I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

On my first day in the NCSCL office, I did what any avid reader would do: pull book after book off of the shelves in search of something that would fill the next seven hours “productively.” Sarah Kuhn’s I Love You So Mochi was an instant eyecatcher, a bright splash of pink amid book spines in varying shades of blue and black.

For this Vietnamese American, the title’s mention of mochi and the cover’s gorgeous background of cherry blossoms evoked a further attraction: a sense of affinity with the novel. As I read the dust jacket flap, I was introduced to one of the novel's most intriguing aspects – its juxtaposition of relatable Asian American teenage experience with unexpected subversions of the expectations that are imposed upon that identity. 


The novel depicts Kimi Nakamura, an American high school senior whose painting talent has guaranteed her early admission to a prestigious art school. The stereotypical Asian American parent’s distaste for any non-STEM/medical field career would seem to be the main conflict in the story, but it is not. Rather than disappoint her parents, this accomplishment is a great source of pride for her Japanese-born, American-educated mother, who is only recently able to pursue her own dreams to be a famous Asian American artist. Her fourth-generation Japanese American father runs a restaurant that “features ‘the best of Japanese, American, and Japanese American comfort food’” (23). But even with supportive parents, whose careers convey a well-balanced blend of Japanese and American identity, Kimi is completely uninspired to paint. When she receives a plane ticket to Japan from her estranged grandparents, she leaves her problems behind to explore her motherland. Kimi teams up with a (cute) aspiring doctor whose knowledge of the sights of Japan help her figure out what she wants to do with her future. As Akira takes her to different locations such as a bamboo forest, a temple, and a pug cafe, Kimi finds the courage to face the problems she had wanted to leave in America. And alongside her, the reader learns much about Japanese culture, customs, and sights.

What I appreciated the most about this novel was that Kimi experiences Japan as a tourist. Kimi knows very little Japanese. Her lack of etiquette knowledge makes for an embarrassing commute and immediately strains her relationship with her grandmother. She recognizes immediately the disjuncture between nature and nurture in identity formation: “It strikes me how discombobulating it is to be in a place where so many of the faces look like mine, but where I clearly don’t belong” (51). Even so, Kimi’s actions expose readers to Japanese interpersonal relations: small bows as greetings, use of last names with strangers, and even slang for cluelessness.

I Love You So Mochi’s treatment of language is one of its most striking aspects. Kimi is fortunate that her grandparents and Akira speak English well despite never leaving Japan, but they mix Japanese terms of assent such as “hai” (80), “sou da ne” (102) and filler words like “eto” (81) and “ano” (106) into their otherwise English conversation. Akira even describes “gairaigo––loan words. There is quite a bit of Japanese-style English” (100). The reader can easily pick up Japanese vocabulary without a dictionary, and nothing comes off as overtly didactic.

Additionally, food – be it shrimp burgers from Japan’s McDonald’s, a secret stash of limited-edition Snickers, or peanut butter and chocolate mochi from her father’s restaurant – helps Kimi find common ground with the people she wants to get to know and experiment with what is unfamiliar.

This novel is a delightful journey through a young girl’s search for her own identity in the land of her heritage. Her sketchbook accompanies her everywhere she goes, and her descriptions of clothing provide insight into her moods, values, and dreams. With each deepening relationship, Kimi investigates how determination, culture, and her own family’s history shape the future she wants for herself. Readers will delight with each step Kimi takes, whether running from deer, strolling with her crush, or towards her real passion.

- AN

Interview: Dr. Angel Daniel Matos, the newest Children's Literature Professor at SDSU

NCSCL’s Graduate Assistants, Chris Deming and Andrea Kade, sat down with Professor Matos in early September to uncover the mystery behind SDSU’s newest tenure-track faculty member. We find out how the SDSU student body sets itself apart from other institutions, and why Professor Matos chose to explore Queer Theory in the Young Adult genre.  

  

Where He Hails From: Aguada, Puerto Rico

Places of Education: B.A. University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, M.A. University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Ph.D. University of Notre Dame

Teaching Experience: University of Puerto Rico, University of Notre Dame, and Bowdoin College. 

