Age 16

A powerful coming-of-age graphic novel about three generations of mothers and daughters passing down and rebelling against standards of gender, race, beauty, size, and worth, for fans of Mariko Tamaki.

Sixteen-year-old Roz is preoccupied with normal teenage stuff: navigating high school friendships, worrying about college, and figuring out what to wear to prom. When her estranged Por Por abruptly arrives for a seemingly indefinite visit, the already delicate relationship between Roz and her mother is upended. With three generations under one roof, conflicts inevitably arise and long suppressed family secrets rise to the surface.

Told in alternating perspectives, Age 16 shifts seamlessly between time and place, exploring how this pivotal year in adolescence affects three women in the same family, from Guangdong in 1954 to Hong Kong in 1972, and Toronto in 2000.

Award-winning creator of Living with Viola Rosena Fung pulls from her own family history in her YA debut to give us an emotional and poignant story about how every generation is affected by those that came before and affect those that come after.

ISBN: 9781773218335
Format: Hardback
Pages: 312
Publisher: Annick Press
Published: May 28, 2024

“[T]he emotional weight of each of the teens’ lives at a tender age is captured with authenticity and realism . . . Getting to see three lives unfold in different locations and times is a gift Fung eloquently unwraps in this graphic novel that increases the visibility of AAPI stories in books for teens.”“[A] poignant tale of generational strife, rebellion, and self-acceptance.”“An affecting story of family estrangement, body shaming, and the journey to self-acceptance.”“In creating empathic art, Fung alchemizes painful personal history into an empowering homage ‘to help us realize we’re already who we’re supposed to be.’”“With its unique multigenerational approach, Age 16 expertly tackles perceptions of weight, self-worth and parental conflict.”