The Boy From Clearwater, Book 2

October 2, 2023
Told in two parts, this haunting true story by Yu chronicles a resilient boy’s experience navigating turbulent times in Taiwan. Part one, “The Boy Who Loves to Read,” recounts how Tsai Kun-Lin (1930–2023) was born in Taichung during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Taiwan. His ordinary yet happy upbringing, rendered in soft b&w pencil art with pink accents, is filled with music and friendship. As natural disasters such as earthquakes devastate his region, and as war looms, his once joyful childhood gives way to air raids, conscription, and a feeling that his future in Taiwan was bleak—a nightmare manifested when, at 19, Tsai is arrested and tortured on false charges. Part two, “Ten Years on Green Island,” follows Tsai’s arrival to a correctional facility on Green Island as one of many victims of China’s political oppression of Taiwanese peoples called the White Terror. Zhou’s illustrations reflect the story’s dark turn, morphing into inky, deco, noir-inspired art shot through with blue shocks of color. This harrowing debut, which depicts an underreported period in Taiwan’s history, is informative and inspiring for Tsai’s ebullient hope and resilience. Footnotes add historical context throughout; a concluding timeline provides further information. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from February 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* The extraordinary triumvirate--writer Yu, artist Zhou, and translator King (an enviable polyglot fluent in Taiwanese Hoklo, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and English)--reunite to finish what they began with the first volume. Exquisite, intricate graphics again capture the titular boy's remarkable, long life, defined by his unjust 10-year imprisonment during Taiwan's White Terror era (1947-87), which caused widespread imprisonment and senseless executions. Because the dominant language belongs to the victor, the boy's name, 蔡焜霖, morphs through various pronunciations: his Taiwanese name, Tshua Khun-lim, belongs within his family; at work, in public, his Mandarin moniker, Tsai Kun-lin, dominates. Book 1 comprised his childhood and later incarceration on Green Island; Book 2, rendered in black-and-white drawings overlaid with dull golden hues, opens on Khun-lim finally returning to Taiwan, only to be devastated by the news of his father's suicide. His manufactured criminal record makes him a police target, yet he manages to establish stellar careers in publishing and advertising, until he's reduced "once again, back to zero." Later years, in artwork overlaid with shades of orange, present another new start: the White Terror officially ends, turning Khun-lim into an educator and advocate for freedom and peace. Yu, Zhou, and King bear glorious witness to little-known tragic history by empathetically spotlighting an everyday superhero who survived--and thrives.

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March 15, 2024
The continuation of a true-life story translated from Taiwanese Hoklo, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese revisits Taiwan's contemporary history and evolution as a civil society. The first half of this volume summarizes Taiwan's cultural and socioeconomic development amid the geopolitical landscape of the 1960s, with Tshua Khun-lim (1930-2023) emerging from a decade of political imprisonment on Green Island and confronting new existential challenges, especially in finding and retaining employment. His reunion with childhood sweetheart Kimiko leads to marriage and a lifelong partnership that sustains him through multiple careers, including startups in publishing for young readers. He also faces censorship and persistent harassment, bankruptcy, and other disasters--setbacks to his successes that threaten to push him over the precipice of despair. Sketched in a manhua (or comic) style with beige backgrounds for the first half and rosy tones for the second half, the detailed and meticulous artwork enriches the narrative, and the color-coded text conveys the original work's intentional layering of different languages in various settings. The outline of Taiwan's relationship with China and the rest of the world feels particularly relevant today; the author's appearance as a character showing her interviews with Tshua for this book is an embedded documentation of his spirited dedication and unrelenting work toward transitional justice. A translator's note and detailed timeline provide additional context and resources. An accessible, timely account of Taiwan's struggles for democracy and human rights as experienced through a personal lens. (Graphic biography. 13-18)

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