Chris Deming: Professor Matos, what inspired you to pursue academia as a career? Any particular moment stand out in your memory?

Professor Matos: When I was working on my Master’s degree at the University of Puerto Rico, I found teaching controversial and politically charged topics were easier and more effective at the college level. I was drawn to that particular freedom you have in the higher education environment. Then, of course, I fell in love with the research aspects of academia too.

Andrea Kade: You transferred from a small, private New England college to a large West Coast public university. Describe the experiences you’ve had teaching in these higher educational institutions. What do you find distinctive about SDSU’s student body?

Professor Matos: At the smaller, private college teaching experience the students were incredibly smart and invested in the course material, but classes are mostly comprised of traditional students. It’s the diversity at SDSU that sets it apart from these types of colleges—we have students who come from different backgrounds, students of different ages, and students who bring in a wider array of life experiences. I find the success of teaching literature [at a public university] relies on pushing students to draw from their personal and diverse experiences to highlight different ways of approaching and reading texts. In my queer literature course, for instance, we had this amazing bonding moment in class with a nontraditional student, who spoke about how as an undergrad, she would’ve never been able to take a course on queer literature. She brings such insight to our class, and she constantly reminds us of a history that current generations sometimes forget. It’s moments like these where a literature class can provide a measure of comfort and inspiration to students’ education.   

Andrea Kade: What are your current research interests and how have they developed or changed over the course of your educational experience? Can you describe any specific moment that initiated one of these changes?

Professor Matos: (laughs) That’s a great question! I actually majored in linguistics for my undergraduate degree, but towards the end of my program I realized that I was way too playful in tone when writing my papers. I was also drawn to how literature allowed me to explore a wider set of ideas and frameworks, ranging from the philosophical, the cultural, the textual, the speculative, the weird, to the imaginary. Literature seemed more daring, and it would allow to me study topics that better aligned with my identities, my political views, and my tastes. I specialized in Victorian literature in my Master’s program but kept revisiting the Young Adult genre and realized how far the bildungsroman piqued my interest in notions such as growth, development, and social ostracism. When I got into my PhD program, I immediately switched my research interests to queer children’s and young adult lit.      

Chris Deming: If you have any overlapping fields of interest, can you tell us why the intersection of these areas is important? How do you approach this intersection with your students and/or in your research?

Professor Matos: I’m deeply invested in the intersection of young adult literature and queer studies.  The queer YA genre is one that has changed drastically over time, transforming from a genre that warned readers about the detriments of queer life into a genre that celebrates the potentiality of queerness. A lot of YA lit is about assimilation, and radical queer frameworks are all about a rejection of the norm and a political alignment against the status quo. I’m very interested in the tensions that emerge in this overlap—YA is about socializing and assimilating, queerness is about dismantling and resisting. Lately, I’ve been focusing a lot of attention on queer sci-fi and fantasy, because more interesting things are occurring in this space. Many queer theorists have claimed that queer frameworks are speculative because through them, we are trying to envision a world and a future that is quite different from the realities we are currently living. We want to imagine to future that is livable for everyone—a future where people do not regulate or control what we can or can’t do with our bodies. A future where different forms of kinship and relationality can flourish. I’m becoming more and more convinced that speculative queer YA should be front and center in queer approaches to YA, especially since this genre enables political, radical, and non-normative modes of thinking. And authors are starting to take note of this queer and political potential. For instance, a novel that I’m currently writing on, David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing, tells the story of several queer youths that are spectated by the ghosts of AIDS victims. These ghosts serve as a Greek chorus that simultaneously laments and celebrates how the queer youth culture of the present have it so good. In a way, this novel uses literature and language to craft a connection between the freedoms queer youth have today, and a history of cultural damage that continues to haunt the present. The beauty of speculative fiction is that this vehicle allows for the creation of a platform where you can explore these questions.

Chris Deming: What projects are you currently working on? Is there anything that you are particularly excited about or looking forward to starting?

