Middle Grade Ninja Episode 101: Author Christina Li

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Christina Li and I discuss how she began writing seriously at age 12, secured a literary agent before graduating high school, and is celebrating the publication of her debut novel, CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE, before graduating college. We also talk about researching the eighties, an author’s responsibility when writing about grief for younger readers, how joy is an act of resistance, social economics as a way of understanding people and fictional characters, the importance of Asian stories not being a monolith, and so much more.

Christina Li is a student studying Economics at Stanford University. When she is not puzzling over her stats problem set, she is daydreaming about characters and drinking too much jasmine green tea. She grew up in the Midwest but now calls California home. You can find her online at christinaliwrites.com. Clues to the Universe is her debut novel.

On the surface, Rosalind Ling Geraghty and Benjamin Burns are completely different. Aspiring rocket scientist Ro normally has a plan for everything. Yet she’s reeling from her dad’s unexpected death, and all she has left of him is a half-built model rocket and a crater-sized grief that she doesn’t know how to cope with. Artist Benji loves superheroes and comic books. In fact, he’s convinced his long-lost dad, who walked out on his family years ago, created his favorite comic book series, Spacebound–but has no way to reach him.

Ro and Benji were only supposed to be science class partners. But when a mix-up turns the unlikely pair into friends, Benji helps Ro build her rocket, and Ro helps Benji search through his comics—and across the country—to find out where his dad truly could be.

As the two face bullying, loss, and their own differences, Benji and Ro try to piece together clues to some of the biggest questions in the universe.

ChristinaLiWrites.com