of Taiwan’s foremost human rights activists. In the high school or university classroom, this book can be used as a text for historical study, or a testimony of political repression and the dangers of authoritarianism. Public and school libraries looking to expand their selection of global literature for young adults would do well to include both volumes of Tsai Kun-Lin’s extraordinary story,

Title:  The Boy from Clearwater

Written by Yu Pei-Yun

Illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin

Translated from Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Hoklo Taiwanese by Lin King

Levine Querido, 2023

Originally published as Son of Formosa, 2021, Slowork Publishing

ISBN: 9781646142798

Awards: Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize Shortlist, 2024; Winner, Graphic Novels Category, National Consortium for Teaching about Asia Freeman Book Award, 2023

You can purchase this book here.*

Find this book at a library.

Reviews: Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist

*Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission at no cost to you.

Klem-Marí Cajigas has been with Nashville Public Library since 2012, after more than a decade of academic training in Religious Studies and Ministry. As the Family Literacy Coordinator for Bringing Books to Life!, Nashville Public Library’s award-winning early literacy outreach program, she delivers family literacy workshops to a diverse range of local communities. In recognition of her work, she was named a 2021 Library Journal “Mover and Shaker.” Born in Puerto Rico, Klem-Marí is bilingual, bicultural, and proudly Boricua.