Another Story Bookshop, ECW Press and Annick Press present:
Double book launch of Beauty of Us by Farzana Doctor and Under All the Lights by Maya Ameyaw at Society Clubhouse.
The authors request that you wear a mask to make this event more accessible.
Free, all welcome. Society Clubhouse is wheelchair accessible.
About Beauty of Us:
September 1984, Thornton College private school.
After 15-year-old Zahabiya’s father remarries, she can’t wait to leave home and convinces him to send her away to boarding school. But will she fit in? She joins a clique of smart students but isn’t sure if she measures up or how to read the mixed messages from a guy she’s crushing on.
Seventeen-year-old Leesa has been at Thornton since middle school after her parents’ messy divorce. She’s been climbing the school’s social ladder with equal measures of meanness and manipulation. She’s also guarding a big secret that she has to work overtime to keep from her friends.
Fresh out of university, this is Nahla’s first real teaching job, and she’s drowning. She has her distractions though: the flirty art teacher and a cryptic notebook left behind by her deceased predecessor, Mademoiselle Leblanc.
Zahabiya and her friends — all racialized girls and victims of Leesa’s bullying — uncover Leesa’s secret. But can they help Leesa? Nahla, too, is embroiled in her own mystery, assisted by Mademoiselle Leblanc’s ghost. Each is indelibly changed by what they learn.
Masterfully crafted, The Beauty of Us is a gripping novel about surviving hardship, the power of friendship, and growing up.
About Under All the Lights:
After one of his songs goes viral, Ollie Cheriet gets the opportunity of a lifetime: a cross-country tour, an album deal, and a chance to help his family with their financial struggles. The only problem? Ollie has major stage fright, a symptom of his anxiety disorder. As pressure from performing, social media rumors, and his romantic life rises, his mental health starts to spiral. So he’s surprised at how grounded he feels when he collaborates with his wildly talented—and distractingly cute—touring partner, Jesse. Music has always helped Ollie through hard times, but he’s going to have to be more vulnerable than he ever thought possible to find self-acceptance in the glow of the spotlight.
Featuring characters from Maya Ameyaw’s acclaimed debut When It All Syncs Up, this story takes readers into the green room, immersing them in the vivid behind-the-scenes world of touring musicians.
About Farzana Doctor:
Farzana Doctor is a Tkaronto-based author, activist, and psychotherapist. She has written four critically acclaimed novels, a poetry collection, and a self-care workbook for helpers and activists. Doctor received the prestigious Freedom to Read Award in 2023, and in 2020, Seven was chosen as an Amnesty International Book Club’s Reader’s Choice Pick.
The Beauty of Us is her first YA novel. Learn more at www.linktr.ee/farzanadoctor.
About Maya Ameyaw:
MAYA AMEYAW is a former bookseller and currently works as a community arts writing instructor. She has edited several mental health–themed anthologies for youth and adults, and her writing was included in the anthology Brilliance Is the Clothing I Wear(Dundurn Press). Maya also runs a YouTube series and blog where she interviews YA authors about their writing journeys. She lives in Toronto and can be found on Twitter @MayaAmeyaw.