Professor Matos: In addition to queer young adult literature, I’m currently researching video games and how virtual spaces in these games push us to rethink and reconfigure notions such as identity and childhood development. One of my current projects is examining The Legend of Zelda series [specifically Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask], where certain spaces allow the player to transition back and forth between childhood and adulthood. I’m researching how these video game spaces are traversed, and how this traversal requires players to dismantle the teleology that exists between childhood and adulthood. People think of childhood and adulthood as a one-way street, but speculative, digital spaces such as those we see in video games present childhood as a stage of development that can be revisited and relived, and one that is necessary to successfully complete a game’s objectives. Childhood is often presented as a stage that one must grow out of, but this game approaches it as a stage that one must not let go of. 16-year-old me would be very proud and amazed by the work that adult me is engaging with!

Andrea Kade: There are some critics in certain scholarly circles who might scoff at academically studying children/young adult literature, tell us why this particular area deserves attention.

Professor Matos: YA lit illustrates the limits of social acceptability, and the extent to which these limits can be transgressed. By assessing YA lit, we can explore how far cultural productions designed for young readers can push the bar, and articulate ideas that are generally deemed “unspeakable.” Another reason is more obvious: YA and children’s literature are some of the most popular and profitable genres. We need to deal with the fact that these books are bound to the regulations and limitations of popular culture and mass production, and how these texts play a major influence in influencing collective consciousness. It would be a disservice to scoff at children’s literature and young adult literature. These texts are what draw us into the world of literature in the first place. Our first exposure to the realm of the literary generally takes place through children’s books, nursery rhymes, comic books and picture books. As teachers and scholars of these literatures, we should highlight the complexity and richness in the ideas discussed in these texts, and the joys and surprises that we encounter when revisiting books we read as children. We have to acknowledge that people receive emotional nourishment from these works even though they are mostly produced and regulated by mass culture. At the end of the day, political value and rethinking social norms is the emotional heart of children’s Literature. There is a certain freedom to be found in children’s and young adult literature because people don’t always take these genres too seriously, so it can get away with pushing the boundaries more. At the same time, we must grapple with the problems that arise in books that we love and cherish, and not let nostalgia get in the way of analyzing these works. We have to learn to be critical about the things we love, but that doesn’t mean we love them any less; have fun with these texts, but understand their complexities and their issues.   

Chris Deming: What is a book you always circle back to, either with your students, for research or personal reasons? Are there any books you’d recommend for people interested in the fields you study, or for any other reason?

Professor Matos: Ah! This is such a difficult question. There are just too many books to recommend! I guess when it comes to YA literature, I would recommend all the works of Adam Silvera—an author I’ve been obsessed with for the past two years. His books, which are for the most part speculative, explore some of the more pressing questions and issues that haunt contemporary queer teens. Silvera is also adept at exploring matters of intersectionality, and his work highlights the ways in which queer identity is inflected by other domains of identity such as race, class, and disability. In terms of theoretical texts, I would recommend anything written by Sara Ahmed or José Esteban Muñoz—two queer and feminist theorists who have revolutionized the way I think about queerness, futurity, space, utopianism, emotion, and happiness.

WELCOME TO SDSU, PROFESSOR MATOS! 

For more insight into Professor Matos’ research, join us on October 4th at noon in Storm Hall 104 for the Children's Literature Criticism Panel or check out some of his publications below:

Matos, Angel (2018). “Subverting Normative Paradigms: Teaching Representations of Gender and Queerness in Young Adult Literature.” MLA Options for Teaching Young Adult Literature. Eds. Karen Coats, Mike Cadden, and Roberta Seelinger Trites.

Matos, Angel (2017). “The Undercover Life of Young Adult Novels.” The ALAN Review 44.2.

Matos, Angel (2017). “Something’s Flaming in the Kitchen: Exploring the Kitchen as a Stage of Gay Domesticity in Queer as Folk.” Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture 2.1. (119-33).

Robert Bittner with Angel Daniel Matos (2016). “Fear of the Other: Exploring the Ties between Gender, Sexuality, and Self-Censorship in the Classroom.” The ALAN Review 44.1.

Matos, Angel (2016). “Queer Consciousness/Community in David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing: ‘One the Other Never Leaving.’” Gender(ed) Identities: Critical Rereadings of Gender in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Eds. Tricia Clasen and Holly Hassel. Routledge. PP. 59-74.

Matos, Angel (2015). “‘Without a word or a sound’: Enmeshing Deaf and Gay Identity in Young Adult Literature.” Lessons in Disability: Essays on Teaching with Young Adult Literature. Ed. Jacob Stratman. McFarland & Company. PP. 221-244.

Matos, Angel (2013). “Writing through Growth, Growth through Writing: The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Narrative of Development.” The ALAN Review 40.3. (86-97).

Reminder: PAMLA Forum on Stages of Life: Age, Identity, and Culture

First day of PAMLA, everyone! 
 
Just a reminder that the special event sponsored by the NCSCL will take place tomorrow! 

As part of PAMLA, the forum discussing "Stages of Life: Age, Identity, and Culture" will be held on Saturday, November 2 at the Bahia Hotel. This forum should be of aprticular interest and appeal to anyone who researches or just dabbles in the study of childhood, children's literature, and cultural studies more broadly.

When: Saturday, November 2, 2013 - 5:00pm - 6:40pm (Mission Bay Ballroom C) 
Chair: Cheryl Edelson, Chaminade University of Honolulu
Three fabulous talks, including:

• The Age of Beginners, by Kenneth Kidd, University of Florida
• Aging Badly: The Exemplary Case of Marlon Brando, by Katherine Kinney, University of California, Riverside
• The American Renaissance Enters the Iron Decade: Melville and Company on the Voyage of Life, by Martin Kevorkian, University of Texas, Austin

Once again, the forum is open SDSU students and faculty, with no expense. More details about the event can be found here.

And all the conference information can be read at: http://www.pamla.org/2013/

PAMLA Forum Sponsored by NCSCL - Stages of Life: Age, Identity, and Culture

The Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference (PAMLA) is less than a week away! This week we'll be highlighting some of our own that will be presenting and featured in the conference, but for now I wanted to share a special event sponsored by the National Center for the Study of Children's Literature.

In conjunction with PAMLA and Executive Director Craig Svonkin, the NCSCL is excited to sponsor a forum which should greatly appeal to anyone involved in or fascinated by the study of childhood, children's literature, and cultural studies more broadly. It's a free and open to the public too, so join us for this insightful off-campus event!

PAMLA Forum: Stages of Life: Age, Identity, and Culture 

When: Saturday, November 2, 2013 - 5:00pm - 6:40pm (Mission Bay Ballroom C) 
Chair: Cheryl Edelson, Chaminade University of Honolulu

The Age of Beginners
Kenneth Kidd, University of Florida
The beginner has long been a dominant trope in education, literature, and popular culture, associated with the idiot/dummy, the student, and the child. The beginner may or may not be a child or child-like, thereby bringing to mind Robin Bernstein's proposed term "agequeer," used to refer to temporally non-conforming subjects. Drawing on children's literature, the children's philosophy movement, and select theory, this paper explores the "age of the beginner"—both an era and a developmental conceit.

Aging Badly: The Exemplary Case of Marlon Brando
Katherine Kinney, University of California, Riverside
Marlon Brando presaged the youthful rebellion that came to exemplify the culture of the baby-boomers. As his icon thrived in the 1960s, Brando began to age badly. His successes and failures over the next three decades tell us much about post-WWII narratives of masculine identity, maturity, success, and the richer pathos of failure.

The American Renaissance Enters the Iron Decade: Melville and Company on the Voyage of Life
Martin Kevorkian, University of Texas, Austin
As the major authors of the American Renaissance embarked upon their sixth decades, their writing took a turn away from the prophetic confidence that characterized their greatest hits. Focusing upon Melville, along with Stowe, Longfellow, Emerson, and Hawthorne, this presentation explores these authors's late fascination with both preaching and silence.

Once again, the forum is open to everyone, including SDSU students and faculty, with no expense. In fact, all the conference sessions are free for those interested in visiting and listening. So, come! Drop by! Attend! Keep in mind that presenters and chairs still have to pay the registration fees.

All the conference information is here: http://www.pamla.org/2013/